Regulator Confusion

[rescuediver009]

I own 2 MR12/Epos/Axis setups and 2 Apex DS4/TX50 setups

While they are an ok reg for warm water and easy use they dont cut the mustard for cold stuff or frequent hard use. There first year of service had 2 trips to the shop for IP addjustment and tunning over 90 dives. There second year of service both lost there abbility to hold IP after ~70 dives post overhaull. After inspection both of the HP Valves were worn.

Subjectivly the Mares are significnatly harder to breath. My Apex get up in the morning and breath for me.

Most people only look at the ATX50 as it is the one most talked about. Seeing as how you mentioned that you are new with your wife, I would think that the ATX40 would be more than sufficient for your needs. Even the AT20 if you are not diving in the cold too much... So don't completely close out Apeks yet..

 

[daveg1]

Hey Dave

I'm in Wolfeboro and we do have a LDS here, Dive Winnipesaukee. They sell primarily Apeks regs.

I guess I am open to any suggestions. There are so many different brands and models available, it can be a bit overwhelming(kind of like buying wine !).

I figured it would easiest to narrow it down to a couple of brands based on price, reputation, etc....

Mares seem to be a good line as are others, but this will be the first time we have bought gear and I really don't know what good ones are and what bad ones are.

I'm open to suggestions...

thanks Dave

Bill

Bill

My personal opinion is apex, scuba pro, mares, us divers, cressi, sherwood, posidon are all great recreational regs, and some of them make great tek regs. They are all available at shops within an hour of you.

If you would like a list of shops in the area feel free to PM me and I can give you the names and locations of most of them.

 

[ElectricZombie]

My concern w/ going w/ Apex is that I can't afford to pay what my LDS charges and if I buy it off the internet there is no manufacturers warranty.

You don't need the warranty. (If you do a search, you will find out all the reasons why the warranty is useless.) Your best bet is to learn how to service your own gear.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

Again, thats your opinion. Some people think otherwise. I like to have a warranty on any life support equipment that I purchase.

 

[gehadoski]

Is scubatoys.com a trustful website that I can buy equipments from it. I know scubastore.com, but I don't know this one.

 

[gehadoski]

what about both to have waranty and learn how service your equipment. I like doing that.

 

[Firefyter]

Is scubatoys.com a trustful website that I can buy equipments from it. I know scubastore.com, but I don't know this one.

I've bought several things from Scubatoys, and have been very happy with the service AND the prices. Top that off with being an Authorized dealer, and how can you go wrong?

 

[rescuediver009]

You don't need the warranty. (If you do a search, you will find out all the reasons why the warranty is useless.) Your best bet is to learn how to service your own gear.

I would say that is the worst attitude that you could have towards a warranty. First of all, only authorized dealers can get the parts, secondly, servicing regs once a year is frowned on greatly, and third even if you do get the parts, without the warranty they are going to cost you about $30-40 US. This goes double since we are talking about apeks because they have one of the better warranties in the business.

This is why you will see some people debating about whether or not to buy from internet stores that are grey market. I agree with LUBOLD, when your life support equipment fails the first thing everyone thinks about is warranty. If you take a look at the Aqualung/Apeks website for example, there is a disclaimer on the bottom left of the front page.

 

[Nay]

In addition to scubatoys.com, scuba.com is also an authorized dealer for everything they sell. I've been to their small retail showroom in Rancho Santa Mergarita and they are great. If they don't have something on their web site, call them. They carry everything but can't put some items on their web site and still carry the warranty.

 

[ElectricZombie]

First of all, only authorized dealers can get the parts, secondly, servicing regs once a year is frowned on greatly, and third even if you do get the parts, without the warranty they are going to cost you about $30-40 US. This goes double since we are talking about apeks because they have one of the better warranties in the business.

The vast majority of people do not service their regs more than once per year. Actually, many people go years without servicing. Most people will not have their reg serviced twice a year. With *proper* care, a reg can actually go quite a while without servicing. I'm not saying that this is ideal, but this is how it is. My whole point is that by doing the service yourself, you know that it is done correctly. Taking a reg to an LDS for service is a gamble so, the warranty may not have any value.