ScubaPro version number confusion

[exigetastic]

Hi all,

Firstly been lurking here for a while and first post so please be gentle

I've recently returned from a 2 week holiday in Sharm and had some great I have decided to do my Rescue Diver course here in the UK, which is due to start soon.

I'm up to AOW and have logged 42 dives (of which only 1 was in the UK), so hardly experienced

However I'm planning a trip to Maldives in Jan, and another family trip next year to somewhere "dive friendly" next summer. Combine this with Rescue Diver course it would seem now is a sensible time to get some Regs and BCD.

The local dive shop has a limited range of kit, and suggested the Titan LX Supreme, but the cost was fairly steep.

So I've done some research on the Internet and the ScubaPro MK18 seems to be cropping up a lot with significant discounts. However the number system seems to be completely confusing :S

I can't find reference to it on Scubapro's website.

The closest I can see is the MK17/S600.

One site I found actually sells a MK18 upgraded to MK19 internally :S :S (Cornish Diving)

Again MK19 isn't listed on ScubaPro's website.

I can't seem to find any reviews of the 18/600 combo either

Basically I'll be using the Reg's on holidays, but I would like to know they are sufficient for the limited time where I have to go diving in the UK for courses (cold freshwater in Stoney Cove) and to ensure I don't have to keep doing Scuba Reviews on holiday

I'm also slightly concerned as to how available servicing / spares are for the this setup as the last thing I'd want is to arrive on holiday find a problem that can't be fixed locally.

Sorry for rambling nature of this post.

Si

 

[John_B]

The MK18 has been discontinued, so you should be able to get a great price. Scubapro is probably the best at supporting older models so I wouldn't be too concerned.

How much are they asking for the Titan LX Supreme, that is usually a moderately priced reg?

 

[halocline]

The MK18 is a MK16 with a swivel turret. If I were buying one of those regs, I would probably go for the MK16. The MK16 is a forerunner of the MK17, which is an environmentally sealed diaphragm reg that it getting universally excellent reviews. Of these the only current reg is the MK17. I suspect that the MK19 is a MK17 with a swivel turret.

The MK16 and 18 use the same rebuild kit; I know this because I recently rebuilt a MK18. In the U.S. you do see quite a few MK16s, and I'm sure SP will support it for a long time. This means the MK18 would be similarly supported, so I would not worry about buying a discontinued reg.

The S600 is SP's current top end 2nd stage, and you would probably be very happy with it. Personally I would prefer the G250V, but lots and lots of people love the S600.

I don't what the "upgrade to MK19" means but I know someone who does and maybe he'll post on this thread shortly.

 

[Hollywoodivers]

You shouldn't be paying more than 375 U.S. for a titan LX. There are lot's of cold water choices and that Spro mk17 has worked well for us. We use it with s 555 or s 600 second....no issues.

 

[exigetastic]

The MK18 has been discontinued, so you should be able to get a great price. Scubapro is probably the best at supporting older models so I wouldn't be too concerned.

How much are they asking for the Titan LX Supreme, that is usually a moderately priced reg?

Thanks for the reply :14:

Titan LX Supreme + Octopus (can't remember which) + Triple Gauges
£276 + £88 + £140 = £504

If I buy BCD at same time i'd get 10% discount = £450 (ish)

Online I'd get:
MK18/S600 +R295 Octo + Triple Gauges + T-SPORT BCD
for £450

I know buying online harms the LDS, but I have taken > £500 in courses with them so I'm not going to feel overly guilty!! However the online deal effectively means a free BCD.

Not that money is a particularly big issue (the way I look at it the equipment is "life support") but if the MK18 is an "old" but suitable product I don't want to spend over the odds on the latest bling as my first set of Regs. (Especially seeing as though the last dive I did was with ancient regs from the spares box on a diveboat that I found perfectly adequate) Also seeing some of the posts on here newer doesn't always equal better.

I am still confused why the MK17 is in production, the MK18 is newer, the MK19 is (I guess) newer still. The MK2+ is also listed on ScubaPro's website does that mean it is an ancient design but still bought.

Am I alone in wishing ScubaPro's numbering system was more logical ???

ScubaPro "2007 Underwater Edition" maybe

Si

 

[Isaac-1]

I think the problem is your looking at the Scubapro 1st stages as a linear progression, instead it is better to look at it as a family tree. A tree where one model may continue onward, and a branch may split off, then improved variant may split off and in time replace the original branch split. A classic example of this is the Mk 9 and Mk 10, in this case the Mk 10 had a far longer production run and was a far more popular regulator, although it is nearly identical to the Mk 9, in fact the only difference is the Mk 10 has a swivel turret (which was offered as an upgrade to teh Mk 9, effectively turning a Mk 9 into a Mk 10) In recent years it seems that Scubapro has introduced "gaps" in the product numbering potentially to leave room for the different product branches to grow. This explains why the simple, solid, reliable, Mk 2 is still around 40 something years after its introduction (it has of course evovled in some ways, but is still the same basic model as it was back in the 1960's)

Ike

 

[exigetastic]

I think the problem is your looking at the Scubapro 1st stages as a linear progression, instead it is better to look at it as a family tree. A tree where one model may continue onward, and a branch may split off, then improved variant may split off and in time replace the original branch split. A classic example of this is the Mk 9 and Mk 10, in this case the Mk 10 had a far longer production run and was a far more popular regulator, although it is nearly identical to the Mk 9, in fact the only difference is the Mk 10 has a swivel turret (which was offered as an upgrade to teh Mk 9, effectively turning a Mk 9 into a Mk 10) In recent years it seems that Scubapro has introduced "gaps" in the product numbering potentially to leave room for the different product branches to grow. This explains why the simple, solid, reliable, Mk 2 is still around 40 something years after its introduction (it has of course evovled in some ways, but is still the same basic model as it was back in the 1960's)

Ike

Thanks Ike, you've confirmed how I've (finally) "read" it :14:

I suppose the problem I have is quite how difficult it is to work this out being a newb to the whole buying Regs process.

I appreciate the need to "leave gaps" in the numbering for future versions, but a "family" number would have been far more sensible. Not sure if you have Peugeot cars over the pond but their numbering system is an example of logical product naming.

10x = Small "shopping" cars
20x = Budget Family cars
30x = Small Family cars
.....
80x = Minvan (I hope that's the right translation )


The first part of the number is the "class" of car, the x indicates the revision to that class. The suffix to the number indicates trim/ engine size e.g. 207 2.0GTi is enough for most people to gauge where the product sits in the market.

Scubapro could have chosen P0x and D0x to differentiate between Piston or Diaphragm or maybe W0x, C0x, T0x (Warm , cold , technical)

Si

BTW Useless trivia the Porsche 911 was originally to be called the 901 until Peugeot contested this as they had trademarked 3 digit numbers with a zero as the middle digit.

 

[Web Monkey]

Not that money is a particularly big issue (the way I look at it the equipment is "life support") but if the MK18 is an "old" but suitable product I don't want to spend over the odds on the latest bling as my first set of Regs. (Especially seeing as though the last dive I did was with ancient regs from the spares box on a diveboat
Si

Don't worry about SP stuff getting "old". In fact, if you don't mind a little extra work, and a little risk, you can sometimes get a great deal on used SP regs.

A used reg that's been serviced by a good tech is every bit as good as a new one (and sometimes better). One of my favorite regs is a SCUBAPro Mk1 (AFAIK, the first one they made) that I bought on eBay for $50 in a grab-bag.

Unfortunately, it only has 1 LP port so it's not much help with a BC inflator or octo, but it kicks butt on a stage bottle or pony.

Terry

 

[maged_mmh]

MK19 is the same as MK17 but with 5 LP ports on a swivel turret (just like MK25 but diaphragm instead of piston) don't think this model is marketed in US but it is available in EU

 

[Isaac-1]

It would have made more sense, assuming people thought ahead, up until about 15 years ago all scubapro 1st stages were piston models, and scubapro had a strong bias towards piston designs. Up through the late 1980s and the Mk 10 the introduction of models was fairly linear, then the oddballs started showing up like the Mk 200 (Mk 2 relabeled for reintroduction after not being in the official product lineup for a few years prior to the release of the Mk2+). There may have been some gaps in the Mk 1 - Mk 10 series, but they are more likely gaps in my memory or prodcuts not sold in the U.S., as an example I don't recall a Mk 6 or Mk 8, but think I remember hearing one was a Non U.S. only product.