Worth it if the purchaser feels he has bought a quality product that he can depend on for years.
Some people like the cheap way out and get by and some people like myself feel that once they have arrived at what they feel is the best for them will not ever disappoint.
That philosophy--buy gear that I can depend on for years and years because it's built like a tank by a reputable manufacturer--is something I apply not just to scuba but all kinds of endeavors. I own some expensive stuff. As far as dive gear, I have a Shearwater computer, despite knowing there are less expensive computers that would suit my needs. However, when it comes to regulators, I am ambivalent. I post this here not to persuade you to buy less expensive regs but to once again, as in various previous threads on purchasing regs, see if anyone can suggest a plausible yardstick for measuring reg "quality."
I would have no reservations buying expensive regs if I were persuaded they were of higher "quality" than less expensive regs or would last longer or be more dependable than less expensive regs. But basic regulator design hasn't changed in years. They all operate pretty much the same way. They're all made pretty much the same way. The differences are subtle from a mechanical design perspective, though manufacturers would like us consumers to believe the differences should be weighted heavily in our decisions. How does a reg shopper define "quality"? In a first stage? Some have swiveling turrets, some are piston, some are diaphragm, and in work-of-breathing tests on a test machine they might score differently. But for purposes of the diving I am likely to do, they all would work just as well--I could never tell the difference underwater. A second stage? There are very few reports of failures, such as, for example, plastic-bodied second stages cracking; and in the unlikely event something like that breaks, a second stage can be repaired or replaced at reasonable cost. Failures of any kind DURING a dive (to me, that's where "quality" would count most) are exceedingly rare.
Part of my brain would actually LIKE to be persuaded to buy the most expensive regs, as it would fit with my philosophy about other stuff I own. I dive with people who own Scubapro and Halcyon regs, and I could readily be persuaded to buy some for myself. But from all I have read, some of the least expensive regs (e.g., HOG, Deep 6) work just as well for any kind of diving I am likely to do as the most expensive regs and will, for my purposes, be as dependable and last as long as the most expensive regs.
In another recent thread, I remarked that I had not read of a single instance in which someone disliked the regs they had chosen. Someone replied by noting a reg he did not like. The issue he pointed out involved just one brand--Cressi, which he said even his OW students did not like--and (if I recall correctly) mainly involved issues such as the venturi lever not having much effect, not anything to do with their "quality." I'll toss out the question again: Who has regretted their choice of reg because they found it to lack in "quality"/"dependability," and what reg did you replace it with? Maybe someone will reply by noting one such reg. For every one of those instances, there are probably dozens of us happily diving with the same regs we have had for 20 years.
