What 2nd has beat the G250?

[Litefoot]

Isn’t the G250 relatively large compared to others and would that be one of its cons? Not travel friendly? Guessing here.

 

[Mobulai]

Dear Dr, it’s like you read my mind when I saw that mk17e2 dive report by @bretski — time for a new reg geeks? (One can hope for xmas in February)

Pro's: microadjust, metal barrel (mostly); poppet spring moved out of gas pathway!!! I don't know much more - only disassembled one at DEMA; never dove it

Didn’t know that either the xtx or the evx had a microadjust

So cool they got that spring out of the way
Here’s to hoping SP comes up with a new poppet

Having dove only BA156, g250, V &260 (and lousy cressi) I vote g260 in the newer category; but the BA became my absolute favorite; it’s now my necklace reg and my other g260 became a backup/deco reg (but its just a g250)

Next to try and fresh from the tuning bench is the s600 (with an downgraded metal barrel, essentially a g500) — time to see what these small case SPs are all about

Isn’t the G250 relatively large compared to others and would that be one of its cons? Not travel friendly? Guessing here.

It feels slightly smaller in diameter (case) than the g260, but a bit flatter (My memory might be playing a joke on me so I’ll get them out of storage to check)

 

[PEDiver]

Isn’t the G250 relatively large compared to others and would that be one of its cons? Not travel friendly? Guessing here.

I might be biased since I exclusively dive G250s at this point but I have never thought them to be large or unwieldy or difficult to travel with. You also benefit having a slightly larger diaphragm in the G250 (compared to some other "travel" regulators) which makes WOB so much smoother. I will take that tradeoff all day.

 

[chaad]

I dive mostly Deep6 Signatures but also have a G250 in the stable which I like very much. Curious what you @rsingler think of as the pros/cons of the Deep6 Signature as compared to the G250. Feel free to take a pass on this if you'd prefer to remain silent on D6.

 

[lexvil]

Better G260 after the ones we can’t discuss

 

[p_kos]

One vote for Atomic M1. The usual benefits of Atomic regs but with a wider exhaust tee.

 

[davehicks]

Isn’t the G250 relatively large compared to others and would that be one of its cons? Not travel friendly? Guessing here.

I can't put a G250 in my pant pocket, but I can't fit a smaller C370 either. 2nd stage size is a matter of 1-2 cm and 50-100 grams difference in size and weights, none of which will make any difference in packing.

 

[rsingler]

All feedback I hear from either my students who bought it, and I borrowed from them to test, and my friends in Malta and the Red Sea who use this [S620Ti] second stage rave about it.

No argument there. If you don't do side by side testing, ANY well tuned second stage can feel just great! But look what @bretski said after his comparison. It's like a brown bag wine tasting - subtle differences come out, that can grow to bug you once you focus on them.
And I stand by my criticism of the S620 micro adjuster. There's a reason the slot is so gouged in most disassemblies: it gets very hard to turn (which only the tech has to do) after sitting there for two years. The tech's point of view is unsurprisingly different from the end user.
But yeah. By the numbers and for most everybody, the S620Ti is a fantastic reg.

As for the C370, this is the most used second stage in my training/rental regulator fleet, and there are no issues with rusting or freezing up at all, even when they may not be the most cared-for second stage I have.

I love it too! But this is the last C370 that came through my shop. Not everyone is as careful with their toys as you.

I just TODAY wrote to Scubapro technical services suggesting that they change that sleeve to titanium. It might solve the problem you see there, that plagues both the A700 and C370. Divers don't mess with the knob much. If it feels a little stiff, so what? But when you disassemble it in my part of the world, that rusting is very common.

 

[Nemrod]

Isn’t the G250 relatively large compared to others and would that be one of its cons? Not travel friendly? Guessing here.

The G250 looks larger than it is. It still is in production as the Halcyon Halo and really, the G260 is the G250 with a slightly reduced external physical dimension. The full size or should I just say large diaphragm of the G250/G260 is one of the reasons it breaths so well and smoothly. As well, the case of both are glass fiber reinforced for extreme durability and they both have brass air barrel. Additionally, the slightly larger case volume of the G250/G260 makes the second stage weigh less underwater.

Another pro of the G250 and G260 is the hard front cover and conventional purge button and the G260 has a seat saver function. No soft covers turning to goo or getting hard and cracking, not with a G250 or G260!

The G250 and G260 can be configured for removal of the cover in use to clear the reg, some used to consider that important, not sure it really is though I did get duckweed in one and it jammed the lever and a quick removal of the cover not needing tools saved the dive or at least saved me from de-kitting and walking back to the truck to get tools or another regulator.



The travel weight of regulators is mostly the hoses, gauges (spg or console), and first stages.

If Scubapro puts a titanium air barrel in the C370 and even more so if they pair it with a titanium Mark 11 E(T) then I may bail on the G250. Uh, well, hmmmm, well, I will buy a set of titanium C370s, I will leave it at that.

The CE 156 is almost on par with the G250 but it has, IMO, less Venturi, no Venturi control and it is heavier in the water. The 109, nope, the exhaust valve and tee are too restrictive for it to be top tier. And the soft purge cover is prone to gtting hard. Of course there are silicone replacements which should last much longer than the old neoprene parts.

The other regulator, more simple and rugged and more reliable than even the G250, is the USD/AL 1085. But being a conventional downstream, it just does not match the G250 in use, again, my opinion based on using them for decades.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

Buh... buh... buh... buh... buht ....

I still think the XL4 is cute! It's my quick lake reg (mated to a MK11 or MK17) and resident pony bottle second.