@Scubagaskets has been as good as their word! Over the last six months, they've sent me three different iterations of a reg that others have commented on, and have made factory changes in response to almost every comment I made. I am flabbergasted that they have been this responsive (and I'm willing to bet that the factory will add Scubagaskets' improvements to their own OEM base model).
I think the Scubagaskets S2T2 is ready to go!
Basically, you have a stainless steel flow-thru piston with a modified sharp knife edge and a machined HP piston shaft o-ring land that's similar to the old Mk10. I am actually happy to see that they didn't go with a rounded knife edge like the Mk25 and Atomic, as I am coming to believe that that's a source of mushy lockup from particulate scuffing of the knife edge as gas goes around the corner. The seal with the seat is crisp.
And by using a squared-off knife edge mating to a conical seat, you have a less delicate sealing edge that is easily dressed.
They've added shims for tuning, just like the Mk10/20, and as noted earlier, the machining is really superb.
The orings are high quality Scubagaskets o-rings rather than "other" imports, and the HP seat is a very nice Japanese component.
The second stage is a fairly standard barrel style design, with a case that surprisingly shows great flow characteristics on my bench. The barrel and lever are stainless (as are the hose ends!), so corrosion should be minimal, along with no dissimilar metals interaction in seawater. As with the first stage, threaded component machining is very smooth.
Best of all, they plan to sell service kits and parts direct to the owner. Although it's not sealed, it has a SPEC groove that would allow you to seal it if you wanted. But just like the Mk25, it's easily rinsed, and being stainless, should show great durability and resistance to retained particulates in the ambient chamber.
For the price, this 316SS variation on the venerable Mk10 is a slam dunk, IMO. For the record, I'm not a Scubagaskets spokesperson. I just emailed the owner when I first saw the ad, and volunteered to take a look at it since they were expanding from just o-rings to being a more comprehensive Scuba supply resource. I made it clear that I'd not hold back on criticism. I didn't have much to complain about, and found nothing substantial. But those guys responded to each and every minor comment, and this last reg iteration is a beauty.
For piston lovers, and especially DIY, I think this stainless steel reg set is a superb value. Heck, if you're not into service but think you want one, my NapaScuba LLC will service it for you going forward. And I see on Facebook that they're soliciting shops worldwide to become part of a service network, if they can prove their bonafides.
I'll admit, I was skeptical of Scubagaskets in years past. They always seemed to be bombing any thread with the word o-ring in it. But bit by bit, they have grown their business, and are now almost the ONLY European provider of double hook picks for DIY technicians (not to mention shops). My conversations with the owner convince me that he is dedicated to providing value, and getting into the cutthroat reg business with a model that supports DIY is good for European divers. If it's avaliable in the US at reasonable cost, that sort of competition is only good. And I say that as a die-hard Deep6 fan. But their drop-ship fixed price worldwide distribution model would seem to make that feasible for the US as well.
I think the Scubagaskets S2T2 is ready to go!
Basically, you have a stainless steel flow-thru piston with a modified sharp knife edge and a machined HP piston shaft o-ring land that's similar to the old Mk10. I am actually happy to see that they didn't go with a rounded knife edge like the Mk25 and Atomic, as I am coming to believe that that's a source of mushy lockup from particulate scuffing of the knife edge as gas goes around the corner. The seal with the seat is crisp.
And by using a squared-off knife edge mating to a conical seat, you have a less delicate sealing edge that is easily dressed.
They've added shims for tuning, just like the Mk10/20, and as noted earlier, the machining is really superb.
The orings are high quality Scubagaskets o-rings rather than "other" imports, and the HP seat is a very nice Japanese component.
The second stage is a fairly standard barrel style design, with a case that surprisingly shows great flow characteristics on my bench. The barrel and lever are stainless (as are the hose ends!), so corrosion should be minimal, along with no dissimilar metals interaction in seawater. As with the first stage, threaded component machining is very smooth.
Best of all, they plan to sell service kits and parts direct to the owner. Although it's not sealed, it has a SPEC groove that would allow you to seal it if you wanted. But just like the Mk25, it's easily rinsed, and being stainless, should show great durability and resistance to retained particulates in the ambient chamber.
For the price, this 316SS variation on the venerable Mk10 is a slam dunk, IMO. For the record, I'm not a Scubagaskets spokesperson. I just emailed the owner when I first saw the ad, and volunteered to take a look at it since they were expanding from just o-rings to being a more comprehensive Scuba supply resource. I made it clear that I'd not hold back on criticism. I didn't have much to complain about, and found nothing substantial. But those guys responded to each and every minor comment, and this last reg iteration is a beauty.
For piston lovers, and especially DIY, I think this stainless steel reg set is a superb value. Heck, if you're not into service but think you want one, my NapaScuba LLC will service it for you going forward. And I see on Facebook that they're soliciting shops worldwide to become part of a service network, if they can prove their bonafides.
I'll admit, I was skeptical of Scubagaskets in years past. They always seemed to be bombing any thread with the word o-ring in it. But bit by bit, they have grown their business, and are now almost the ONLY European provider of double hook picks for DIY technicians (not to mention shops). My conversations with the owner convince me that he is dedicated to providing value, and getting into the cutthroat reg business with a model that supports DIY is good for European divers. If it's avaliable in the US at reasonable cost, that sort of competition is only good. And I say that as a die-hard Deep6 fan. But their drop-ship fixed price worldwide distribution model would seem to make that feasible for the US as well.
