Regulator brand bias?

[sparky30]

I have a Scubapro S600/Mk25 and S550/Mk16 as well as a Poseidon Jetstream... I have never personally tried an Apeks and I doubt I iever will.... I was on a charter this fall with 12 divers from different areas all diving different stuff... We did a wreck dive to 113ft.. 5 Apeks froze and free flowed.. Water temp was 45F-50F... My Scubapro never even missed a beat.. It breathes nice and smooth, and itt light and just 'fits' ergonomically. I guess the same could be said about Apeks, but after seeing 5 of them freeflow on the same dive it got a little sceptical.. All of the folks where from different areas and had their gear maintained by difrent shops.. so I doubt it was a maintence issue.. maybe it was just bad luck.. <shrug> I'll stick with my Scubapro just the same..

 

[henk_graaf]

sparky30 once bubbled...
I have a Scubapro S600/Mk25 and S550/Mk16 as well as a Poseidon Jetstream... I have never personally tried an Apeks and I doubt I iever will.... I was on a charter this fall with 12 divers from different areas all diving different stuff... We did a wreck dive to 113ft.. 5 Apeks froze and free flowed.. Water temp was 45F-50F... My Scubapro never even missed a beat.. It breathes nice and smooth, and itt light and just 'fits' ergonomically. I guess the same could be said about Apeks, but after seeing 5 of them freeflow on the same dive it got a little sceptical.. All of the folks where from different areas and had their gear maintained by difrent shops.. so I doubt it was a maintence issue.. maybe it was just bad luck.. <shrug> I'll stick with my Scubapro just the same..

Do you know which apeks model it was?

I can imagine a T20 to freeze in colder water.... but a atx100 or atx200, no way!
(unless they all had water in the bottle)

 

[jamiei]

its funny how people are so caught up in thinking that their regulator of choice is invinsible and can't believe it when others say that they have seen it fail, but those same people always have a so and so brand failure story to tell. I dive a scubapro mk20/S600 and i have all the confidence in the world in it and realize that what you never know what condition these regs that you see fail are in. Mine are in top condition and always will be so I tend to feel my chances of failure are significantly lower. Not implying anything here at all, but just wondering. How long has Apex been making regulators?

 

[ElectricZombie]

jamiei once bubbled...
you never know what condition these regs that you see fail are in.

Exactly. The only regs I have ever seen fail were in horrible condition. Regs most often fail due to neglect or improper servicing by the technician. You see a lot of the later.

 

[henk_graaf]

jamiei once bubbled...
...How long has Apex been making regulators?

Apeks has been making regs for about 30 years or so...Only poseidon has more years of experience.

my personal choice is apeks... but that does not say that other brands are not so good. I did not say that at all.

Most freeze ups are not caused the the brand of reg you use, but the way it is serviced or wet air....

I came to choose Apeks via the following experiences:

1. I first bought a poseidon cyklon 5000. I breathed very good. But I noticed that service in the netherlands was very expensive and complex. Moreover the cyklon freeflowed very easily and the technicians could not do anything for me.
So I sold my cyklon 5000.

2. Then I bought a mares abyss model 2001. It breathed very lightly and felt sturdy and safe. But it developed much jaw fatigue. I was in pain. The dive shop adviced me to buy a seacure and a special swivel joint for a mere price of EURO 120. NO THANKS!
So I sold my Abyss

3. Then I bought a Aqualung legend LX supreme. Very good performer! But I hated the plastic cap on top of it. It could easily be broken off. The 1st stage was very fragile (and I mostly handle my gear very roughly, especially when I have a hangover).
So I sold my Legend.

4. After that I bought an Apeks ATX100 for a very low price. It was a good performer and I immediately liked the comfobite. Its very sturdy and durable.
So I kept my ATX100.

This is my confession. Its my personal choice. I never bought and tried Scubapro regs, because they are too expensive around here (about 50% more expensive than my apeks). I guess if $cubapro had lowered their price last year, i probably would have tried an MK25. I especially like scubapro's second stages, but I hate turret regs (like the apeks atx40/50).

By the way.... most of my other gear is scubapro: my jacket, my suit, my shoes and my gloves.

I always choose gear on how good it fits and looks and not by brand.

In my opinion scubapro makes good regs, but that does not mean its better than any other brand. Its just the marketing machine that rules the opinions of divers.


:doctor:

 

[cyklon_300]

tells you where I started with regulators....I bought a USED Poseidon Cyklon 300 and dived it for almost 20 years with zero failures. I loved my hockey puck reg.

However, I finally tired of the maintenance costs and distributorship hassles and updated to an Oceanic Alpha 7 CDX. Not a bad breathing reg, but it developed problems that the LDS couldn't fix and it was replaced on warranty.

While waiting for the replacement to arrive I went ahead and purchased an Apeks TX-50/40 DS4. The DiveInn price was too good to pass up, and they came highly recommended by my tech diver friends. These high performance regs are an exceptional value IMO.

 

[Iguana Don]

And I sold Hudsons, I'd swear by them.

Get the point.

 

[Wreck/Tec]

I'm sorry, and don't mean to be rude, however from the narrow selection of regulators does this have DIR roots? That was a poor poll.........

 

[Wreck/Tec]

I'll go out on a limb...........I use Poseidon Odins for everything but my deco units. There I use an Oceanic DX4 and a Dacor Viper Tec for 100%. The Poseidons have given excellant service, cost $50.00 to rebuild and have with stood cold water just fine thank you, ( please no long tec reports). Everyone has their favorite. Some work within a budget. Be POLITE! If you feel compelled to convert me, PM me and I will tell you where to send my new regs, and thank you for the jesture...........

 

[grizzie]

Have 2 ScubaPro MK20 G250 and 2 190's I got in 96. Dove with USD and Dacor in the 70's and early 80's back the ScubaPro was the best I could find so I have stayed with them since. I now keep having problems with the HP seat constantly popping and ruining dives so am thinking of replacing them with poseidon. Also not sure if maybe it is just where I have them serviced, already tried 2 different LDS's and now have tried a third to see if it makes a difference. There is alot of new stuff out there since the early days and Trying all is a difficult task at best. Hearing what everyone has to say helps with making a decision for the type of diving I do.