The New Atomic TFX
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undrwater
Contributor
I finally got to breathe on my TFX underwater yesterday.
I put my TFX/Ti2 Octo set on a pony bottle and dropped down to 60'. I had my M1 regs on my back mount doubles, so I was able to swap between all 3.
The feel of the way the TFX breathes is subtly different than the other 2. If I wasn't focused on it - i.e. I was just diving and paying attention to the reef/wreck/fishies - and for some reason didn't know what reg I was breathing from, I might not even notice that something was different.
To me, in the grand scheme of regulators, the difference between the TFX and 2 other top quality regs is just not very big. The difference between any of my 3 and some of the cheap, crappy, (probably poorly-tuned) regs I have used in the past is way bigger.
But, focusing on the differences, there were some that were easy to detect.
The TFX does feel like air starts to flow with no effort. The other two didn't feel like they required any effort, either - until I swapped between them and the TFX. Then, the very slightly higher effort was discernible.
Once the flow started, the TFX also feels different in the way it flows. As one would expect from the cam design in the TFX lever mechanism, the TFX flows less air when you inhale very gently. And when you take a big gulp, the flow ramps right up to match. An easy inhale gives an easy flow into your mouth. A hard, sharp inhale gives a big, high-flow shot of air into your mouth.
This is in contrast to the Ti2 and M1 in that, once they start to flow, they feel more like they flow about the same on an easy inhale versus a hard, sharp inhale.
It seems like the TFX will make it easier to breathe very slowly. That is something I struggle with. When I try to inhale slowly, it always feels like actual work to keep my inhale slow. Now that I've experienced this, I am really looking forward to my next long-ish single tank dive trip, where I will have time to adjust to the TFX and then see if it makes any difference to my RMV. I always dive with AI, so I have very detailed RMV data from every dive I've ever done. If the TFX makes any difference, I should be able to see it.
Something else I noticed about the TFX is it seemed like it REALLY wanted to freeflow when I took it out of my mouth. It would stop if I pointed the mouthpiece down. But, sometimes it seemed like no matter how carefully I tried to turn it back to normal or pointing up, I could not prevent it from starting to freeflow again.
Also, it seems like it must trap some air under the purge cover that slowly trickles out for a while after you stop exhaling. At first, I thought it was still freeflowing. I experiemented with inhaling and then holding my breath and watching the bubbles continue to trickle out directly from somewhere around the purge cover for 10 seconds-ish.
The ease it demonstrates in freeflowing, and having no WOB adjustment makes me think this will not be a reg that will work the best as an "octo". With no way to detune it in the water, I think you'd either have it freeflowing often during dives, or you'd have to adjust it to be de-tuned at all times, which kinda defeats the purpose of having a TFX.
After swapping around in a normal horizontal hover, I then experimented with some alternative orientations.
Being on my back, looking straight up, the TFX definitely breathed more easily. That was really nice.
I also tried being inverted vertically. I.e. standing on my head. The results here were surprising. The TFX seemed like it still breathed a little easier than the other two. But, the difference was completely overidden by how the TFX and the Ti2 both breathed noticeably wet. Every inhale was accompanied by just a little drizzle of water. The weird thing was that my M1 stayed totally dry in the same orientation. I could not detect any water coming into the M1.
I also have to say that the M1 seemed like it breathed just a little differently - in a "nicer" way - than the Ti2. I was expecting them to breathe exactly the same and I'm not sure why they felt different. Nor do I feel like I can really articulate how they were different. Maybe a little "smoother"? Or maybe a little more flow once it cracked?
I have had the M1s for something like 3 years maybe. The Ti2 is brand new. I have never had the M1s serviced, nor have I ever tried to adjust them at all (other than turning the WOB knob). So, all these regs are still exactly how they came from the factory. I have talked about adjusting the cracking on the TFX, but I have not done it yet. I wanted to try it exactly as it came from the factory before changing anything.
So, that's pretty much it.
The TFX is really nice. I like the benefits of the titanium. I like the breathing overall and the slightly easier breathing in "alternative" orientations. But, is it worth the price premium over a T3? Is it worth the price premium over a Z2? Only your wallet can answer that question. All I can say for sure (at least, "for sure" in MY mind) is that there are differences - but they are pretty dang small. The weight difference to a Z2 is small. The breathing differences are small. But, those differences ARE there. And, I will be keeping my TFX set. I DO believe it will be the last single tank reg set I ever buy.
As I expect my M1s are the last doubles regs I will ever buy.
I put my TFX/Ti2 Octo set on a pony bottle and dropped down to 60'. I had my M1 regs on my back mount doubles, so I was able to swap between all 3.
The feel of the way the TFX breathes is subtly different than the other 2. If I wasn't focused on it - i.e. I was just diving and paying attention to the reef/wreck/fishies - and for some reason didn't know what reg I was breathing from, I might not even notice that something was different.
To me, in the grand scheme of regulators, the difference between the TFX and 2 other top quality regs is just not very big. The difference between any of my 3 and some of the cheap, crappy, (probably poorly-tuned) regs I have used in the past is way bigger.
But, focusing on the differences, there were some that were easy to detect.
The TFX does feel like air starts to flow with no effort. The other two didn't feel like they required any effort, either - until I swapped between them and the TFX. Then, the very slightly higher effort was discernible.
Once the flow started, the TFX also feels different in the way it flows. As one would expect from the cam design in the TFX lever mechanism, the TFX flows less air when you inhale very gently. And when you take a big gulp, the flow ramps right up to match. An easy inhale gives an easy flow into your mouth. A hard, sharp inhale gives a big, high-flow shot of air into your mouth.
This is in contrast to the Ti2 and M1 in that, once they start to flow, they feel more like they flow about the same on an easy inhale versus a hard, sharp inhale.
It seems like the TFX will make it easier to breathe very slowly. That is something I struggle with. When I try to inhale slowly, it always feels like actual work to keep my inhale slow. Now that I've experienced this, I am really looking forward to my next long-ish single tank dive trip, where I will have time to adjust to the TFX and then see if it makes any difference to my RMV. I always dive with AI, so I have very detailed RMV data from every dive I've ever done. If the TFX makes any difference, I should be able to see it.
Something else I noticed about the TFX is it seemed like it REALLY wanted to freeflow when I took it out of my mouth. It would stop if I pointed the mouthpiece down. But, sometimes it seemed like no matter how carefully I tried to turn it back to normal or pointing up, I could not prevent it from starting to freeflow again.
Also, it seems like it must trap some air under the purge cover that slowly trickles out for a while after you stop exhaling. At first, I thought it was still freeflowing. I experiemented with inhaling and then holding my breath and watching the bubbles continue to trickle out directly from somewhere around the purge cover for 10 seconds-ish.
The ease it demonstrates in freeflowing, and having no WOB adjustment makes me think this will not be a reg that will work the best as an "octo". With no way to detune it in the water, I think you'd either have it freeflowing often during dives, or you'd have to adjust it to be de-tuned at all times, which kinda defeats the purpose of having a TFX.
After swapping around in a normal horizontal hover, I then experimented with some alternative orientations.
Being on my back, looking straight up, the TFX definitely breathed more easily. That was really nice.
I also tried being inverted vertically. I.e. standing on my head. The results here were surprising. The TFX seemed like it still breathed a little easier than the other two. But, the difference was completely overidden by how the TFX and the Ti2 both breathed noticeably wet. Every inhale was accompanied by just a little drizzle of water. The weird thing was that my M1 stayed totally dry in the same orientation. I could not detect any water coming into the M1.
I also have to say that the M1 seemed like it breathed just a little differently - in a "nicer" way - than the Ti2. I was expecting them to breathe exactly the same and I'm not sure why they felt different. Nor do I feel like I can really articulate how they were different. Maybe a little "smoother"? Or maybe a little more flow once it cracked?
I have had the M1s for something like 3 years maybe. The Ti2 is brand new. I have never had the M1s serviced, nor have I ever tried to adjust them at all (other than turning the WOB knob). So, all these regs are still exactly how they came from the factory. I have talked about adjusting the cracking on the TFX, but I have not done it yet. I wanted to try it exactly as it came from the factory before changing anything.
So, that's pretty much it.
The TFX is really nice. I like the benefits of the titanium. I like the breathing overall and the slightly easier breathing in "alternative" orientations. But, is it worth the price premium over a T3? Is it worth the price premium over a Z2? Only your wallet can answer that question. All I can say for sure (at least, "for sure" in MY mind) is that there are differences - but they are pretty dang small. The weight difference to a Z2 is small. The breathing differences are small. But, those differences ARE there. And, I will be keeping my TFX set. I DO believe it will be the last single tank reg set I ever buy.
As I expect my M1s are the last doubles regs I will ever buy. 
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Nice Stuart, your review and impressions mean a lot to me
Thank you
Thank you
I finally got to breathe on my TFX underwater yesterday.
I put my TFX/Ti2 Octo set on a pony bottle and dropped down to 60'. I had my M1 regs on my back mount doubles, so I was able to swap between all 3.
The feel of the way the TFX breathes is subtly different than the other 2. If I wasn't focused on it - i.e. I was just diving and paying attention to the reef/wreck/fishies - and for some reason didn't know what reg I was breathing from, I might not even notice that something was different.
To me, in the grand scheme of regulators, the difference between the TFX and 2 other top quality regs is just not very big. The difference between any of my 3 and some of the cheap, crappy, (probably poorly-tuned) regs I have used in the past is way bigger.
But, focusing on the differences, there were some that were easy to detect.
The TFX does feel like air starts to flow with no effort. The other two didn't feel like they required any effort, either - until I swapped between them and the TFX. Then, the very slightly higher effort was discernible.
Once the flow started, the TFX also feels different in the way it flows. As one would expect from the cam design in the TFX lever mechanism, the TFX flows less air when you inhale very gently. And when you take a big gulp, the flow ramps right up to match. An easy inhale gives an easy flow into your mouth. A hard, sharp inhale gives a big, high-flow shot of air into your mouth.
This is in contrast to the Ti2 and M1 in that, once they start to flow, they feel more like they flow about the same on an easy inhale versus a hard, sharp inhale.
It seems like the TFX will make it easier to breathe very slowly. That is something I struggle with. When I try to inhale slowly, it always feels like actual work to keep my inhale slow. Now that I've experienced this, I am really looking forward to my next long-ish single tank dive trip, where I will have time to adjust to the TFX and then see if it makes any difference to my RMV. I always dive with AI, so I have very detailed RMV data from every dive I've ever done. If the TFX makes any difference, I should be able to see it.
Something else I noticed about the TFX is it seemed like it REALLY wanted to freeflow when I took it out of my mouth. It would stop if I pointed the mouthpiece down. But, sometimes it seemed like no matter how carefully I tried to turn it back to normal or pointing up, I could not prevent it from starting to freeflow again.
Also, it seems like it must trap some air under the purge cover that slowly trickles out for a while after you stop exhaling. At first, I thought it was still freeflowing. I experiemented with inhaling and then holding my breath and watching the bubbles continue to trickle out directly from somewhere around the purge cover for 10 seconds-ish.
The ease it demonstrates in freeflowing, and having no WOB adjustment makes me think this will not be a reg that will work the best as an "octo". With no way to detune it in the water, I think you'd either have it freeflowing often during dives, or you'd have to adjust it to be de-tuned at all times, which kinda defeats the purpose of having a TFX.
After swapping around in a normal horizontal hover, I then experimented with some alternative orientations.
Being on my back, looking straight up, the TFX definitely breathed more easily. That was really nice.
I also tried being inverted vertically. I.e. standing on my head. The results here were surprising. The TFX seemed like it still breathed a little easier than the other two. But, the difference was completely overidden by how the TFX and the Ti2 both breathed noticeably wet. Every inhale was accompanied by just a little drizzle of water. The weird thing was that my M1 stayed totally dry in the same orientation. I could not detect any water coming into the M1.
I also have to say that the M1 seemed like it breathed just a little differently - in a "nicer" way - than the Ti2. I was expecting them to breathe exactly the same and I'm not sure why they felt different. Nor do I feel like I can really articulate how they were different. Maybe a little "smoother"? Or maybe a little more flow once it cracked?
I have had the M1s for something like 3 years maybe. The Ti2 is brand new. I have never had the M1s serviced, nor have I ever tried to adjust them at all (other than turning the WOB knob). So, all these regs are still exactly how they came from the factory. I have talked about adjusting the cracking on the TFX, but I have not done it yet. I wanted to try it exactly as it came from the factory before changing anything.
So, that's pretty much it.
The TFX is really nice. I like the benefits of the titanium. I like the breathing overall and the slightly easier breathing in "alternative" orientations. But, is it worth the price premium over a T3? Is it worth the price premium over a Z2? Only your wallet can answer that question. All I can say for sure (at least, "for sure" in MY mind) is that there are differences - but they are pretty dang small. The weight difference to a Z2 is small. The breathing differences are small. But, those differences ARE there. And, I will be keeping my TFX set. I DO believe it will be the last single tank reg set I ever buy.
Did you measure the cracking effort of the TFX to make sure it is set according to specs at all?
Geo7
Contributor
I finally got to breathe on my TFX underwater yesterday.
I put my TFX/Ti2 Octo set on a pony bottle and dropped down to 60'. I had my M1 regs on my back mount doubles, so I was able to swap between all 3.
The feel of the way the TFX breathes is subtly different than the other 2. If I wasn't focused on it - i.e. I was just diving and paying attention to the reef/wreck/fishies - and for some reason didn't know what reg I was breathing from, I might not even notice that something was different.
To me, in the grand scheme of regulators, the difference between the TFX and 2 other top quality regs is just not very big. The difference between any of my 3 and some of the cheap, crappy, (probably poorly-tuned) regs I have used in the past is way bigger.
But, focusing on the differences, there were some that were easy to detect.
The TFX does feel like air starts to flow with no effort. The other two didn't feel like they required any effort, either - until I swapped between them and the TFX. Then, the very slightly higher effort was discernible.
Once the flow started, the TFX also feels different in the way it flows. As one would expect from the cam design in the TFX lever mechanism, the TFX flows less air when you inhale very gently. And when you take a big gulp, the flow ramps right up to match. An easy inhale gives an easy flow into your mouth. A hard, sharp inhale gives a big, high-flow shot of air into your mouth.
This is in contrast to the Ti2 and M1 in that, once they start to flow, they feel more like they flow about the same on an easy inhale versus a hard, sharp inhale.
It seems like the TFX will make it easier to breathe very slowly. That is something I struggle with. When I try to inhale slowly, it always feels like actual work to keep my inhale slow. Now that I've experienced this, I am really looking forward to my next long-ish single tank dive trip, where I will have time to adjust to the TFX and then see if it makes any difference to my RMV. I always dive with AI, so I have very detailed RMV data from every dive I've ever done. If the TFX makes any difference, I should be able to see it.
Something else I noticed about the TFX is it seemed like it REALLY wanted to freeflow when I took it out of my mouth. It would stop if I pointed the mouthpiece down. But, sometimes it seemed like no matter how carefully I tried to turn it back to normal or pointing up, I could not prevent it from starting to freeflow again.
Also, it seems like it must trap some air under the purge cover that slowly trickles out for a while after you stop exhaling. At first, I thought it was still freeflowing. I experiemented with inhaling and then holding my breath and watching the bubbles continue to trickle out directly from somewhere around the purge cover for 10 seconds-ish.
The ease it demonstrates in freeflowing, and having no WOB adjustment makes me think this will not be a reg that will work the best as an "octo". With no way to detune it in the water, I think you'd either have it freeflowing often during dives, or you'd have to adjust it to be de-tuned at all times, which kinda defeats the purpose of having a TFX.
After swapping around in a normal horizontal hover, I then experimented with some alternative orientations.
Being on my back, looking straight up, the TFX definitely breathed more easily. That was really nice.
I also tried being inverted vertically. I.e. standing on my head. The results here were surprising. The TFX seemed like it still breathed a little easier than the other two. But, the difference was completely overidden by how the TFX and the Ti2 both breathed noticeably wet. Every inhale was accompanied by just a little drizzle of water. The weird thing was that my M1 stayed totally dry in the same orientation. I could not detect any water coming into the M1.
I also have to say that the M1 seemed like it breathed just a little differently - in a "nicer" way - than the Ti2. I was expecting them to breathe exactly the same and I'm not sure why they felt different. Nor do I feel like I can really articulate how they were different. Maybe a little "smoother"? Or maybe a little more flow once it cracked?
I have had the M1s for something like 3 years maybe. The Ti2 is brand new. I have never had the M1s serviced, nor have I ever tried to adjust them at all (other than turning the WOB knob). So, all these regs are still exactly how they came from the factory. I have talked about adjusting the cracking on the TFX, but I have not done it yet. I wanted to try it exactly as it came from the factory before changing anything.
So, that's pretty much it.
The TFX is really nice. I like the benefits of the titanium. I like the breathing overall and the slightly easier breathing in "alternative" orientations. But, is it worth the price premium over a T3? Is it worth the price premium over a Z2? Only your wallet can answer that question. All I can say for sure (at least, "for sure" in MY mind) is that there are differences - but they are pretty dang small. The weight difference to a Z2 is small. The breathing differences are small. But, those differences ARE there. And, I will be keeping my TFX set. I DO believe it will be the last single tank reg set I ever buy.
Thanks for your excellent review! Great job describing those nuances that aren't easily measurable.
When I compared a hot tuned D400 to my T2s, I also felt the differences were subtle. It seems the TFX can flow more air on a sharp inhale (I assume stronger venturi response), so that's great news for me.
I wonder if the long exhausts on the M1 trap some air in front of the exhaust membrane for a little while when inverted, and the exhaust diaphragm does not have enough time to leak water into the reg between breaths?
I attributed it to the cam design that means the 2nd stage valve opens not just more, but a lot more, when inhaling hard versus inhaling softly.
Other regs have a more linear response in the way the lever opens the valve. I think?
I.e.: with made up numbers and understanding that the graphs implied by the following are not accurate. Just for illustration purposes.
Say that, with a conventional reg, you inhale with 1 unit of effort and the reg opens enough to feed you 1 unit of volume per minute. If you inhale with 2 units of effort, the reg opens 2 times as much and feeds you 2 units of volume per minute.
Comparing the TFX: If you inhale with 1 unit of effort, the reg feeds you 1 unit of volume per minute. But, with the TFX, if you now inhale with 2 units of effort, instead of giving you 2 units of volume per minute, it gives you 3 units of volume per minute - because the cam design opens the valve not just 2 times as much, but 3 times as much.
I think that has nothing to do with any venturi effect.
Related to that, I did play with the venturi adjustment on the TFX, to see how breathing compared between the ends of the adjustment range. It felt like it did make a difference, but that was about as much as I played with it. Thinking about it now, I wish I had played with it when it was out of mouth and freeflowing, to see if it makes a difference on that. I guess it really should. If it does, then maybe it does not really need a WOB adjustment.... I mean, the Atomic engineers *could* be smarter than me, but...... lol
Geo7
Contributor
Ah yes, you wrote about the cam lever in your initital report. Sounds great, probably a smoother way to achieve high flow than venturi...
Anyone remember the Kink’s Dedicated Follower of Fashion?
(Says the guy with an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 1Tb of RAM
)
They seek him here, they seek him there
His clothes are loud, but never square
It will make or break him so he's got to buy the best
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
And when he does his little rounds
'Round the boutiques of London town
Eagerly pursuing all the latest fads and trends
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
He thinks he is a flower to be looked at
And when he pulls his frilly nylon panties right up tight
He feels a dedicated follower of fashion
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
There's one thing that he loves and that is flattery
One week he's in polka-dots, the next week he is in stripes
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
They seek him here, they seek him there
In Regent Street and Leicester Square
Everywhere the Carnabetian army marches on
Each one an dedicated follower of fashion
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
His world is built 'round discoteques and parties
This pleasure-seeking individual always looks his best
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
He flits from shop to shop, just like a butterfly
In matters of the cloth he is as fickle as can be
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
He's a dedicated follower of fashion
He's a dedicated follower of fashion
(Says the guy with an iPhone 15 Pro Max with 1Tb of RAM
)They seek him here, they seek him there
His clothes are loud, but never square
It will make or break him so he's got to buy the best
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
And when he does his little rounds
'Round the boutiques of London town
Eagerly pursuing all the latest fads and trends
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
He thinks he is a flower to be looked at
And when he pulls his frilly nylon panties right up tight
He feels a dedicated follower of fashion
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
There's one thing that he loves and that is flattery
One week he's in polka-dots, the next week he is in stripes
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
They seek him here, they seek him there
In Regent Street and Leicester Square
Everywhere the Carnabetian army marches on
Each one an dedicated follower of fashion
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
His world is built 'round discoteques and parties
This pleasure-seeking individual always looks his best
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
Oh, yes, he is (oh, yes he is)
He flits from shop to shop, just like a butterfly
In matters of the cloth he is as fickle as can be
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion
He's a dedicated follower of fashion
He's a dedicated follower of fashion
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