To many to choose

[deco dk]

Hi all,
I Only started diving last year and like most on here came completely hooked to the underwater world, so decided to start buy all the kit, I wrote a lovely list out on a spread sheet with a ruff price for each item, OH MY GOD time to remortgage the house.

Any how I have been looking for apex regulator sets as I have been told they are a quality make but so many to choose from, I will mainly dive in our tropical English channel with the occasional holiday to warmer climates,
I'm on a sort of budget, around £400 or under well maybe a little over!!! but want to make sure I buy a good set, any advice for me please.
Cheers
Dave.

 

[Black Red]

Like you I just started recently and is on the hunt for suitable regulators. Falling towards Apeks ATX40s/ DS4 but quivering and undecided if I should go with SP MK17/G250V. Not much research on the SP thou.

Reading past threads suggest you will ave to identify the condition and type of diving you are going to do now and in future. i.e. if you are going deep and cold, can it support you? I'm hopping for a buy and forget regardless of future depth. Prefer that I will not need to upgrade in future as that will be costly.

As for breathing performance, seem that everyone gives their opinion on personal feel and its not conclusive. even between the different Apeks, some say they breath the same, less the adjustment knobs.

And of cos you will have to consider local support. Its going to be a PITA if your LDS does not carry or service the regulator you have...

Good luck browsing the threads, my eyes are popping out of sockets already.

 

[geokr]

Any how I have been looking for apex regulator sets as I have been told they are a quality make but so many to choose from, I will mainly dive in our tropical English channel with the occasional holiday to warmer climates,
I'm on a sort of budget, around £400 or under well maybe a little over!!! but want to make sure I buy a good set, any advice for me please.
Cheers
Dave.

Try here: Regulators - ScubaBoard for advice on regs. Personally, I went with the AquaLung Legend on advice and never regretted the decision. It has proven to be the easiest-breathing, driest regulator I've ever used. Expensive, but worth it in my opinion. I paid around $500 USD for mine so it ought to fit in your price range but the upcharge for equipment in the UK is something I don't understand. Good luck!

 

[DCBC]

Without question, Apeks produces a fine regulator. I've used one for several years (ATX100s, XTX200s) in a number of different diving conditions and haven't had any problem. I use to be a die hard Poseidon user, but I got tired of all the adjustments to keep it tune (they wear over time). The Apeks is not prone to pressure creep and delivers as much gas as you require. Good choice.

 

[rstofer]

I have no idea how warm the water is in your area but if it is below 50 deg F, there are considerations. For example, Oceanic doesn't recommend ANY of its piston first stages be used below that temp. Check the other manufacturers. AquaLung has a snowflake icon next to each of their cold water regs on the web page. ScubaPro isn't as helpful. But the right answer for cold water with SP is the Mk17/G250V

If you want the same cold water reg the US Coast Guard, US Navy and NOAA have chosen, look at the Oceanic Delta4/FDX10

If you plan to travel, I would think you would want to buy from among the big 3 as you may need repair anywhere in the world.

Richard

 

[DCBC]

Richard has a good point. Apeks is owned by Aqualung, so parts and service are not an issue. The Apeks 1st stage is environmentally sealed and it has other design features that makes this regulator dependable in cold water (I'm in Canada and routinely dive in the North Atlantic and under ice). No worries.

 

[buckeye_jeff]

I dive a pair of the the Apeks DS4/XTX50 regulators in all kinds of environments. They are reasonably priced for their high quality. I have used them in both tropical waters and ice diving without any problems. No matter what brand you end up choosing, if I was you I'd go with a diaphragm 1st stage over a piston. It is much easier to environmentally seal a diaphragm regulator which you'll need for the cold water diving.

I know it can very expensive when you first start out but I'd definitely not skimp on the regulator. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Black Red]

Fortunately or unfortunately the waters around me are avg 25deg C. So I'm not sure if I'm doing injustice to a diaphragm regulator, not using it for what's it made for.

But if we were to consider air flow and ease of breathing at depth (50m)?
How does the DS4 compare with MK17? Or its more than adequate that I'll not be able to tell the difference? And as such have no real need to upgrade as i progress in my diving.

 

[deco dk]

thank you all for you advice, I think I'm going to go with the Apex XTX range which cuts the research down to only 3 or 4 now.
Not sure on all your locations but if any of you could forward any links for scuba shops abroad (outside UK) I would be grateful.
Thanks again,
Happy diving.

 

[DCBC]

But if we were to consider air flow and ease of breathing at depth (50m)? How does the DS4 compare with MK17? Or its more than adequate that I'll not be able to tell the difference? And as such have no real need to upgrade as i progress in my diving.

The Apeks XTX200/XTX50 and the MK17 were all tested by Scubalab on the ANSTI Breathing simulator. They all had a perfect score (5 on a 2 to 5 scale) in all 4 categories.

If you have a MK17, I wouldn't run out and replace it for the sake of breathing resistance. Regulators are like cars, in-that when you find one you like, it performs well and it's proven that it's reliable in the long haul, you tend to stick with the company until something comes along that operates to a level that causes you to question your choice. There are lots of good dependable regulators out there.