Regulator for 14 year old

[rye_a]

My 14 year-old son just became a certified diver last year on a trip to Belize, making him the fifth and final member of our family to become certified. He is now enrolled in a school program that will culminate in a week-long live-aboard in Belize this coming summer (lucky kid, I know).

I’m a firm believer that life support equipment should be owned and not rented, so I’m thinking of getting him a regulator set for his upcoming birthday. The rest of the family dives with Aqualung (I have a Legend and my two daughters dive with Mikron sets) and Zeagle (my wife). My question is, can someone recommend a regulator that is extremely well built/durable and that can be relatively easily repaired with good availability of parts? While I’m not looking for top of the line, i do think it makes sense to “buy once cry once,” especially when it comes to gear as important as regulators.

 

[shurite7]

since you already own a couple of Aqualung regs go with another one such as the simple, yet durable, Calypso. It is similar in performance to the ScubaPro Mk2 / R195 regulator. I used both for rental regs and each held up well.

With the Calypso you can get the same type of second stages for primary and alternate (octo) with the later colored yellow.

The ScubaPro Mk2EVO / R195 is well proven and you can get another R195 in yellow for the alternate or the cheaper R095. Although I prefer ScubaPro, I know the Calypso will suit your situation just fine.

If you want a little more expensive reg go with Aqualung’s Core first and second stages. Performance will be a little bit smoother. If cost is objective then the Calypso combination is what I suggest.

 

[RyanT]

First, I'd ask, why not stick with what the rest of your family is already diving? That will make getting them serviced easier. On the other hand you said,

My question is, can someone recommend a regulator that is extremely well built/durable and that can be relatively easily repaired with good availability of parts?

This would Deep6 regs. They are one of the few (only?) manufacturers that provide parts to individuals and will train you to rebuild the regs. For a family of 5, that can save some real cash at service time.

 

[rye_a]

Thanks. I should have clarified that I meant availability of parts internationally. We dive in Belize Bonaire, etc.

 

[rye_a]

I should also clarify that I’d like to focus on regulators that he’ll be happy to dive for many, many years.

 

[Marie13]

I should also clarify that I’d like to focus on regulators that he’ll be happy to dive for many, many years.

Why not go with something AL? Will make servicing easier when you can take the entire family’s regs to one shop.

Just had a look at the AL website. If your son will be warm water diving, why not the Calypso?

I had the AL Legend LX Supreme (discontinued a couple of years ago) when I was single tank diving. Absolutely loved that reg. AL are dependable.

 

[Brian G]

Both ScubaPro and Aqualung should have international parts availability as good as it gets (may not be all that good though). That said, I've found getting my regulator serviced at a dive destination to be more miss than hit. I end up just bringing a spare first and second stage on big trips so that I can swap one out if it fails. I also bring a spare service kit with me (and some tools), but I doubt I'd be able to use it beyond replacing a few of the more accessible o-rings if they go bad. If a problem arises that I can't fix, and I'm trying to get a shop to fix it, then I'll almost certainly end up renting what I need from them as they won't have time to perform the service (if they have the parts in stock) before I'm going home.

tl;dr I'd stick with Aqualung so that servicing is all at one shop. They are all reliable and durable, like just about all regulators sold at scuba retailers.

Happy diving!
Brian

 

[Still Kicking]

Aqualung Titan or Core (balanced second stage) hit the sweet spot for me in terms of price/performance/durability. They come with free parts for life if you keep up on regular service and you don't have to buy a BC and computer to get it (cough: scubapro).