Spent some time looking at posts here for opinions on regulators. We will be diving warm clean water so I think either diaphragm or piston would be fine (for some reason I think I like diaphragm better?). I will need one with an Octo and one without (my daughter has SP Air2 on her BC). I started out looking at the Aqualung Mikron for my daughter but now feel smaller is not a must. I am leaning towards purchasing one of these soon (all available locally) and hope to get your opinions (quality, breathability,serviceability, dependability...).
SP MK21/S560: Did not see much about this one here, see a lot about the MK17 and MK25. I was told at my dive shop the 21 and the 25 are the same except for the swivel turret and I dont need that. A less expensive Scubapro octo option is to pair it with their R095 octo. I don't know if you saw it but there's also a 5-port fixed cap available for the Mk21. The 4 ports are at 30o instead of 20o for hose routing and there's a 5th "high-flow" port in the center. I leave it to you to decide if that's marketing hype. Mk21's are maybe 2? years old now which is why there's not much about them yet.
Atomic Z2: Seems to get a lot of praise and Divernet seems to have a lot of good to say about it. I was surprised that I can get it locally for the same price as on line. Looking at the cost of the 2nd stage alone it looks like most of the cost is there and that makes me wonder about the first stage quality. I like the longer maintenance intervals (appears to be due to seat operation).
Zeagle FH8: Dont see much on this one either (maybe because it is new out). I really like this one the best.
You can't go wrong with any of them. I don't personally know much about the Zeagle so won't comment on it.
Your dive shop is wrong about the Mk25/21 though. The Mk21 is smaller with fixed ports and is a recent newer design, the Mk25 has been around over a decade - still one of the best. A less expensive Scubapro option is to pair either Mk21/25 with their R095 octo. I don't know if you saw it but there's also a 5-port fixed cap available for the Mk21. The 4 ports are at 30
o instead of 20
o for hose routing and there's a 5th "high-flow" port in the center. I leave it to you to decide if that's marketing hype.
The MK21 is SCUBAPRO's first balanced-piston first stage to be released since the introduction of the MK25. It is smaller and lighter than the MK25 and uses a smaller piston, but it delivers the same level of breathing performance
Scubapro also has a 2 year recommended service interval. The difference is in the dive count - 100 vs. 300 for Atomic:
SCUBAPRO regulators need to be serviced every 24 months or 100 dives, whichever comes first, by an authorized SCUBAPRO dealer.
I wouldn't worry about the perceived low price on the Atomic - what they sell the 2nd at retail has little bearing on what the 1st stage cost to manufacture. There's more invested in the 1st stage than the 2nd on any regulator combo.
I dive Atomic. Have for about 15 years now. The company was started by two ScubaPro engineers who thought they could build something better - IMO they did. Every Atomic breathes the same - extremely easy at all depths. The difference in pricing is mostly related to the metals used - as you go up in price more Titanium gets introduced. The Z2 has it where it counts though - the demand lever and the orifice on the 2nd making it lighter/smaller. So less jaw fatigue. Add $100 for the comfort swivel hose - that becomes a Z2x.
Also Atomic has factory recommended 2 year/300 dive service interval. Their seat-saver orifice is why - it moves one off the other ever so slightly when non-pressurized which extends the life of the seat while in storage since it doesn't imprint. The flipside is it's
possible water could travel up from the second stage and into the first while rinsing it. The simple solution is keep the 2nd out of the water while rinsing the first then reverse. It's not rocket science...if water does get in, just hook it to tank and blow air thru it for 2 seconds. Problem solved. For the same reason you wouldn't want an Atomic on an un-pressurized pony bottle while diving. Octo pricing on Atomics runs a little higher since they demand the same performance out of it as their primary. I have a Z1 on my T2 it's basically the same reg body with a yellow cover and no swivel.
I really don't see how you could go wrong with either.
