sherwood

[Dr. Jay]

I love my Oasis. The "moisture retention" doesn't work worth a crap, but the reg performs very nicely. I've got it tuned to breathe very easily, and my Sherwood Standard Octo I've got bungeed is tuned down (although the stinkin' thing free-flows every time I hit the water).

I often switch back and forth between the Oasis and the octo and I have to say I am happy with both. I've had them down to 116ft and I really didn't notice a difference. Now, the narcosis may have been effecting that a little.

If you take their regs apart you'll see there's not much to them. I've heard stories about foks loosing the cover on the front of the reg, and still being able to breathe fine out of it by covering it with their hand. Definately bulletproof.

Here's a shot of my Oasis in my pie hole.
http://allenhost.com/gallery/album72/aad
I just gotta remember to tuck that hair in!

 

[Stingray81888]

I have a Sherwood Maximus for a few months now and its still doing excellent even after some rough beach entries and exits. At 70 ft it works perfectly fine and my dad took it down to 88 with no complaints. The Dry bleed doesn't consume alot of air. The greatest feature is that bubbles don't get in your face because the exhaust is soo wide

 

[Gator Diver]

thanks for your experiences with Sherwood thus far.
It sounds like Sherwoods are a tough workhorse
type regulator and should perform quite well
under about 90 feet.

 

[Gator Diver]

Sorry for the double post here.
Does the Oasis/Blizzard allow for Nitrox
if I decide to go that route in the future?
Or do I need to buy another reg?

 

[OkieDiver]

I believe all manufacturers rate their regs for nitrox up to 40% right out of the box.

 

[scubafanatic]

.....dove my 1st Sherwood in Cozumel last weekend......on a couple of dives the divemaster put me on his reg set (he put me on his octo on 1 dive and on his primary on another dive....so we buddy-breathed for maybe 10 or 15 min on each of the 2 dives).

I didn't get that good a look at the model....it wasn't a Magnum....might have been an oasis.........and I wasn't overly impressed. While buddy breathing we weren't below 60 ft. and we drifted with the current, so there was no physical exertion whatsoever, and I could definitely feel the 'draw' on the 2nd stage. It wasn't really hard to breathe, but it definitely took more effort than I'm used to....especially since I was diving a Poseidon Odin while there......and had my excellent Mares Voltrex MR16 there as backup.

The Sherwood wasn't in the same league as the Odin.....or the Voltrex......I felt the Sherwood would be a fair-weather friend....OK if used gently, but not something I'd want to use at depth, especially if fighting a current (which we often did in Cozumel whenever the divemaster pulled to a stop to point out some cool critter).

Of course, we were buddy-breathing, so maybe it would have felt better if it were only being used by one diver, but I doubt there would have been enough air for 2 divers under stress at depth, based on how it felt with 2 relaxed divers at maybe 50 ft.

On the other hand, perhaps the fact that the divemaster was using a Sherwood means they're pretty reliable and parts/support are readily available, even in 3rd world countries.

To me, the Sherwood is the sort of regulator that's 'tolerable', and is sold to people who've not experienced the better brands/models.......pretty average performer.

Karl

 

[SubMariner]

As Walter stated, the reg WILL breathe A LITTLE harder below 100'. Will you notice it? Perhaps. Perhaps not. There's no way to tell until you've actually used one at the depths you plan to dive.

To re-iterate: the Sherwood is a reliable reg. And yes, no problems for Nitrox under 40% O2 (it was my first Nitrox reg).

FYI, there IS a difference between the Oasis & the Blizzard. The latter also has a heat sink/retention plate in the 2nd stage that the Oasis does not have.

Specs available here @ Sherwood:
http://www.sherwoodscuba.com/

~SubMariner~

 

[JohnF]

I've been diving a Blizzard for about 5 years now. My diving is equally divided between warm and cold water. It's never let me down, although I tend to believe the folks who say it might be a bit dicey for two to breathe off it, particularly at depth. I can suck hard enough on the surface to make the diaphragm chatter, but I'd never breathe that hard on a dive.

I picked up a pair of Apeks TX40's on a DS4 this year and like them a lot, but frankly I don't notice much difference in breathing resistance for recreational diving. My local LDS/service guy prides himself on setting up the Sherwoods to breathe nicely. Mine's a little touchy (freeflows) when splashing about on the surface but never malfunctions when I'm using it.

I used Sherwoods on double al80's when cavediving in January in Mexico. Fred (my instructor) swears by them. But most of the cave diving in Mexico isn't overly deep.

Sherwoods get my vote for recreational diving.

JohnF

 

[shrwdtech]

In reality very few regualtors are okay'd for use with anything but Air "right out of the Box". There are a few, but unless you put a nitrox service kit, or purchase a regulator specifically designed for use with Nitrox, most manufacturers don't recommend it.

The Sherwood Regs DO NOT come nitrox ready. You CAN service them all with Enriched Air Service kits for use up to 40%.

 

[Knavey]

Took my Oasis to 139' the other day...plan was only 130' but the swimthrough was slightly deeper unless you banged your head on the top of it on the way through.

We purposely stayed deep (120') for a few minutes to see how my gear would function (and to crack an egg, check on narcosis, etc...) and although I could sense a change in how the regulator breathed, it delivered the air just fine IMO.

I still get drymouth though at most depths regardless of how much they toot the horn on its moisture fins.