Regulator choice for new diver/warm water

[halocline]

Hi;

I recently completed my PADI open water certification, and am scratching my head with the huge regulator choice. HELP! Here are my criteria:

1. I anticipate warm water use only; I live in Texas and will mostly dive in Mexico and the gulf. I don't anticipate diving especially deep; mostly my interest is in coral reefs.

2. Like most newcomers, I don't want to spend more than is necessary, but I'm willing to spend enough to get a quality regulator that will last a long time and be trouble free. Easy service in a variety of countries, especially Mexico, is a plus.

3. I'd prefer a compact second stage.

4. During my certification dives, I used an aqualung titan. While I found it easy to breathe, I noticed that whenever I rolled over and faced the surface, it was much harder to draw air. Is this unusual? If possible, I'd like to get a regulator that does not have this characteristic.

Thanks; I know this question has been asked a thousand times, and I'm searching through those threads. In particular, though, I'm concerned about breathability regardless of my physical orientation and a small comfortable mouthpiece.

Matt

 

[d33ps1x]

For service in many countries Scubapro is always a good choice.

They have a huge worldwide market share and service depots everywhere.

You can get some pretty cheap and reliable warm water regs from them. They use the same technology top to bottom in their lineup.

I'm saying all this impartially as I am an Aqualung and Apeks fan.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I am very happy with my aqualung Lengend. Plus they have a very cool 100 dollar discount availabout for a few more weeks.

 

[SDAnderson]

I recently completed my PADI open water certification, and am scratching my head with the huge regulator choice. HELP! Here are my criteria:

Why should it be any easier for you than it was for the rest of us?

1. I anticipate warm water use only; I live in Texas and will mostly dive in Mexico and the gulf. I don't anticipate diving especially deep; mostly my interest is in coral reefs.

Most any high-end regulator will fit the bill. Your criteria should include ease of service (both in a shop and underwater) and total cost of ownership - annuals add up.

2. Like most newcomers, I don't want to spend more than is necessary, but I'm willing to spend enough to get a quality regulator that will last a long time and be trouble free. Easy service in a variety of countries, especially Mexico, is a plus.

Excellent criteria. Remember, this is the most critical piece of equipment you will own - spend whatever it takes to get what you want.

3. I'd prefer a compact second stage.

Careful with this. A small second seems like a good idea, but sometimes they're problematic. Aside from weight considerations (and the second stages on most regulators don't have enough negative bouyancy to make much difference) one of your big concerns should be the ability of the regulator to exhaust the bubbles without dumping them in your face. The mini-seconds often have such small exhaust T's that they can't help but constantly bombard you with bubbles.

4. During my certification dives, I used an aqualung titan. While I found it easy to breathe, I noticed that whenever I rolled over and faced the surface, it was much harder to draw air. Is this unusual? If possible, I'd like to get a regulator that does not have this characteristic.

This is pretty usual, especially in better regulators. They're that sensitive to pressure differentials.

Thanks; I know this question has been asked a thousand times, and I'm searching through those threads. In particular, though, I'm concerned about breathability regardless of my physical orientation and a small comfortable mouthpiece.

Physical orientation definitely impacts regulator performance. Upside down they tend to be harder to breath and also tend to breath wet - you'll have to experiment with them to see which ones you can live with.

Problems with the size of the mouthpiece can be fixed with aftermarket versions - Sea Cure and Manta Bites and Comfo Bites are decent solutions to problems with mouthpiece fit and TMJ issues.

And so the popularity contest begins: I dive with Apeks DS4/TX50's and Apeks TX100's and the workhorse ScubaPro MK20/G250 combination. I suspect that SP will be easier to get parts for in Mexico and certainly easy around Texas. You aren't cold water diving or crawling through the mud, so the sealed first on the Apeks doesn't make much difference. All three are easy to open up and clean, all require special tools to service. I can't speak well to any others since I've been happy with the ones I've got.

 

[Firefyter]

I like my Mares Proton reg. At just under $200, it's reasonable, reliable, and the Proton second stage is compact and breathes great. Scubatoys has it, and you get the full factory warranty from them. Check out this link:

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=V16Proton

 

[HammerNoMore]

1. I anticipate warm water use only; I live in Texas and will mostly dive in Mexico and the gulf. I don't anticipate diving especially deep; mostly my interest is in coral reefs.

Don't be so sure. You'd be surprised how many people start out thinking that before they discover they love to craw around in cool (temperature and otherwise) dark caves....

2. Like most newcomers, I don't want to spend more than is necessary, but I'm willing to spend enough to get a quality regulator that will last a long time and be trouble free. Easy service in a variety of countries, especially Mexico, is a plus.

So you're facing the quality price barrier.... I'd say to take a look at the Genesis/Sherwood lines if you are looking more towards price. They make some good regs for the buck. Going up a little I think Zeagle and Dive Rite both have great choices. More money and you're into Apeks. Scubapro is also a choice but personally, I think they are overpriced and I don't like their practices....

As far as trouble free is concerned, keep it serviced regularly (by a good shop) and most are pretty trouble free. Get a bad service tech and misadjustments are probably the biggest cause of trouble. Also take an equipment class to get a lot of information on solving small problems.

3. I'd prefer a compact second stage.

Great idea for a secondary, but for your primary, I agree with reefraf. Once you are diving you are not going to notice a size difference between a standard and compact second but performance will not be as good on the compact. Another plug for the Genesis. The GS-2000 is a great regulator and can be had from ScubaToys for $250 (probably less if you find it on LeisurePro as they will match). I'd call it a "midsize" regulator, might fit the bill.

4. During my certification dives, I used an aqualung titan. While I found it easy to breathe, I noticed that whenever I rolled over and faced the surface, it was much harder to draw air. Is this unusual? If possible, I'd like to get a regulator that does not have this characteristic.

I've never use this reg, but a good reg should breath easy in any position. However most regs will flow a little when upsidedown, not rolling over to look up, but rather vertical and inverted such as to peek under a ledge.

a small comfortable mouthpiece.

Get whatever regulator you like then get your LDS to get you a "U.S. Divers (aka Aqualung) style mouthpiece, that fits across the roof of the mouth. Once I got turned on to these mouthpieces I never looked back...

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

James you're correct especailly about how desires change after you've dove for awhile. Suddenly deep becomes interesting, cold isn't so bad and even diving with nitrox seems reasonable.

Get a good reg, don't cut costs here. Cut costs on your wardrobe instead

 

[halocline]

Thanks everyone. I have a friend here who uses the Genesis GS2000 and loves it. I'll see if I can try his out. The teacher i took my certificaton course from is a scubapro fan; and their MK2 (I believe) is quite reasonable. I notice it's a piston style first stage, while others are diaphragm. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Hank49]

Thanks everyone. I have a friend here who uses the Genesis GS2000 and loves it. I'll see if I can try his out. The teacher i took my certificaton course from is a scubapro fan; and their MK2 (I believe) is quite reasonable. I notice it's a piston style first stage, while others are diaphragm. Any thoughts on this?

Get a good second stage. The first stage...if you're not a dive master/instructor and won't have to share air a lot, an unbalanced piston or diaphram will supply enough air. All a balanced does is increase air flow capacity..not ease of breathing. The second stage is the one that makes breathing easy or "stiff". Almost all breath stiffer when you look up because the air trapped behind the diaphram in the second stage will try to rise up creating resistance in drawing air into the reg and sucking the diaphram back down. The opposite happens when your're looking down making breathing much easier. Atomic makes a great second stage. Hank

 

[halocline]

Thanks again to all for answering these common questions. I've narrowed my choice down to 3; SPMK2 190, SPMK16 S550, Aqualung titan LX. I've decided to definitely buy a regulator from my LDS rather than online; it's my way of supporting the local guy, and of course there is the warrranty/service issue. Anyhow, my instructor recommends the MK2 190, saying that although it won't breathe as well as the balanced regs at depth and low tank pressure, it will still do the job for my needs and is VERY reliable. But, I've seen lots of posts about the better breathability on balanced regs. My question is, at what depth and/or tank pressure is the unbalanced a real concern? Or will one of these other regs be noticably better at all depths. FWIW, I don't anticipate spending a lot of time on deep dives or in particularly cold water. The price difference at my LDS, with the rebates going on, is about $100 between the MK2 and the aqualung, and about $160 between the MK2 and the MK16 S550.