Top Brands...are they REALLY that big a difference?

[lowridersvt]

I dive atomic's now when i started diving i rented tons of regs some were beather than other but the atomic's outshined everybody mostly past the 100 foot mark

 

[bluedog]

I started with a US divers reg years ago and have since had the opportunity to dive with every major brand on the market. I must admit that I have always had the best reg manufactured by each brand because of my "keyman" purchases. I agree with the previous posts in regards to the 100+ foot depth/ease of breathing theory. I can tell a huge difference between a high-end reg verses a mid-range reg at 140 feet. Seriously though, how many people dive that on a regular basis (I probably will now beacause of all of the Oriskany trips I've got to DM). I currently dive an Atomic T2 and can't tell a difference between it and my old MK25T/S600T, but I can tell a difference between these and my old Mares Ruby Titanium, the atomic and scubapro just breath better. Of course, the atomic and scubapro are balanced piston and the Mares is a balanced diaphragm. If I had to pay full price for a reg I would go Atomic or Scubapro.

 

[Ron Brandt]

Divemasters that I know in Cozumel dive with cheap regs all the time; there are alot of Mares regs, not the top models, on Cozumel and that's what I see the DMs using frequently....these are guys that dive every day for years and I've never heard them complain! .

Larry Cleghorn, the islands Mares rep, gives a heck of an equipment deal to all DM's.

Ron

 

[robway034]

I think that you summed it up, in the original post, with the mention of annual or scheduled maintainence. Clearly there was a difference between "pre" and "post" maintainence performance. I am a SCUBAPRO user and have been for almost 20 years now. The first regs I purchased (brand-new) were SCUBAPRO, largely because the LDS let me test them out and for the lifetime warranty. I was a young Army NCO and was faced with quality-vs-utility as opposed to the "best that money can buy". I figured that they stood behind thier product and there was less risk in the purchase in the long run. Dont get me wrong, I am a firm believer that when you are in 80 FSW, its the wrong time to find yourself saying, "maybe I should have spent the extra $60 bucks on better rig!"
I only recently upgraded from that orginal reg (R190/Mk15) two years ago. Even if I didnt dive for a year or more, I kept them serviced annually and they always performed like the day I bought em...great.
Now to the other part of the question....I agree with everybody else. All the top brands are about the same. Even within thier own "product lines" the difference between a ,so called mid-priced/performer and the same companies top of the line is usually "features" not actual performance.