Dragondiver1
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Trying to decide between these two. Which one is better?
Scubapro Mk 25 EVO / S620 TI or Leg3nd Elite
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Dragondiver1
Registered
Thanks, what makes you say that.
its his nature! I would also go for the scubapro but prefer the MK 17
Addison Snyder
Contributor
Scubapro Mk 25 vs DGX Gears XTRA?
I've tried the Mk 25 setup once, and recently bought the XTRA set. Personally they breathe about the same from memory, but am curious about others' opinions on the two.
I've tried the Mk 25 setup once, and recently bought the XTRA set. Personally they breathe about the same from memory, but am curious about others' opinions on the two.
How you define “best” needs some elaboration.
Both regs are decent and will serve you well. If you are considering tech then the Mk25EVO/S620Ti is the one to go with. A more accurate comparison would be the Mk17/S600 to the Aqualung Elite.
Overall the Mk25/S620 will have a higher flow rate and smoother exhalation effort than the Elite, especially at depths well bellow the recreational limit.
From a servicing point of view the S620 feels more sturdier than the Legend second stages. From experience of use in cold mountain lakes both regs hold up quite well.
Defining “best” will help in your choice as to which one you would prefer to purchase.
Geo7
Contributor
I used Aqualung Legends in the past, and they were fine. For normal diving, especially cold water, the Legend is a fine reg.
However, I replaced the ACD feature on the 1st stages with the old style DIN stem on mine (prefer simplicy and avoiding a moving HP-oring). Divers Alert Network then published a report of a mishap, where the ACD closed the 1st stage during a dive. I assume that is under control now, but I will personally not dive such systems because I like things simple. I remember the front cap and exhaust are designed to come off when pullling one spring loaded central pin. I prefer sturdier thread-on design front covers.
I have tried the S620ti (on a MK11 and Atomic first stage), and I feel the S620ti has not quite received the love on this board that it deserves. Recent reg models by Scubapro have gone back to the old design roots, which were simpler. The G250, G250V and G260 are regarded by our reg gurus here as legendary regs that have set a gold standard in the industry, and I agree. In contrast, many feel that Scubapro had temporarily lost their way in the past with the G250HP and derivatives like the G500 and some S600 models, because these had more complex balance chambers and plastic valve barrels. I dislike the C-clips holding the balance chamber in those models and prefer how they do things in the G250V, the G260 and the S620ti.
These latter three regs have brought me back to Scubapro after a long break with Apeks and Atomic. For those of us who service our regs and want a small 2nd stage, the S620ti is a real pleasure. In my mind these three regs are how a 2nd stage should be. The S620ti signalled to me that Scubapro rediscovered its roots. The release of the D420 is another signal like that.
Don't get me wrong, the more complex designs work fine, probably the ACD as well. Most regs on the market have great performance and if serviced regularly will do their job reliably. But there is an elegance about the S620ti internal design that won me over when I saw the release video, and it performs. It just screams out "bulletproof" to me.
Whether Scubapro used titanium or brass for the S620 would make no difference to me. But having the old style full length valve barrel, in metal (any metal), and a simple adjuster screw (held in place by a simple pin) plus a microadjust, makes it robust and easy to service. "Perfection is not when you can't add anything else, but rather when you can't subtract anything" (Antoine de Saint-Excupery), and I feel the S620ti is getting close.
The Legend 2nd stage has a simple internal setup too, and is easy to service. For most divers the Aqualung Legend and Scubapro S620ti would provide indistinguishable performance. But I feel the S620ti is a reg that is more robust (thread-on cover, and my memory/feeling is it has a thicker housing with coarse threads). It will take abuse, will last a long time, and parts will be around "for ever".
The S620 has some other nice aspects about it, not sure if Aqualung has them: A bigger bore mouthpiece tube, bigger bore aspirator hole in the barrel valve, deeper exhaust. It has one of the strongest venturi effects among the regs I have, which I miss on my admittedly super-smooth Atomics. Also, the adjuster screw seals on the case, so its threads are not exposed to the outside water (unless you take the reg out of your mouth and flood it). For sandy beach entries here in California that is nice.
The only drawback I notice on the S620ti is that the soft front purge on the S620ti is easier to depress than on the G250V and G260, so the latter regs might be preferable as a stage reg in cave diving etc where you don't want accidental leaks because something rests on the purge button. Oh, and I don't like the cosmetic steel cover that will get scratched up. Manufacturers: make the regs look humble and black (like the G500, R380), and put metal only where it has a structural function (like the G260). Ok, and I prefer jam nuts and hose nuts with flats instead the Scubapro splines that need the special tool. The rubberized adjuster screw might get ugly in time, and you'd have to replace the whole screw rather than a cheap external knob as on Atomics, but I still take the S620ti screw over ones that consist of 5 parts screwed together. The Aqualung Legend screw looks like what Scubapro has on the G260, and that would still look ok after years of scratches and scars, so seems actually better.
But overall the S620ti ticks more boxes for me, as the mechanics inside seem ideal to me, and for most diving the S620ti is one of my favourites. I like Apeks, Atomic and Scubapro regs (and used Poseidon for some years), so I hope I don't sound too biased. I have no afiliation with the dive industry. As scientific divers we get discounts from some manufacturers, but I have paid retail for my Scubapros.
The Scubapro G250V and G260 are probably better suited to cave and technical diving (the word "workhorse" comes to mind). And for really cold water, those two are made in brass and have more metal (better). Apologies, you did not ask about that type of reg, and your comparison between the Elite and S620ti makes sense as it looks at the same kind of market segment. So, likewise, the Aqualung Elite 2nd stage is likely better than the 620 in really cold water (meaning below 4°C / 40°F) due to the brass barrel and heat exchangers on the 2nd stage.
But overall the S620ti is hard to beat in my opinion. We all have our personal preferences. Someone else will appreciate other aspects of the Aqualung that compensate for what I perceive as negatives. Regs are so good nowadays that most pros and cons are more perceived than real. You could buy based on your local dealer network and dive buddies and not go wrong.
For the 1st stage: For warm, clear blue water, I would still consider the Mk25 as I like the hose routing and the simple construction of a piston reg (old habits die hard). It seems the service kit for the Mk25 is cheaper too? Unfortunately for my diving a sealed piston (Atomic) or a sealed/unsealed diaphragm reg (Mk11/Mk17) is better. So for cold water and silty conditions, the Mk17 was already recommended in a previous post.
However, I replaced the ACD feature on the 1st stages with the old style DIN stem on mine (prefer simplicy and avoiding a moving HP-oring). Divers Alert Network then published a report of a mishap, where the ACD closed the 1st stage during a dive. I assume that is under control now, but I will personally not dive such systems because I like things simple. I remember the front cap and exhaust are designed to come off when pullling one spring loaded central pin. I prefer sturdier thread-on design front covers.
I have tried the S620ti (on a MK11 and Atomic first stage), and I feel the S620ti has not quite received the love on this board that it deserves. Recent reg models by Scubapro have gone back to the old design roots, which were simpler. The G250, G250V and G260 are regarded by our reg gurus here as legendary regs that have set a gold standard in the industry, and I agree. In contrast, many feel that Scubapro had temporarily lost their way in the past with the G250HP and derivatives like the G500 and some S600 models, because these had more complex balance chambers and plastic valve barrels. I dislike the C-clips holding the balance chamber in those models and prefer how they do things in the G250V, the G260 and the S620ti.
These latter three regs have brought me back to Scubapro after a long break with Apeks and Atomic. For those of us who service our regs and want a small 2nd stage, the S620ti is a real pleasure. In my mind these three regs are how a 2nd stage should be. The S620ti signalled to me that Scubapro rediscovered its roots. The release of the D420 is another signal like that.
Don't get me wrong, the more complex designs work fine, probably the ACD as well. Most regs on the market have great performance and if serviced regularly will do their job reliably. But there is an elegance about the S620ti internal design that won me over when I saw the release video, and it performs. It just screams out "bulletproof" to me.
Whether Scubapro used titanium or brass for the S620 would make no difference to me. But having the old style full length valve barrel, in metal (any metal), and a simple adjuster screw (held in place by a simple pin) plus a microadjust, makes it robust and easy to service. "Perfection is not when you can't add anything else, but rather when you can't subtract anything" (Antoine de Saint-Excupery), and I feel the S620ti is getting close.
The Legend 2nd stage has a simple internal setup too, and is easy to service. For most divers the Aqualung Legend and Scubapro S620ti would provide indistinguishable performance. But I feel the S620ti is a reg that is more robust (thread-on cover, and my memory/feeling is it has a thicker housing with coarse threads). It will take abuse, will last a long time, and parts will be around "for ever".
The S620 has some other nice aspects about it, not sure if Aqualung has them: A bigger bore mouthpiece tube, bigger bore aspirator hole in the barrel valve, deeper exhaust. It has one of the strongest venturi effects among the regs I have, which I miss on my admittedly super-smooth Atomics. Also, the adjuster screw seals on the case, so its threads are not exposed to the outside water (unless you take the reg out of your mouth and flood it). For sandy beach entries here in California that is nice.
The only drawback I notice on the S620ti is that the soft front purge on the S620ti is easier to depress than on the G250V and G260, so the latter regs might be preferable as a stage reg in cave diving etc where you don't want accidental leaks because something rests on the purge button. Oh, and I don't like the cosmetic steel cover that will get scratched up. Manufacturers: make the regs look humble and black (like the G500, R380), and put metal only where it has a structural function (like the G260). Ok, and I prefer jam nuts and hose nuts with flats instead the Scubapro splines that need the special tool. The rubberized adjuster screw might get ugly in time, and you'd have to replace the whole screw rather than a cheap external knob as on Atomics, but I still take the S620ti screw over ones that consist of 5 parts screwed together. The Aqualung Legend screw looks like what Scubapro has on the G260, and that would still look ok after years of scratches and scars, so seems actually better.
But overall the S620ti ticks more boxes for me, as the mechanics inside seem ideal to me, and for most diving the S620ti is one of my favourites. I like Apeks, Atomic and Scubapro regs (and used Poseidon for some years), so I hope I don't sound too biased. I have no afiliation with the dive industry. As scientific divers we get discounts from some manufacturers, but I have paid retail for my Scubapros.
The Scubapro G250V and G260 are probably better suited to cave and technical diving (the word "workhorse" comes to mind). And for really cold water, those two are made in brass and have more metal (better). Apologies, you did not ask about that type of reg, and your comparison between the Elite and S620ti makes sense as it looks at the same kind of market segment. So, likewise, the Aqualung Elite 2nd stage is likely better than the 620 in really cold water (meaning below 4°C / 40°F) due to the brass barrel and heat exchangers on the 2nd stage.
But overall the S620ti is hard to beat in my opinion. We all have our personal preferences. Someone else will appreciate other aspects of the Aqualung that compensate for what I perceive as negatives. Regs are so good nowadays that most pros and cons are more perceived than real. You could buy based on your local dealer network and dive buddies and not go wrong.
For the 1st stage: For warm, clear blue water, I would still consider the Mk25 as I like the hose routing and the simple construction of a piston reg (old habits die hard). It seems the service kit for the Mk25 is cheaper too? Unfortunately for my diving a sealed piston (Atomic) or a sealed/unsealed diaphragm reg (Mk11/Mk17) is better. So for cold water and silty conditions, the Mk17 was already recommended in a previous post.
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