Scubapro and Aqualung Regulators

[Selachimorpha]

Hi,
Been diving a Scubapro Mk2 Plus for last 600 dives or so, and I love it. My favourite thing about it is that it seems to be absolutley bullet-proof, never had any problems with it. My second stages are both R190's, pretty big and bulky, but they do the job well and I don't mind the size. I dive mainly in warm water.

Anyway I have been thinking about buying a new reg, first I want to donate my old reg to my girlfriend, and second I want to move to a balanced reg that will perform better at depth, or when I am exerting myself and breathing a lot, ie swimming into strong currents. This is the only issue with my old reg, if I have to work a lot against a current, especially at depth, sometimes it does become harder to breathe.

I was extremly satisfied with my Scubapro reg and would be very happy to stick with this brand, but I am also open to suggestions for Aqualung regs, as both seem to be fairly easy to find service centers for around the world and I have heard many positive reviews about Aqualung regs.

So looking at the different regs available I have a few suggestions and would appreciate input from anyone who owns these, has tried them, etc etc.

A few things to consider:
Please don't use cost as factor, as I don't believe in saving money on diving equipment, I use it every day and it keeps me alive. I am only interested in the regulators performance, not how expensive or cheap it is.
Like I said the reg will be used nearly every day, and could sometimes go for a few days without being cleaned properly. I want something that is difficult to break. Not going to be used in water where freezing is an issue, but may go a while without being rinsed properly!

So first Scubapro:
Have been looking at Mk25 or Mk17 first stage, along with S600 or G250 second stage. Here we have a piston VS diaphragm choice in the first stage, and I don't know very much about the difference between the second stages.

Aqualung:
Seem to have a big range of regs at the moment, I am looking at the Legend or the Titan, but each has so many variations to choose from (LX, Supreme, ACD etc etc)
Explanations and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I understand that these are all diaphragm first stages (correct me if not).

Thanks in advance for anyone taking the time to reply!

 

[Jorgy]

They just reviewed 14 regs in Scuba Diver Magazine.............

Here is the summary from the Titan LX

AQUA LUNG Titan LX | Scuba Diving Magazine

If you go back over past articles in regs in the "Gear" section you can find more on other SP and AL regs............

Might be worth a look...............

Hope this helps.............M

 

[dori fish]

mk17 g250v doubles, mk25 s600 singles, scubapro is very strong and great for technical, apex is another strong regulator. these would be good reliable, breathe easy. the scubapro is mainly for house routing, i dive mares mr22 abyss. just get din with a yoke adapter, it is safer to dive din b/c it has stronger connection

 

[halocline]

just get din with a yoke adapter, it is safer to dive din b/c it has stronger connection

It is NOT safer to dive with DIN. Where you get this stuff?

 

[halocline]

Hi,
Been diving a Scubapro Mk2 Plus for last 600 dives or so, and I love it. My favourite thing about it is that it seems to be absolutley bullet-proof, never had any problems with it. My second stages are both R190's, pretty big and bulky, but they do the job well and I don't mind the size. I dive mainly in warm water.

Anyway I have been thinking about buying a new reg, first I want to donate my old reg to my girlfriend, and second I want to move to a balanced reg that will perform better at depth, or when I am exerting myself and breathing a lot, ie swimming into strong currents. This is the only issue with my old reg, if I have to work a lot against a current, especially at depth, sometimes it does become harder to breathe.

I was extremly satisfied with my Scubapro reg and would be very happy to stick with this brand, but I am also open to suggestions for Aqualung regs, as both seem to be fairly easy to find service centers for around the world and I have heard many positive reviews about Aqualung regs.

So looking at the different regs available I have a few suggestions and would appreciate input from anyone who owns these, has tried them, etc etc.

A few things to consider:
Please don't use cost as factor, as I don't believe in saving money on diving equipment, I use it every day and it keeps me alive. I am only interested in the regulators performance, not how expensive or cheap it is.
Like I said the reg will be used nearly every day, and could sometimes go for a few days without being cleaned properly. I want something that is difficult to break. Not going to be used in water where freezing is an issue, but may go a while without being rinsed properly!

So first Scubapro:
Have been looking at Mk25 or Mk17 first stage, along with S600 or G250 second stage. Here we have a piston VS diaphragm choice in the first stage, and I don't know very much about the difference between the second stages.

Aqualung:
Seem to have a big range of regs at the moment, I am looking at the Legend or the Titan, but each has so many variations to choose from (LX, Supreme, ACD etc etc)
Explanations and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I understand that these are all diaphragm first stages (correct me if not).

Thanks in advance for anyone taking the time to reply!

A slight correction; your reg does not "keep you alive." Your judgement and dive behavior does that.

You will not find a more reliable or "safer" reg than the MK2. In terms of performance at depth, balanced and unbalanced regs work exactly the same way. The difference is in how the two designs react to changes in tank pressure. OTOH, working hard at depth does require higher flow, and the MK2/R190 is not a particularly high flow reg. If you want to stay with SP and you want something new, try the new A700 with either the MK25 or MK17. It's pricey, but you said you didn't care what it cost and it's a full metal case 2nd stage.

Other than that, personally I would buy a used MK10/15/20/or 25 with either a G250 or D400 2nd stage. You won't get much better performing than those. Lots of people love the S600, but if I were buying new I'd get either the A700 or the G250V. I don't buy new regs, but I'm a cheapskate and I like the older stuff better anyway.

It's interesting to me that the two new "latest and greatest" 2nd stages from SP are re-incarnations of older classic designs. Maybe SP is finally starting to figure out they had something great with the balanced adjustable and the G250. There are plenty of the originals still for sale out there.

 

[Selachimorpha]

Could you explain the difference between the old G250 and the new G250V?

 

[garyfotodiver]

Used both; own US Divers (Aqualung).

 

[NJ to FLA]

For the regulator I recommend the Legend and if you hurry (I'm not sure when the deal expires) there is a $100 instant rebate! There is a $50 rebate for the Titan LX. You cannot feel the difference between the two in breathing until you go down 150'+. If that is what you're looking to do then go with the Legend. My dad and I each love ours.