Regulators - Looking for suggestions

[seagirl1990]

Hey there! I'm a frequent and fairly new diver, I've decided that the $50 Amazon find-regulator isn't going to cut it for me anymore, I've trialed a Sherwood at a dive spring and absolutely LOVED it. But then I was told it doesn't work as well in salt water. At this point, i'm really looking in the market for more or less $600 or $700 (no more than a grand). But can be an easy breath? I really don't understand what key words i'm looking for that kind of market, either, and ScubaPro keeps popping up. Which, no offense I haven't really favored there business so far (I'm only 8 months into this hobby)

If there are any words of advice that would be greatly appreciated!

PS- I've been all over this forum trying to find my answers and haven't found it yet, sorry if this is a re-post!

 

[In2theabyss]

I have used my Sherwood Maximus for the last 8ish years and never had any issues with it. 90% of the dives in saltwater! Greaat regulator for rec diving, im now finally stepping up to some Deep 6 regs as I venture into the Tec arena

 

[runsongas]

sherwood is fine. they are rugged and reliable, but not as fancy as some other brands.

if you don't mind buying online and possibly having to mail them for service when the time comes, deep 6 is hard to beat on value. if you are looking at scubapro, another option is buying TUSA regs. TUSA is the oem for several scubapro regs but can be a lot cheaper online.

Regulator Packages - Regulators

 

[BalekFekete]

If you poke around the classified area, I'm sure you can *cough* find some good regs *cough* at an attractive price.

 

[Bob DBF]

But then I was told it doesn't work as well in salt water.

I don't know where that came from. Since it is environmentally sealed by the dry bleed system,
no salt water enters the reg for its operation.

I'm still diving, in salt water, a Sherwood Magnum reg from 1980. I've got a newer Blizzard from '09 as my primary, and use the Magnum on on my pony, as it has never failed me since it's purchase.


Bob

 

[ams511]

If there are any words of advice that would be greatly appreciated!

The sweet spot for value is usually in the middle of a manufacturer's product line. The worst value is the special edition packages which offer no increase in performance for the price. For Aqualung the sweet spot is the Core line. For Scubapro MK21/S360 or 560 or a MK11/370. I am not that familiar with Sherwood anymore since they updated their line. However, the Magnum is their middle of the line regulator. For Apeks the XTX-50 is their sweet spot, however the older ATX-40 is almost as good. Mares, Cressi, and Seac are fine but they don't have the dealer network in the US as some of the big guys. I am not that familiar with Atomic but @stuartv has some great things to say about the Z-2, which is actually their least expensive regulator.

Basically, you are looking for a balanced first and second stage. May I ask what you are diving now?

 

[guruboy]

$600-700 for a complete package (1st+2nd+octo+SPG) or a retail pakage (1st + 2nd)?

lots of options in the classifieds section. used and new

 

[JackD342]

I have never heard of any regulator that performs differently in salt water. My only possible theory is someone might think some designs are harder to rinse afterwards. Discount that advice, heavily.

If diving cold water, below 50F, be aware that 4 of the current Sherwood models have passed the EU testing standards for CW performance but are not yet marketed that way. Brut Pro, Oasis Pro, Blizzard Pro, and Maximus.

 

[jgttrey]

The bottom line is that there are lots of good regulators out there. There are some particular things that might narrow the list if they were important to you: ease of getting service kits for self-service, or cold water performance, or hose routing for sidemount, for example. If those things were important to you, it would be a shorter list. But, for "typical" recreational scuba, you have many good choices and, I agree, the sweet spot is usually in the middle of the lineup.

Also, if you have an LDS that you like, I would be strongly inclined to stay within the family of brands they sell. My LDS has lots of service kits on hand for the brands it sells, less so for those it doesn't. So service turnaround is quicker when they don't have to order a parts kit and, if you have a problem crop up, you can get it fixed immediately without having to have them order something. Is that a huge deal? No. But it would be something I would consider.

 

[saxman242]

. I am not that familiar with Atomic but @stuartv has some great things to say about the Z-2, which is actually their least expensive regulator.

I dive a z2 as my primary reg and have a deep 6 on my pony tank. I prefer how the z2 breathes over the deep 6, but not by a lot. Bang for the buck wise, the deep 6 regs can't be beat though.