ChefLamont
Registered
- Messages
- 17
- Reaction score
- 0
Well if you recall before the Great Crash of '07 (actually I thought that I had just broke the board with my neurotic searches about regultors...oops), I was debating between a couple of different regs. At first, I was considering the AL Legend LX and the Oceanic Delta 4. Then I threw the Sea Elite Tek X in the mix, which with its really attractive price, really threw the deliberations into a tailspin.
To make a long story not as long, I ended up last Thursday buying the Atomic Z2 and SS1 octo-inflator. (What? That one was not even on the table!)
For those maybe making the same decision, I think the place I really got to was this. While some regs do breathe slightly better than others and may have some slightly different features, if you stick with the mainstream brands, I dont really believe you can get a BAD regulator. So a lot of my decision fell on local service and whether I like/trust the people at the shop where I will not only be buying the gear but bringing it back for service. Without going into any stories, this is what really knocked the Sea Elite out of consideration right away.
The different stores that offered the other brands were somewhere between acceptable and really good as far as customer service. The store I ended up going with not only has really nice, attentive people that run it but they are also the most convenient from work and home.
I think the final decision for the Z2 came with the examination of the warranty and the service interval. I like the idea of the 2-year inerval since I dont get to dive a lot. However, the thing that really sealed it for me was the fact that the warranty was not dependant on proof of service. I keep my gear in proper service, but I think it is a form of extortion to hinge the warranty on it like that. Just IMHO.
Other minor but definite considerations for me were that they are made in the USA. Also, any other hobby/sport I have been in, when there is a small/lean company started by employees from a former industry giant that set out to make uncompromised high quality stuff, it usually is.
So that was a glimpse at the semi-neurotic path I took to get to my new regs. They are getting set up and I will get them next week. Now I just have to start using them like crazy.
Thanks for the input before and listening now.
To make a long story not as long, I ended up last Thursday buying the Atomic Z2 and SS1 octo-inflator. (What? That one was not even on the table!)
For those maybe making the same decision, I think the place I really got to was this. While some regs do breathe slightly better than others and may have some slightly different features, if you stick with the mainstream brands, I dont really believe you can get a BAD regulator. So a lot of my decision fell on local service and whether I like/trust the people at the shop where I will not only be buying the gear but bringing it back for service. Without going into any stories, this is what really knocked the Sea Elite out of consideration right away.
The different stores that offered the other brands were somewhere between acceptable and really good as far as customer service. The store I ended up going with not only has really nice, attentive people that run it but they are also the most convenient from work and home.
I think the final decision for the Z2 came with the examination of the warranty and the service interval. I like the idea of the 2-year inerval since I dont get to dive a lot. However, the thing that really sealed it for me was the fact that the warranty was not dependant on proof of service. I keep my gear in proper service, but I think it is a form of extortion to hinge the warranty on it like that. Just IMHO.
Other minor but definite considerations for me were that they are made in the USA. Also, any other hobby/sport I have been in, when there is a small/lean company started by employees from a former industry giant that set out to make uncompromised high quality stuff, it usually is.
So that was a glimpse at the semi-neurotic path I took to get to my new regs. They are getting set up and I will get them next week. Now I just have to start using them like crazy.
Thanks for the input before and listening now.
