So do you spend $300 or $800?

[Lee Taylor]

The best "sales pitch / scare tactic" I heard was:

"Its a matter of life or breath"

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On the subject of the price of regulators:

I don't know much about regulators but I was told that if you are diving cold water you need a regulator "designed" not to freeze up. Which in turn, would naturally drive up the price. Others, more knowledgeable, can expand on this.

Cost of materials and cost to manufacture would be something that would make a difference in price. Shipping costs also affect the price.

 

[Fishpie]

Here's 3 of my favorites to consider.

Apeks XTX20/US4
AquaLung Micron/Titan LX
Zeagle Envoy

All 3 are mid to low priced.
They all have balanced diaphragm 1st stages and balanced 2nds.
They are as reliable and rugged as any reg ever made.
.......and their performance (in water temps above 50) will match, or exceed, any $800 regulator.

btw, knowone.....that Oceanic BC with the air mic WILL kill you.

 

[halocline]

So how do you determine if you spend $300 or $800 on a regulator?

When I was a new diver I spent $200 on a new MK2/R190. Since then, I've never spent more than $100 on a used reg, and I have some great ones. I personally could not imagine buying a new regulator. These things are designed to be completely rebuilt on a regular basis, so there simply is no advantage to buying new. The new regulator 'free parts' warranty is basically a way of suckering people into paying for annual service when in most cases it is not needed.

The dive industry has made a good, multi-decade effort at scaring divers into depending on the dive shops and their 'certified' techs (a ONE DAY, no fail 'certiification') but finally that effort is breaking down. Parts are more likely to be available, online sources for both new and used regs are loosening up the market, and some dive shop owners are adapting...not all.

So, if you're interested in saving some money, buy a used reg. You'll need someone to help you if you don't know enough to evaluate used regs on your own, but that shouldn't be too hard to find. You'll also need to find someone (or learn yourself) to service the regs, but that's exactly the same for new regs once you've dove with them for a season or two.

 

[redacted]

There are way too many reasons to list. Especially when I post from my blackberry. I will say, materials in construction (what are the guts made from) and overall durability and ease of maintenance. Suffice it to say... As with most things in life; you get what you pay for.

Perhaps you could just list the main reason like Scubaboard sponsors don't pay for advertisements for USED scuba gear. I'd sure like to hear more about the other reasons you foisted upon your members like materials, durability, and ease of maintenance. Could you explain that crap using the el cheapo Scubapro Mk2/R190 as the baseline?

 

[TSandM]

To the OP . . . there are a lot of things that manufacturers use to try to sell expensive equipment. Materials like Titanium, small size and low weight, gadgets that prevent water intrusion into the first stage when soaking, gadgets that tell you when the reg is working correctly, and lots of adjustments (most of which, if you're like me, you will never use and probably can't remember what they do, anyway).

Things which ARE important . . . If you dive in very cold water, having a regulator which is optimized for that is important, because freeflows happen and cause accidents. That means, most likely, an environmentally sealed diaphragm regulator.

Another thing which we have found important is being able to get service conveniently. We have one set of regs we bought on line, and only one store in our region services them, and it's a long drive to somewhere we never go for any other reason. The alternative would be to send them to where we bought them, and that incurs shipping costs and more delay.

People often talk about buying a reg that is serviceable world-wide -- but the reality is that, if you have a major regulator failure on a trip to someplace exotic, you're more likely to rent a replacement than to have some unknown shop trying to diagnose the problem and fix it, I think.

For me, parts availability is a factor, but that really isn't an issue for someone who only owns one regulator, and doesn't intend to maintain it himself.

I own several Aqualung Titans, because we have found them reliable and relatively inexpensive; they are not "cold water" regs, but seem to do fine in our water (down to the mid 40's). I have also used the HOG regs, and found them to breathe quite well and be very well priced.

We have bought a lot of our regulators second-hand (and again, count the cost of service into the price) but it IS possible for a regulator to be damaged beyond repair, so buying from someone you know is not a bad thing.

 

[johnnyscience]

I know, pot is for smoking AFTER the dive, not before lol

I will probably have to handle most of them before I pull the trigger on one. I do prefer to have something really feel like its high quality, so even though ones made of plastic would be lighter, I would more than likely go with one that had more metal components/shell.

I would not be opposed to buying one used I suppose as long as what needs to be rebuilt and serviced can easily.

I wouldnt mind doing the work myself as long as I knew how, which I'm sure I could learn.

Are there a lot of parts that consist inside of a regulator?

I assume you can add a new mouth piece to used regulators?

What company has one of the best warranties out there for parts & servicing?

If you buy a used one off of ebay, is the warranty still valid through the manufacturer to send in for free servicing or replacement parts?

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Any suggestions on which companys companys to compare in that $2-300 range?

I've seen sometimes some regulators have an inline water mechanism... is cotton mouth something that happens easily & often while diving?

I think for a new diver a good LDS trumps any particular brand. I believe the skill of the technician who services your reg is more important than the brand the shop sells.

As far as "dry mouth"? Well, compressed air is quite dry, and after an hour or so your mouth will tend to feel dry too. Metal 2nd stages will help reduce this sensation a bit because they allow a little moisture to condense inside the 2nd stage. All of my current 2nd stages are metal, and I do notice a bit less "dry mouth" with them (and they look cool ).

Staying well-hydrated (drink a bunch of water pre-dive) also helps, and is really the most important thing for many reasons.

Best wishes.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

HOG. They let you buy the parts and service your own. If you have a tech certification or are a authorized tech for another brand you can take a HOG factory cert course. I'm certified for oceanic and have a helitrox card. I'm just waiting for a windfall to let me go to georgia or illinois for the course. In the meantime I can still do em myself or send em to HOG. Had minor warranty issue with one of my first stages. Sent it to chris and had it back in a week. I will no longer buy regs that I can't get parts for easily.

 

[johnnyscience]

Making of a Scuba Regulator

This is a really interesting video actually.

So are most of the 2-300 regulators made with all high quality metal components?

Ahh I now understand what 1st stage (air tank part) & 2nd stage (mouth piece) mean.

 

[Akimbo]

To add some perspective, AquaLung current Calypso's breathing characteristics outperforms regulators used for more than a decade by saturation divers well below 600' — granted on lower density Helium-Oxygen. I believe that the unbalanced piston first stage is actually safer in most recreational environments because noticeable increased breathing resistance warns of low tank pressure before you are virtually out. I only mention the Calypso since that was the basis for most of the regulators modified for hats and full face masks of the day, not because it is necessarily superior to other brands.