Scuba Pro R380 vs Dacor Viper

[Drez]

So a while back I picked up some gear for my wife in the hopes that she would get into local diving with me rather than just warm water reefs when we travel.

This never happened.

Long story short I'm going to sell the extra gear. Traditionally I've used the Scubapro R380 1st and 2nd stages and my wife had the Dacor Viper America 1st and 2nd. Is there any reason I should keep the viper over the scuba pro? I've used both and can't recall any personal preference but then I'm a weekend warrior and have long gaps between dives and might need a few days of consecutive diving or side by side comparison to develop a strong preference. Only other consideration is that I do some cold water diving and IIRC the Scupapro might be better for that. So based on that and the fact that the scuba pro were mine anyway I would probably keep them. I think I might want to take the gauges from the viper rig and avoiding that swap is the only reason I can think to keep the vipers over the scubapro, but maybe I'm missing something?

R380 or Viper?

Thanks for your insights in advance

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The R380 is ok for an unbalanced second stage. The Viper never impressed me and support from Mares for older Dacor regs is spotty and not guarenteed in the future.

 

[DevonDiver]

I used to use Dacor Viper (primary and AAS). Tried to kill me via free-flow on a cold-water lake dive. They got sold.

Go for the Scubapro...

 

[halocline]

The viper is the worst 2nd stage I've ever used. I don't anything about the Dacor 1st stage. When you say SP R380 1st and 2nd stages, I don't know what you're referring to; the R380 is a 2nd stage, so if you want opinions on the 1st stage you'll either have to figure out what model that is or post a photo of it. Whatever it is, it's likely far better than the dacor.

 

[Drez]

Yea in rereading that I guess I sort of wrote that wrong: Technically my first stage is the Scubapro MK18 and the second stage is the R380 for both my primary and buddy regs. On that note though I actually assumed that the 1st stage on the Dacor rig was Viper America as well but I guess that is probably a false assumption, I've included pics as its only markings that I can get anything from say decor

Sounds like consensus, guess my gut was right. Scubapro it is.

 

[decompression]

I had the viper tec for awhile and was never super excited about it....it was soon forgotten when I got my apeks set.

 

[halocline]

The MK18 is a very good 1st stage; it's a MK16 with a turret. You can get the internals upgraded to MK17 poppet/seat with a similar level of performance, just no environmental seal. The best way to upgrade would be to use the 380 as your alternate 2nd, and buy a good used G250 or D400 (or G500 or G200B) 2nd stage to use as your primary 2nd. Then you'd have a very nice performing regulator for all except the coldest conditions, like 40F or colder.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The Mk 16, even though it is unsealed, works very well in cold water and I would not worry about using it in 35-40 degree water with good cold water technique.

The internal parts upgrade should have happened several years ago at an annual service as it was an across the board upgrade that was done automatically.

 

[knotical]

... I actually assumed that the 1st stage on the Dacor rig was Viper America as well but I guess that is probably a false assumption, I've included pics as its only markings that I can get anything from say decor ...

Looks like a D16.

 

[DMDavid]

Dump the Dacor and upgrade your Scubapro.