Sherwood Oasis

[Skipper h]

Anyone had the chance to try the Sherwood Oasis Reg? I have the Sherwood standard octo and was wandering about the Oasis. I Emaild Sherwood to find out if it was a balanced or over balanced reg, and they haven't answered my E-mail. My LDS couldn't help me either. My LDS has them on sale and after looking around on E-bay they are cheaper at the LDS, considering new, warranty and service. In their product info they mention warm water, How warm? Where I live we dive in 55 to 70 degree water, I'm wandering if the Oasis would be a good choice?

 

[tstormdiver]

I have one & love it! It really reduces the dry mouth during a dive. I honestly can't remember if it's a balanced reg or not (I think it is, but don't hold me to it). As for warm water, I use it in quarries. The water can be 42- 87 degrees & it performs well. It is very easy breathing, even at 100'. To date I have had no isses at all with the reg (bought it new in June 2006). I had a Brut to begin with & had a few issues withit at depth, so I got the Oasis & use the Brut as a spare or evetually on a pony.

 

[DiveSite]

The Oasis has a balanced 1st stage. All sherwood 1st stages except the Brut are balanced and the Brut can be made balanced by changing some internal parts.

 

[Dutch552]

My first reg was an Oasis and standard octo and is a truly dependable piece of equipment. It never gave me problems other than being a little wetter than I would have liked-which also eliminates dry mouth! In all seriousness I really enjoyed the reg and had it down to 80 feet in 40 degree quarry water with no issues. I wouldn't use it for ice diving, but it is a sealed first stage-all Sherwood 1st's are sealed due to their proprietary dry bleed system. Some don't like the bubbles from the first stage as it may signal a leak to other divers not aware of the Sherwood 1st stage but it's truly no biggie. The Oasis has been a mainstay in the rental fleet of my LDS for years and popular with the open water instructors.

 

[spectrum]

I agree with the above. We dive the Blizzards which is an Oasis with a little teflon and a hose protector removed (to promote heat transfer) and like them a lot. They are as reliable as they come, service is easy to find, parts are affordable.

With a low temp of 55F the Oasis will do just fine.

Be sure to set it up with the walruss exhaust tee to make the bubbles stay out of the way.

Pete

 

[tstormdiver]

Some don't like the bubbles from the first stage as it may signal a leak to other divers not aware of the Sherwood 1st stage but it's truly no biggie.

Yeah, I forgot about that. I've had a couple of buddies thumb a dive because they didn't know & I forgot to tell them. They were sure I had a major issue going. Actually, I truely appreciate the keen observation & concern. I try to remember to tell new buddies to not worry about it.

 

[Skipper h]

Thanks everyone with the Quick responce. It looks like the Oasis is what I will buy. It's for my wife, that complains about dry mouth. I purchased the AL Legend LX ACD for me and after she tried it, she said it was to dry. I hope the Oasis will make our diving more enjoyable. Thanks again

 

[tstormdiver]

It takes a little bit to get the moisture bars working. It is moisturized by your own exhaled breath. the moisture come in during the inhalation off the bars. Another suggestion to make it even more comfortable is to get one of the customizable mouth pieces (you boil & cut it to fit your mouth & bite).

 

[Skipper h]

I'll have her try the standard mouth piece first, If that doesn't work, then we'll try your suggestion. thanks for the info.

 

[Dutch552]

Like Tstorm said, you will be able to tell the difference with the moisture bars after the dive. Going from the Oasis to my new Apeks XTX50, I wasn't expecting so much cottonmouth. I think your wife will love it.