Regulator opinions welcome for a new diver

[OMyMyOHellYes]

As for a dive computer, let me save you time. Get the Shearwater Teric (there is a new model out but I know nothing about it). I have a review posted on the Board. it is without a doubt the best DC I have ever seen and excels in every single way that a DC can excel. plain English menus, rechargeable battery that lasts several days without charging,

"rechargeable battery that lasts several days" and after you've used it several days and it will no longer hold a charge, you can send it back to Divetronics and they'll replace the battery under warranty which should last you several more days.

Teric owners, have you required repair or replacement service?

There have been multiple threads discussing repair and/or replacement service for Shearwater Terics. Nearly always, repair and/or replacement service has been praised for responsiveness and speed. As, generally, only problems are reported and discussed, the need for service or replacement may...

scubaboard.com

Only partially kidding. Experience rates among respondents to the poll ~50% - show this is possibly not the DC you might expect from SW. Richard's warranty service is, however, exceptional. I traded my Teric away right after its first warranty battery replacement - straight up for a second (used) Perdix. Plus the menu on the Perdii are more intuitive for me.

 

[Belzelbub]

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

This is good as you'll definitely need to use the services of one or more to keep things functioning, unless you are going to service your own.

I think you are on the right track by being in the middle on price. You can spend A LOT on one of the top of the line regulators (usually titanium), but you don't need to.

Before you buy a regulator, take some time and visit the shops and talk to them about buying a regulator. Let them know your experience level and what you are looking for. See what they recommend. If they point you to a $2K regulator, thank them and walk away, that shop sees you as $$ only. If they take the time to go through what they have, and tell you a bit about it, then you may have a decent shop on your hands. Nothing would irritate me more than having to set foot in a shop I can't stand to get a regulator serviced.

There are lots of dive shops around where I live. The nearest is under 2 miles away. I actually drive past that one, and at least one more to get to the shop that I prefer to do business with.

 

[Motoman4540]

"rechargeable battery that lasts several days" and after you've used it several days and it will no longer hold a charge, you can send it back to Divetronics and they'll replace the battery under warranty which should last you several more days.

Teric owners, have you required repair or replacement service?

There have been multiple threads discussing repair and/or replacement service for Shearwater Terics. Nearly always, repair and/or replacement service has been praised for responsiveness and speed. As, generally, only problems are reported and discussed, the need for service or replacement may...

scubaboard.com

Only partially kidding. Experience rates among respondents to the poll ~50% - show this is possibly not the DC you might expect from SW. Richard's warranty service is, however, exceptional. I traded my Teric away right after its first warranty battery replacement - straight up for a second (used) Perdix. Plus the menu on the Perdii are more intuitive for me.

I have to disagree. Both my and my wife's Teric's have consistently lasted 4 days or more of 4-5 dives a day, before showing them on the charger. And they charge very fast too. One problem that Shearwater warns of in advance is that if you let the battery go completely dead several times, the battery will not hold a charge as well as new (but is still more than enough for a couple of days of diving at least), and even if you set the DC to "off," it still needs to be put on the charge every two months or so to prevent it from fully draining down when not using it. Note that I have let mine drain down completely and it still gave me four days of 4 dives a day last week before it got low enough for me to throw it on the charger overnight and I have had it since 2019 and put over 250 dives on it. Plus, the Perdix, while a superb DC, is too big for my tastes. YMMV. I think that the menu on the Perdix and the Teric are the same or very close. The Perdix display, being bigger, is excellent for people whose eyesight is not the best, as well. Overall, I think that Shearwater is a great company that stands behind their products and you can't go wrong with either. As a new diver, this better not be needed, but another nice thing about the Shearwater DC is that if you go into deco, it doesn't lock you out for 24 hrs the way some DC's do, but directs you to do your decompression stops. I don't do deco diving but there have been a couple of occasions when I was at 100 ft photographing two Rhinopias, and at 128ft shooting a big lion fish where I had a minute of NDL left, and so I appreciate not getting locked out of my DC for 24 hours!

 

[davehicks]

I have to disagree. Both my and my wife's Teric's have consistently lasted 4 days or more of 4-5 dives a day, before showing them on the charger. And they charge very fast too. One problem that Shearwater warns of in advance is that if you let the battery go completely dead several times, the battery will not hold a charge as well as new (but is still more than enough for a couple of days of diving at least), and even if you set the DC to "off," it still needs to be put on the charge every two months or so to prevent it from fully draining down when not using it. Note that I have let mine drain down completely and it still gave me four days of 4 dives a day last week before it got low enough for me to throw it on the charger overnight and I have had it since 2019 and put over 250 dives on it. Plus, the Perdix, while a superb DC, is too big for my tastes. YMMV. I think that the menu on the Perdix and the Teric are the same or very close. The Perdix display, being bigger, is excellent for people whose eyesight is not the best, as well. Overall, I think that Shearwater is a great company that stands behind their products and you can't go wrong with either. As a new diver, this better not be needed, but another nice thing about the Shearwater DC is that if you go into deco, it doesn't lock you out for 24 hrs the way some DC's do, but directs you to do your decompression stops. I don't do deco diving but there have been a couple of occasions when I was at 100 ft photographing two Rhinopias, and at 128ft shooting a big lion fish where I had a minute of NDL left, and so I appreciate not getting locked out of my DC for 24 hours!

You are free to disagree, but there is no doubt that the Teric has a troubled record. The battery problems were wide-spread and many units (including mine) have required multiple trips in for service. Regardless, I do like it quite a bit.

My wife and I currently own 5 Shearwaters, including a Teric. I my dive my Teric several times Every week, usually as a backup to my CCR connected Petrel3. I'm basically using the Teric as a Compass, and it's awesome in that role. When I dive OC I do use it as a primary computer. The battery is still not what it should be, losing more power when idle & off. On a dive trip I don't have any issues charging it every other day without running it down too far.

 

[klinson8]

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 an 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.

Thank you for the input.

 

[klinson8]

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.

This was my reasoning for starting this. It is important but there is also a lot of BS just for marketing. I’m their oblivious target consumer.

 

[klinson8]

@klinson8: Take a few minutes to read over this Scubaboard article I wrote a while ago. It's a good overview of the features and attributes of Regulators to consider as a new diver buying for the first time. It will provide some context and help you make a good buying choice.

Info - How to Choose a Regulator

How to Choose a Regulator (an overview of features and their value) One of the first pieces of equipment that every diver will acquire is a set of Regulators. This is one of the most critical pieces of your gear as it enables you to breathe underwater and are considered to be life safety...

scubaboard.com

That was great. Not sure how I missed it going through so ma y threads but it’s appreciated.

 

[Pbdiver84]

I can only speak from personal experience. I have not noticed one bit of difference between my entry level Aqualung reg and octo and my ScubaPro fancy and expensive regulator. ScubaPro makes absolutely top notch equipment, but regs . . . save your money. The major difference that I noticed in upgrading from my first set was in the ScubaPro Hydros Pro BCD vs my Aqualung. Both work great but the Hydros ($$$) is another league of good. We travel all over the world diving and we bring our own equipment now, FYI, but at the beginning stage, there is no reason to spend big bucks. Most importantly, get a mask that fits you well and a good dive computer (I use a Shearwater Teric), and you can really just rent the rest of your stuff and see if you will get your money's worth out of more advanced equipment. I am hooked on my BC and ScubaPro NovaWing fins and Scubapro 3/2 Everflex wetsuit, so I take all of my gear. I am also a warm water diver, generally in Miami Beach, the Caribbean, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Red Sea, that sort of thing, so cold water (i.e. drysuit type water) performance is irrelevant, and I think that is where there is a difference in regulators.

As for a dive computer, let me save you time. Get the Shearwater Teric (there is a new model out but I know nothing about it). I have a review posted on the Board. it is without a doubt the best DC I have ever seen and excels in every single way that a DC can excel. plain English menus, rechargeable battery that lasts several days without charging, fully customizable display, uses a transmitter and can read two transmitters so I can keep track of my wife's air consumption as well as my own. IMHO, it doesn't get any better and easily doubles as a wristwatch when you are on a dive vacation. The Shearwater dive log program (free)is also excellent and you just connect the Teric to your computer or phone via Bluetooth and upload your dive info! So forget about wasting time on research. Get a Teric and don't blow money on an expensive regulator!

FYI, my entry level gear is gathering dust, so if you are interested, DM me. I've got an Aqualung BC and reg, Aqualung split fins, and an Oceanic VT-4.1 computer (no transmitter for it though).

The Tern is the new Shearwater. It’s the Teric with the tec stuff removed and is broadly equivalent to a Peregrine with AI and compass

 

[inquis]

The Tern is the new Shearwater. It’s the Teric with the tec stuff removed and is broadly equivalent to a Peregrine with AI and compass

Close. The Tern is the Peregrine in watch form factor. The Tern TX adds the AI & compass.

 

[Homunculus]

i would only recommend that your octo is the same quality as your primary 2nd stage (in other words quality wise octo = primary). yes it's more expensive that way but it's worth it.

as far as brands - scuba pro has a very good reputation with widely available services.