The New Atomic TFX

[rsingler]

Just rolled into Cozumel with a bunch of regs to accompany the TFX. Rain, 17 kts, boats haven't been out for a couple of days now. But tomorrow is supposed to be better.
I even brought an XStream on @Fibonacci's new Comfort Swivel adapter, to see if it can beat the TFX.
FIngers crossed, but no shore diving this afternoon.

I'd probably break my leg getting out...

 

[scubadada]

View attachment 809112
Just rolled into Cozumel with a bunch of regs to accompany the TFX. Rain, 17 kts, boats haven't been out for a couple of days now. But tomorrow is supposed to be better.
I even brought an XStream on @Fibonacci's new Comfort Swivel adapter, to see if it can beat the TFX.
FIngers crossed, but no shore diving this afternoon.
View attachment 809111
I'd probably break my leg getting out...

You don't want to break your leg, my recommendation based on personal experience.

 

[BoltSnap]

View attachment 809112
Just rolled into Cozumel with a bunch of regs to accompany the TFX. Rain, 17 kts, boats haven't been out for a couple of days now. But tomorrow is supposed to be better.
I even brought an XStream on @Fibonacci's new Comfort Swivel adapter, to see if it can beat the TFX.
FIngers crossed, but no shore diving this afternoon.
View attachment 809111
I'd probably break my leg getting out...

That looks nasty. We have the same conditions today. Yesterday was flat like a mirror and today high seas. It will stay with us for at least a week they say.

Stay safe my friend.

 

[rsingler]

Day 1 - TFX  vs Scubapro C370
Three nice dives today. A little surge and the current's flowing weakly south. Cloudy, 83F water, occasional rain, 80ft vis.
In between looking at critters, I was back and forth between the TFX and C370. TFX tuned to 0.8" and C370 tuned to 0.9".
With a little practice now, flooding a hot TFX was a piece of cake. Just rolled it to the side, and no freeflow during reg switches.
Both regs very pleasurable, but the TFX won by a hair. Tuned hot, both regs were a dream on both light and heavy inhalation. To my surprise, and different from my initial pool test, exhalation (at least down to 80 ft), favored the TFX, just slightly. As before, C370 exhalation bubbles had a higher and slightly annoying pitch compared to the TFX.
Also as previously observed, a hot-tuned C370 freeflows at the drop of a hat. On my necklace under my chin, unless I screwed in the adjustment knob AND put the Venturi on Predive, the reg would freeflow on giant stride.

I'll compare with putting the TFX in that position later this week, since it's also hot-tuned, and has no adjustment knob.

New reg tomorrow, unless the Norte comes early.
Man, the TFX breathes so smoothly!

 

[scubadada]

Day 1 - TFX  vs Scubapro C370
Three nice dives today. A little surge and the current's flowing weakly south. Cloudy, 83F water, occasional rain, 80ft vis.
In between looking at critters, I was back and forth between the TFX and C370. TFX tuned to 0.8" and C370 tuned to 0.9".
With a little practice now, flooding a hot TFX was a piece of cake. Just rolled it to the side, and no freeflow during reg switches.
Both regs very pleasurable, but the TFX won by a hair. Tuned hot, both regs were a dream on both light and heavy inhalation. To my surprise, and different from my initial pool test, exhalation (at least down to 80 ft), favored the TFX, just slightly. As before, C370 exhalation bubbles had a higher and slightly annoying pitch compared to the TFX.
Also as previously observed, a hot-tuned C370 freeflows at the drop of a hat. On my necklace under my chin, unless I screwed in the adjustment knob AND put the Venturi on Predive, the reg would freeflow on giant stride.

I'll compare with putting the TFX in that position later this week, since it's also hot-tuned, and has no adjustment knob.

New reg tomorrow, unless the Norte comes early.
Man, the TFX breathes so smoothly!

I dive with my C370 second with the knob turned in, have never had a free flow.

 

[Joneill]

I dive with my C370 second with the knob turned in, have never had a free flow.

Is your C370 tuned hot like @rsingler ?

 

[scubadada]

Is your C370 tuned hot like @rsingler ?

Just very warm

 

[rsingler]

Day 2 - TFX  vs T3
Warm and sunny today. Medium current for a great pair of dives. As before, TFX cracking at 0.8", now with a T3 at 0.9".
The T3 was a close match with the TFX, just subtly different.
Both regs delivered perfect flow even working a bit and breathing heavily holding position at depth in the current.
You get all the air you could want at depth with both regs. The Venturi augmentation of flow during a sharp inhalation at 70 feet with the T3 (with the vane auto-retracted) was noticeable, but not noticeable shallower. In contrast, augmented flow with the TFX was much smoother at depth, without any feeling that the reg was "blowing air at you." Neither was as aggressive as the Venturi augmentation of the C370.
Flooding the TFX gets easier every day, now that I'm used to rolling it to one side, rather than forward. I had no freeflows after flooding while the reg dangled from a D-ring, even in current. The T3, with no predive switch, did not freeflow on giant stride with one turn on the knob. I'll try giant stride with the TFX on a D-ring tomorrow. I did notice that floating on my back while waiting for pickup, the TFX on my D-ring would occasionally burble a bit as the reg broke the surface and resubmerged, but it did not break into freeflow, probably because the case was half full of water.
Case geometry reared its head with the T3. 0.9" is too hot for this case, and looking straight down, I could hear a trickle of bubbles coming out. A half turn on the knob and it went away.

Though it was never an issue for me before, now that I'm evaluating it, I again notice a louder, sharper exhalation bubble sound with the T3 (with wide M1 exhaust tee) than with the TFX. I'm increasingly convinced that those soft silicone exhaust wings lower the timbre and volume of my exhalation bubbles, as well as completely eliminating bubbles in front of my face.

Exhalation effort seemed identical for the regs, though it's possible that exhalation WOB might have decreased in the T3 if I'd had a narrow stock exhaust tee.

Is the T3 still as awesome a technical reg as it was before? Absolutely. But I like the TFX better, and stressing it today at 80 feet in current made me increasingly comfortable that it's better than my T3.

The next test will be giant stride with the TFX hanging in the PADI golden triangle and then hanging off a necklace.

Tomorrow...D400 vs TFX.
But first, I have to sleep off my Sexy Coffee.

 

[BoltSnap]

As before, TFX cracking at 0.8", now with a T3 at 0.9".

Are these cracking values per mfg specs or are they lower?

 

[rsingler]

Lower. I do not like to work for my breathing gas, ever. If it's too low, you get a little freeflow, like with the T3 in certain positions. Easy to fix.
Manufacturer "specification" is designed more to keep the reg away from the dive shop for re-tuning than it is for performance. I don't have a single regulator that I dive at mfr spec. This hot tuning is not just for this test. It's the way I like my regs.
Folks that say they like a stiff reg, or suggest that stiffer tuning decreases their gas consumption just leave me dumbfounded.
So with the TFX, and no diver adjustment knob, I'm trying to find out how low is too low. Right now 0.8" seems okay. From the video material, 1.1" seems to be spec. I haven't seen a manual.