Regulator brand bias?

[dlarbale]

I use SP and will be buying them again in the future. The Main reason being that I can get them serviced almost anywhere and becasue they're not that expensive with my Instructor discount - perhaps becoming an instructor has it's advantages after all ;-)

Later - Dave.

< $400 US for G250HP and MK25 DIN.

 

[ElectricZombie]

I like ScubaPro personally. The breath great (I would venture to say the best breathers around possibly), are very reliable and are easy to service. Parts are easier to get and they have a good warranty, not to mention good customer service. I'm open to other brands though...Curious to try an APEX and compare to ScubaPro.

 

[scubatexastony]

Zeagle Flathead VI..... must be biased, me that is. Course the DS-IV is nice too. ZX is a sweetie......give it a try some time, EZ.

couldn't vote anyway.

tony

20 days to go....

 

[large_diver]

Scubapro is one of the most widely available brand names in the US....thus there are lots of people out there using them.

Apeks has become popular in Tech circles over the past few years.....combine this with the low prices and the recent increase in availability in the US now that they are distributed by Sea-Quest/Aqualung.....

 

[tchil01]

I have no idea how to vote in the poll, but I have poseidens and oceanics. I have a Ckylon on the main, a Odin as my backup and two Oceanics waiting to go on stages. The Oceanic's were the first regs I bought, so thats why I'm going to use them. They are good regs but they tend to freeflow so putting them on a stage that can be turned on and off as needed seems to be a good home for them.

Ty

 

[Snoopy]

My OWD instructor recommends Scubapro strongly. He is based in Malaysia and I am in Singapore.

When around shopping and reading tons of online materials. Yup, the Scubapro does have it's match but not at it's price.

For the price of a SB_pro entry level, I got the Oceanic Delta 3 with CDX. Good deal. Also, influcenced my choice was the service centre, they are friendly people who walk thru with a newbie like me over the choice of mask and other stuff......

 

[GDI]

:doctor:
Most of us could not tell the difference from one regulator to another if we breathed from them with our eyes closed. A poor performing reg is a poor performer, Really good regs at a comparable price range all perform very close. I have dived Aqualung USD and Seaquest, I have had Scubapro, Sherwood, Oceanic, Voit, Dacor and Genesis. I have used Tusa, Healthways, Atomic, Apollo, Nemrod. Mares and Poseidon. Man I even used a Prosub.

Today I use several models of the older Apex (distributed by Zeagle) and the Zeagle ZX 50 and Flathead VI. There are a lot of good regs out there and there are a few bad ones. Breath test them in water, rent if you have to and do your research. Performance is very close for regs in the $450-$600 range.

 

[dgangi]

GDI once bubbled...
:doctor:
Most of us could not tell the difference from one regulator to another if we breathed from them with our eyes closed.

I totally agree with you on that point, but there are many on this board that don't. These are the people that will swear by Apeks or Scubapro and denounce everything else out there, whether by explicitly saying so or implicitly dropping insinuations here and there in their dicussions.

And that's just what I was trying to extract with this discussion. Just look at the poll -- a good number of people out there think Apeks, Scubapro, or both are the king of the hill and everything else is inferior.

Not that I'm saying people are bad for thinking along these lines -- everybody is entitled to their own opinion. But if this bias is at least made public, then "new" people like myself can lean to take some "recommendations" for Apeks and Scubapro with a grain of salt.

Thx...Doug

 

[psionicdfw]

dgangi once bubbled...


I totally agree with you on that point, but there are many on this board that don't. These are the people that will swear by Apeks or Scubapro and denounce everything else out there, whether by explicitly saying so or implicitly dropping insinuations here and there in their dicussions.

And that's just what I was trying to extract with this discussion. Just look at the poll -- a good number of people out there think Apeks, Scubapro, or both are the king of the hill and everything else is inferior.

Not that I'm saying people are bad for thinking along these lines -- everybody is entitled to their own opinion. But if this bias is at least made public, then "new" people like myself can lean to take some "recommendations" for Apeks and Scubapro with a grain of salt.

Thx...Doug

I wondered about this bias myself. I noticed it when I first visited the boards. I thought it strange because as GDI stated - if you had your eyes closed you could not tell a difference. If one studies the amount of force required to "crack" almost any high-performance regulator (http://www.scubadiving.com/gear/highregs/chart.shtml) you will see only a very slight difference between models. Whether any diver would be able to detect a 0.1-0.5 increase in joules/liter breathed is anyone's guess. But my thinking is that no, the vast majority of people would find the differences undetectable and therefore irrelevent.

Today's divers are very lucky to have so many excellent (and very safe) regulators to choose from. But I agree with you Dgangi and your very eloquent posts - there is a bias towards Apeks (and to a lesser extent ScubaPro) on the board. If this bias resulted in someone being influenced into buying an Apeks, it's probably not a big deal and they will most likey be happy with their purchase. However it does seem important that it be pointed out and acknowledged.

After all, if you want to go on pure performance it's the Atomics which win the day...."These new regulators from Atomic were this test's showstoppers. The T1/Ti2, with titanium first and second stages, is not only the lightest regulator we've ever tested; it also received the best scores on both the breathing simulator and the ocean ergonomic tests of any regulator we've ever tested."

Awesome post Doug

Peace,

Pete

 

[padiscubapro]

from pete
"After all, if you want to go on pure performance it's the Atomics which win the day...."These new regulators from Atomic were this test's showstoppers. The T1/Ti2, with titanium first and second stages, is not only the lightest regulator we've ever tested; it also received the best scores on both the breathing simulator and the ocean ergonomic tests of any regulator we've ever tested."

The performance of the reg might me great but overall its a poor choice if you are diving anything but air. Titanium may be corrosion resistant but is one of thge WORSE materials you can use in an oxygen enviroment..

If you like the regs buy the brass or better yet their latest reg made out of Monel.. Its highly corrosion resistant and is one of the best materials to use in an oxygen enriched enviroment.

at last count I have 18 regs, from just about every manufacturer around... when it comed down to it my choices are

when diving OC.

I have a poseidon cyclon as primary, a scuba pro mk25 1srt stage with a USD second as a backup. The poseidons are durable as hell, both my poseidons are 15 years old and have never had a problem with either.. The biggest problem is finding a tech who can service them correctly.. The new poseidon xtreme regs look like they will be unbeatable, and the 1st stage look to be the easiest reg I have ever seen to service.. no adjustments, and only 1 oring internally. The design they are using looks flawless..

I have a inexpensive Dacor reg on my travel mix (or bailout bottom mix when diving a ccr), I have an older oceanic reg (dont remember the model) on my deco botttle, all regs are din (so can be changed underwater in an emergency)... I am using the oceanic piston because its very easy to service in the field..

On trips I carry an abysmal reg as a backup. its a poseidon 1st stage, kirby morgan second.. Its the best breathing reg I have ever used, but the Cyclon is much more confortable to dive with.

My rebreather uses Apeks tx50 regs...