Size of Apeks Regs

[Tekkie]

Hi,
I just got a Scubapro Mk25/G250HP regulator setup about a week ago and I did not notice how big the G250HP was. My LDS says that they will return any Scubapro regulators, but not Apeks. At the time I put it in my mouth and it felt fine. I guess that I was a little excited and did not notice how big it was. Now to my question. Is the Apeks Tx50 or ATx50 any smaller than the Scubapro G250HP? Is it any lighter than the Scubapro? I went with the Scubapro at the time because I could return it, but my LDS didn't have any Apeks regulators for me to try out and if I had ordered the Apeks regulator I would have been stuck with it. I've herd that there both great regulators. I have one more thing to ask. Which one would you recomend? Apeks or the Scubapro? I guess I should have goten a few more opinions because the LDS owner says Scubapro is the best and I didn't get to ask anyone else. This is my first reg and I want it to last a life time.

Thankz!
Tekkie.

 

[JamesK]

Either one you get is going to be one of the best regs you can buy. I am not sure about the difference in size of the first stage, I will check it out tonight. I am going to be at my cave buddies house, and he has Apeks, and I have the ScubaPro. I will compare the two for you. Unless someone answers before me.

 

[RSdiver]

I too was making the same choice; I wanted a high quality balanced diaphragm reg, environmentally sealed and Nitrox ready. I was adding a pony bottle and needed a second reg.

I had used a SCUBApro Mk10/G250 for 12+ years and on only one occasion did I have any problems and was very happy with the quality and ease of finding service/support.

SCUBApro is just starting to build balanced diaphragm regs and I initially favored them but ended up getting the APEKS ATX200. I was told that the MK25 environmentally sealed kit was not yet available and I had waited for 6+ months with none showing up at my local dealers. I was also told that it was not Nitrox ready and an additional kit was required. The APEKS had these features already included.

Both breath very smoothly and are very comfortable, but I was especially pleased with the APEKS mouthpiece.

The downside of the APEKS is the single proprietary port that they use. One first stage LP port is a proprietary size meaning it requires the special APEKS hose which might be difficult to find if on a trip. The second stage fitting is standard sized, so it can accept a standard hose.

This happened to me last year right after I had my SCUBAPRO serviced before a trip to Australia so it was fresh on my mind. Upon the second day of diving my reg hose developed a bulge delamination and the live aboard crew changed it for me with a new spare they had on board. Had I been diving APEKS, their hose would not have fit.

Sure, you could (and probably should) carry extra reg hoses with the special APEKS port, but I want to stick with the standard sized hose. To solve this, I have ordered a plug for the APEKS proprietary port so that I can use one of the other first stage LP ports which are standard sized.

 

[Scubaroo]

The Apeks DST, UST, TX100 and ATX200 first stages all have a 1/2" port. This is not unique to Apeks, but not common either. Aftermarket (non-Apeks) hoses with the 1/2" fitting are available. A 1/2" to 3/8" adapter, and spare 1/2" plugs is an integral part of any Apeks' divers save-a-dive kit. Actually, hoses SHOULD be part of your save-a-dive kit if it makes the difference between diving or not, for all divers!

 

[GP]

The TX-50 second stage is basically the same size as the G250 second stage. The ATX-50 second stage is smaller than the G250.