regulator dilemma

[beni]

I know this issue has been brought up at least a million times, but please don't get mad at a newbie asking for directions :>

I'm a beginner but eventually want to get into some more advanced and technical diving under various conditions (ice, cave, deep). I'm about to buy my first pieces of equipment since renting does not satisfy me for numerous reasons and obviously I want a reg that will preform well everywhere so I dont have to upgrade it in the near future to satisfy my diving "needs".

I'm considering the following regs:
Aqualung Legend/Glacia
Apeks 200xtx
Oceanic Delta 4
maybe a scubapro one as well

Usually I'm not that price sensitive (if I like it then I'm willing to spend a few extra bucks on it) but in this case I need to buy a lot of gear at once (well I don't "need" to, but I want to) and there is a huge price difference between these 3 regs. My LDS offers me a really tempting deal on the Oceanic one and it would cost me half (!) as much as the apeks 200xtx set.

I've talked to some DIR divers and they suggested Apeks, but I hardly think there is such a huge noticeable difference between these regs, especially for a beginner. Basically I want some confirmation that the delta 4 will not quit on me at 130 feet in cold water. If you have other issues you think I should consider please share your thoughts with me!

Thanks guys and sorry for the "non original" topic.


This one is the set I was talking about:

 

[elan]

Apekses have a good resale value. so if you choose to sell it later you will most likely get more money back as the tech crowd uses them a lot. At least here

 

[ZzzKing]

A good friend of mine regularly dives a Delta 4 deep and cold. (>150' and <35F) He swears by it.

 

[BB1]

You wouldn't go wrong with a set of HOG regs!

I bought them with the same criteria for the future as you and have been really happy with them.

IMHO they are the best bang for the buck out there!! Go check out the comments in the EDGE Products sub-forum under manufacturers.

I bought mine through Dive Right in Scuba and they set them up with the hoses I wanted as well.

Good luck which ever way you decide to go!

 

[Hatul]

I think the Delta 4 uses non standard hoses, and if that's so I'd stay away from this.

Adam

 

[BB1]

+1 to avoiding non standard hoses!

Others like that are:

Hollis regs with the swivel
Oceanic EOS with the swivel
Apeks Flight

 

[Scuba Ken]

Try XTX50's. I have them and love them. They are cheaper than the 200's and to be honest most people say they can't tell the difference. They are also pretty popular with doubles and other tech diving configurations. That's my limited opinion.

 

[Hank658]

The reg the OP pictured (as far as I can see in the photo) is the version of the Delta 4 that does not have the swivel. Oceanic only produces one reg with swivel at a time. (the reasons for this are off topic) The take away from this for the OP is that: if there is no swivel then the hose is standard. If there is a swivel then the hose is a specialty part.
I am partial to ScubaPro regs for my own diving but I also own a Delta 4 and have had it to 100' at about 38 degrees F. It performed fine.

Hope this helps.

 

[beni]

Thanks everyone for the useful comments! Unfortunately many of the products mentioned and recommended on this forum (dive rite, HOG, deepseasupply, etc) are not available in Hungary (Europe) and I would like to avoid ordering stuff from the internet.

The delta 4 is available with a standard hose and with the swivel also, but I figured it's just another part that can fail so I would definitely go with the standard one.

Another thing is that I don't care about resale value since I would rather just give it to a friend to use or use it later for stage bottles.

// The apeks xtx50 looks pretty nice but the first and second stage would cost as much as the whole oceanic setup in the picture above.

 

[BobbyT22]

Also look at Oceanic CDX-5's too. I have three of them, I use a pair on a set of doubles plus another for my wife. Some other folks on this board use them for doubles too. Great value and they work just fine. No, they won't quit on you at 130 feet!