Regulator opinions welcome for a new diver

[klinson8]

I am currently getting open water certified. I need some help on equipment, particularly the regulator. Any input is appreciated. I do plan to travel and dive tropical but also local, so temps between 50F-85F would be my guess. I have read all kinds of reviews and threads with opinions but none seem to answer all my questions or cover what exactly I am looking for.
1) Do "Travel regulators," really make that much of a difference. I can't see the weight being drastic enough to need to go that route.
2) Stay away from used? Assuming well maintained should there be a cutoff, like 5 year old models?
3) I prefer to buy a package with everything (inflator hose, primary, secondary, alternative, SPG). If going that route what would be your recommendation.
4) I assume you get what you pay for. If you spend upfront, you don't have to replace, you upgrade. Having said that, I don't want to break the bank and would guess more middle of the road to bottom half price range. I knew it was expensive before I started, but want to be economical not cheap.
I appreciate your time and any advice.

 

[Bigbella]

I would religiously avoid package deals from local dive stores, since there is almost always some weak link in what they'd like off of their inventory; though a regulator, octopus and gauge set-up, is the full extent that I would ever go, if a good deal, and avoid any all-encompassing combos that also include BCs and even the occasional tank -- usually marketed to suckers, as gold, platinum and silver standard packages -- some priced more than my bomber car did in college.

I have yet to see any such sale that didn't involve some crap equipment; and, as a novice, would stay away from used like nobody's business.

Scuba is pricey enough without buying someone else's problem; and any required servicing (priced anywhere, based upon the particular brand, from US 100-200.00) will eliminate any potential savings, from the buying of new equipment.

At this stage, you don't really know what you don't know.

You often do get what you pay for; though I have no brand recommendations for mid to lower range regulators; but plenty of others on SB will likely chime in . . .

 

[lowwall]

1) Do "Travel regulators," really make that much of a difference.

No. There are edge cases where every gram matters, but for most divers it doesn't. An example where it would matter would be for divers who live in Asia, take short flights for most of their diving, and want to get everything into a weighed carry on.

2) Stay away from used? Assuming well maintained should there be a cutoff, like 5 year old models?

Regs that are well cared for last forever. They are designed to be serviced and all normal wear parts are replaced during the service. The problem you will have is figuring out if it's really in good condition. Unless it's from a shop that will vouch for the condition or it has just been serviced, I'd probably avoid used at this point.

3) I prefer to buy a package with everything (inflator hose, primary, secondary, alternative, SPG). If going that route what would be your recommendation.

We'll get to this later.

4) I assume you get what you pay for. If you spend upfront, you don't have to replace, you upgrade. Having said that, I don't want to break the bank and would guess more middle of the road to bottom half price range. I knew it was expensive before I started, but want to be economical not cheap.

You do not necessarily get what you pay for. In the US, for example Atomic, ScubaPro, and more recently, Apeks all charge a hefty premium for buying into their brand. And all the big manufacturers have a flagship reg or two with a larger built-in profit margin. One basic value rule is to avoid anything with titanium in it.

Also, there's not really an opportunity to upgrade existing regs instead of replacing them with the one exception that you can add environmental sealing to certain regs if you decide that's necessary later on. That's not really a problem as, again, regs are designed to last forever.

The one big feature you need to decide on upfront is whether you want a turret on the first stage. Turrets give you more flexibility in hose routing, which might matter a lot if you get into diving doubles, at the expense of a bit of weight, bulk and cost and a theoretical decrease in reliability.

Ok. So let's get back to the big question. What should you get? Guess what, there's one more issue. Are you ok with online purchasing and mailing in the regs for service or do you want to buy from a local dive shop? If the latter, what manufacturers do they sell and service?

 

[klinson8]

No. There are edge cases where every gram matters, but for most divers it doesn't. An example where it would matter would be for divers who live in Asia, take short flights for most of their diving, and want to get everything into a weighed carry on.



Regs that are well cared for last forever. They are designed to be serviced and all normal wear parts are replaced during the service. The problem you will have is figuring out if it's really in good condition. Unless it's from a shop that will vouch for the condition or it has just been serviced, I'd probably avoid used at this point.


We'll get to this later.


You do not necessarily get what you pay for. In the US, for example Atomic, ScubaPro, and more recently, Apeks all charge a hefty premium for buying into their brand. And all the big manufacturers have a flagship reg or two with a larger built-in profit margin. One basic value rule is to avoid anything with titanium in it.

Also, there's not really an opportunity to upgrade existing regs instead of replacing them with the one exception that you can add environmental sealing to certain regs if you decide that's necessary later on. That's not really a problem as, again, regs are designed to last forever.

The one big feature you need to decide on upfront is whether you want a turret on the first stage. Turrets give you more flexibility in hose routing, which might matter a lot if you get into diving doubles, at the expense of a bit of weight, bulk and cost and a theoretical decrease in reliability.

Ok. So let's get back to the big question. What should you get? Guess what, there's one more issue. Are you ok with online purchasing and mailing in the regs for service or do you want to buy from a local dive shop? If the latter, what manufacturers do they sell and service?

I have multiple shops within 1.5 hours that service and rep all the top brands.

 

[JonnieB]

Buy the cheapest balanced regulator from any established brand...functionally they are the same as the expensive models with all the bells and whistles. Don't fall for the marketing hype or shop floor up-sell. The only caveat is that the brand has an authorized service center/dealer either in the area you live or where you intend to do most of your diving. For me as an example, being based in SE Asia, I wouldn’t buy a Oceanic, Sherwood, or Dive Rite gear, but either Scuba Pro or Aqualung. Either buy the brand model sold as a "rental" or shop model, or the range one step above it. If you will be flying to your diving destinations, I'd definitely buy a "travel" regulator (with flex hoses for the second stages and SPG gauge) as not only are they lightweight and easier to pack, they are also lightweight 8n the mouth when diving and therefore are less fatiguing on the jaws and mouth when diving (also a smaller profile when diving in currents). Now, on the odd occasion I'm diving a standard size mouthpiece, it feels like I have a rock in my mouth.

 

[Centrals]

1. My work horse is a 27yrs old Apeks mid range model. Look after it properly and reg should last for very long time. I even spent some money on learning how to service it, definitely big saving after all these yrs.
2. Travel bc/fins/reg etc etc? Look great at shop's window or promotion leaflet. I have to travel to go diving and all my equipment is standard. Weight is never an issue, the total weight of my full set is never over 15kg(bag included). Just learn how to pack.
3. I also used rental equipment on short trip and never ever had any issue with it. Mouth piece too uncomfortable!!!!! FK joke.

 

[MrVegas]

3) I prefer to buy a package with everything (inflator hose, primary, secondary, alternative, SPG). If going that route what would be your recommendation.
4) I assume you get what you pay for.

Are you in Ohio? Do you plan on diving local quarries much? Or are you traveling to dive? If you're traveling to dive, renting for a while may be the way to go. It's kind of a pain hauling loads of dive gear on planes -- unless you are actually going on a diving vacation.

I hesitate to make recommendations, so I'll just tell you what I did.

Since I had to outfit a family of cold water divers, I bought the Divers Supply Sea Elite package with the upgrade to the Sea Elite Covert (diaphragm) regulator. I've used Sea Elite Covert regulators on doubles on dives to the 130 foot range in 40F water. They've always worked just fine. Deep6 and DGX, I believe, I have more open service models., which is a benefit, although local shops probably won't service them. For the Sea Elite regs, I send them in to Divers Supply for service. Not too expensive, and I've never had an issue.

If you want the regulator that anybody anywhere in the world knows and can service, that would probably be the Scubapro Mark 2.

If you want to open a whole other can of worms, ask if you should get a backplate and wing. For basic single tank diving, in my opinion, a jacket BC works just fine and actually has some advantages. However, the backplate and wing gives you more flexibility in the long run.

 

[arkstorm]

Buying regs, i.e., life support equipment, is an interesting interplay between psychology and economics.

On the one hand, you want to buy the best equipment you can when it comes to your life, and that is what drives sales towards the really expensive brands/models.

On the other hand, you would have a hard time convincing me that a set of Scuba Pro or Atomic regs are twice as good as Dive Rite or DGX which are half the price.

If you are able to tune out the marketing noise you can find very high quality equipment for a fair price.

 

[Myxomatosis]

I've had DGX Xtra's for over two years now. I got them just out of Open Water, and I went tech diving with them last week. I've had zero issues with them. They also will sell you the service kits and you can buy the tools to do your own work if you're a handy and meticulous person. The downside is that most shops around here won't touch them, but I will so it doesn't matter to me.

 

[klinson8]

Are you in Ohio? Do you plan on diving local quarries much? Or are you traveling to dive? If you're traveling to dive, renting for a while may be the way to go. It's kind of a pain hauling loads of dive gear on planes -- unless you are actually going on a diving vacation.

I hesitate to make recommendations, so I'll just tell you what I did.

Since I had to outfit a family of cold water divers, I bought the Divers Supply Sea Elite package with the upgrade to the Sea Elite Covert (diaphragm) regulator. I've used Sea Elite Covert regulators on doubles on dives to the 130 foot range in 40F water. They've always worked just fine. Deep6 and DGX, I believe, I have more open service models., which is a benefit, although local shops probably won't service them. For the Sea Elite regs, I send them in to Divers Supply for service. Not too expensive, and I've never had an issue.

If you want the regulator that anybody anywhere in the world knows and can service, that would probably be the Scubapro Mark 2.

If you want to open a whole other can of worms, ask if you should get a backplate and wing. For basic single tank diving, in my opinion, a jacket BC works just fine and actually has some advantages. However, the backplate and wing gives you more flexibility in the long run.

I am in Ohio and plan to dive some quarries, starting with my exit dive. I plan to travel as well. The elite covert is one that popped up when I found myself down a scuba rabbit hole. I am good on the can of worms for now. My dive computer and regulator research and such is keeping me busy.