First of all, Scubatoys is a wonderful company. I visited their store for the first time today in person. They've got a lot of great merchandise at some of the best prices around. FYI, they have a price-matching policy for in-stock items being sold by other Internet retailers, and they give a 10% discount to all Scubaboard members (on most orders, except for ones containing highly discounted items). Customer service, whether in the store or online, is excellent. Can't say enough good things about 'em.
Were you talking about
this $875 Scubatoys package? Unfortunately, this package doesn't qualify for the additional 10% Scubaboard discount.
I don't have any personal experience with Mares regs. I know that
Leadturn_SD here on Scubaboard owns, services, and likes them. The Proton Ice Extreme is an environmentally-sealed balanced diaphragm 1st stage, so it should be resistant to free-flow in even very cold water. I think the 2nd stages included in the reg package work fairly well -- both incorporate the VAD feature which obviates the need for an external breathing adjustment knob (to modulate cracking pressure). The 2nd stage case is made of metal, so cold water performance should be good. The only crappy thing about the reg is that one of the 4 LP ports on the 1st stage is of the larger 1/2" UNF size. I recommend installing a 1/2" UNF to 3/8" UNF port adapter (cost: $5-$10) which will allow you to use standard 3/8" UNF reg hoses on that port. Based on the location of the ports on the 1st stage, hose-routing for a single-tank setup should be fine.
In terms of getting the Mares reg serviced, Scubatoys would have you covered there. Bear in mind that you'll have to send the reg by mail to get it repaired or serviced. Getting the reg serviced locally by a competent reg tech means that minor tuning tweaks can be performed while you wait and UPS/FedEx needn't get involved.
The BP/W setup in this package should be perfectly adequate. That's essentially what I dive on warm water trips. Some people will take along a SS BP (5-6 lbs. negatively buoyant) on dive vacations. There's nothing wrong with that, but I prefer using an AL BP since it saves 4 lbs. in dry carry weight, which can make a difference if your BP will be transported in checked baggage. 30 lbs. of lift is more than enough for a diver wearing minimal exposure protection. Oxycheq wings are well made. The Dive Rite basic harness and tank cambands are fine. The XS Scuba pockets work great on the tank cambands.
People seem to like the brass-and-glass HOG SPGs. I wouldn't recommend getting the Miflex HP hose. Replace it with a regular, old rubber HP hose. I like a 26" hose, but you might prefer a different length. You might want to think about ordering a bolt-snap to help keep your SPG secured to the left hip D-ring.
Make sure that you do a proper weight check once you have your BP/W. Considering that many conventional jacket BCDs have +4 lbs. of inherent buoyancy (due to all the padding material) and an aluminum BP is typically 2 lbs. negatively buoyant, I wouldn't be surprised if you required 6 lbs. less lead, compared to when you were using a conventional jacket BCD. If you don't remember how to do a weight check, review your OW class materials. It's definitely in there.
The great thing about this gear package is that all of it could be used in cold water conditions of Northern California if you ever decide to start diving locally.
