Want a regulator with these characteristics -- REPOSTED

[billt4sf]

With the database corruption problem and rollback (see above) apparently my post went away. Here it is again. Thank you.

I have asked about regulators and learned quite a bit but am still a bit confused. Thanks to all of you who helped with comments in previous postings or via email!

We are recreational divers looking for a balanced high-quality regulator with the following characteristics.

MUST HAVE
We typically dive the tropics and Northern California. Sometime we might dive in Puget Sound but I don’t see us going further north that that. Do we need the extra “environmentally sealed” for very cold water?
Need one HP port (SPG) and four LP ports (primary second stage, BC, drysuit, secondary). Not sure what the whole "wireless" thing is but maybe a second HP port is useful down the line.
Same secondary as primary. Lots of reasons to do this, and no reason not to.
Low Cost. I really don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars extra for a “name” brand – there’s too many positive, unbiased reviews here on SB to think otherwise. Willing to ship for servicing.
Vents air out the sides, not in front of face (choice of second stage)
No excess weight in first or second stage.

LIKE TO HAVE
Yoke. Eventually will buy own tanks, still my choice would be yoke. (85% of the world uses yoke.) I see the Yoke-DIN adapters and they seem fine. We will never be tec divers.
Repair kit. We will travel, in the unlikely event we have a problem overseas, a repair kit just might be useful. If we really get stuck, we can always rent.
Light weight as possible, for travel and for ease of use.
Swivel at the second stage
Braided hose
Yellow cover for secondary
Compass on the SPG console

DO NOT NEED
Things that a TEC diver would need – take it apart underwater, egad I can’t even imagine!
Do not need to buy it at a brick and mortar shop.

 

[beaverdivers]

Scubapro MK 11 " light"/ C200 fits your criteria. Total weight only 2.55 lbs. Excellent value.

No, you don't need to pay extra for environmentally sealed.

 

[Fishspearit]

Same secondary as primary. Lots of reasons to do this, and no reason not to.
Low Cost. I really don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars extra for a “name” brand

I just want to point out that there is a reason why most octo's are different than the primary, and that reason is the very next thing you are looking for: Low Cost

The thinking is that you don't really need the best, high-flow, adjustable, super-amazing second stage for your backup that you'll likely never use but will pack with sand every time it falls out of the octo-holder and you drag it along the bottom to the chagrin of everyone behind you.

Add to that the fact that most service centers will set the octo to open and deliver air at a higher inhallation setting so that it doesn't free flow as easily. No reason to spend extra money for the finest second stage only to have it detuned so that it doesn't free flow because it's spending most of it's life unused.

 

[JohnN]

The thinking is that you don't really need the best, high-flow, adjustable, super-amazing second stage for your backup that you'll likely never use but will pack with sand every time it falls out of the octo-holder and you drag it along the bottom to the chagrin of everyone behind you.

Another good reason for a long primary and a high performance bungee'd secondary, isn't it ?

 

[Fishspearit]

Another good reason for a long primary and a high performance bungee'd secondary, isn't it ?

I get your thinking, it's along the lines of having the octo on the inflator hose, but I'm not a fan of longer than necessary primary hoses. I spend too much time looking in wrecks and in holes for fish and lobster, so I like a short path from 1st stage to my mouth and not a big loop of hose sticking off to the side.

 

[halocline]

I get your thinking, it's along the lines of having the octo on the inflator hose, but I'm not a fan of longer than necessary primary hoses. I spend too much time looking in wrecks and in holes for fish and lobster, so I like a short path from 1st stage to my mouth and not a big loop of hose sticking off to the side.

If you get some decent overhead and/or restriction dive training, you'll learn that the long hose primary is the standard arrangement for most back-mount technical divers because (among other reasons) it presents a much lower entanglement hazard than regular recreational hoses.

 

[JohnN]

I get your thinking, it's along the lines of having the octo on the inflator hose. . .

Not at all. 7' primary hose, short bungee'd secondary. Friends don't let friends dive with Air/2 (s).

When I was in Roatan this summer, two Aussie on the boat were diving with new full face masks, one had an Air/2. An OOA would have been "interesting"

 

[halocline]

With the database corruption problem and rollback (see above) apparently my post went away. Here it is again. Thank you.

I have asked about regulators and learned quite a bit but am still a bit confused. Thanks to all of you who helped with comments in previous postings or via email!

We are recreational divers looking for a balanced high-quality regulator with the following characteristics. (etc.....edited out)

I'd like to pick on a couple of your criteria if you don't mind.

First, in your 'must haves' the only thing that strikes me as odd is the bubble venting issue. Lots of new divers get distracted by the bubbles in their face, and blame the regulator. Really it's more an issue of trim in the water. Once you're diving horizontally, the bubbles don't tend to float into your face nearly as much. To me there's very little difference between bubble dispersion in most 2nd stages; they all push bubbles out, and all the bubbles rise in the water. Since most OW classes have the students kneeling on the bottom (shame, shame) your face is vertical and like most new divers, you're blowing bubbles constantly. There are some really big bubble deflectors out there, and they might work okay, but mostly they're not going to make much of a difference. One thing that would make a difference is if you went insane (like many of us....) and bought an old doublehose reg. That would put all the bubbles behind your head, and it's a radically different experience. Otherwise, get a normal full size 2nd stage and you'll be fine.

You only need a sealed reg for water you would almost certainly need a drysuit to dive in. No drysuit? You're likely not in water cold enough to freeze regulators. Unless, of course, you like 40F water in a wetsuit!

For your 'like to haves': (my opinions, of course)
Forget the swivel, just get the correct length braided hoses, a good mouthpiece, and you'll be plenty comfy. Don't worry about weight, the braided hoses are lighter anyway (I think) and don't get talked into a titanium reg to save a few ounces.

Don't worry about the yellow cover. In fact, look into using a 5 ft primary hose and a 24" alternate hose, with the alternate on a bungie necklace. This is a modified hogarthian hose routing. It's the most comfortable, streamlined hose arrangement that I've ever used, and I've used a lot, and it's excellent for sharing air. If the recreational dive industry was really on the ball, this would absolutely be the standard hose routing to teach OW divers in...but I digress...

Absolutely stay with yoke if you're diving yoke tanks. Don't let anyone talk you into a DIN 1st stage unless you know you'll have constant access to DIN tanks. There are some advantages to DIN valves (and disadvantages that nobody wants to talk about on this forum) but the overwhelming issue is that you want a regulator to fit the tanks you'll be using. Period.

I'd forget about a console....just get a simple SPG on a 24" hose, no boot, clip it to your left hip (all BCs will have some means to clip it) and wear your computer and compass on your wrist. You'll like it better eventually. Most experienced divers want to see depth/time info frequently but only need to check air pressure occasionally. A LOT of divers start with a big console, but switch over to a wrist mount computer/simple SPG. It's more convenient.

If the DIN/yoke issue gets resolved, I'd say you might be a good candidate for HOG regs, because they might sell you a repair kit, and I think they sell just the stages separately, so you can order the braided hoses in the length you want. I also think that dive rite does something similar. You could look at caveadventurers.com and talk to them, or a HOG dealer.....just don't buy DIN unless you want it.

I absolutely can't believe I'm agreeing with the beav on something, but the MK11 is also a great mid-price 1st stage. I don't know what the "light" means, but if its anything like the old MK20UL, forget it; just get the regular MK11. Another perennial best buy is the aqualung titan.

Best of luck!

 

[Bigd2722]

Edge, the sister company of HOG should be able to fit most of your criteria

 

[Peter_C]

The only swivel to think of getting is Atomic's hose/swivel since it is a captured o-ring. A 90 or 70 degree swivel should work safely without failure too. I can show you HOG and my Scubapro equipment in person. Heck I can probably let you dive the HOG setup upon approval of the little lady