What do you suggest

[Jim Lapenta]

Until I switched to HOG I used an oceanic delta 3 with the cdx5 first stage in cold water and first time under the ice. My back up was a 20 yr old Sherwood Blizzard. The delta offered great hose routing and good performance. I converted my blizzard to DIN and used it on my stages. When HOG came out I switched and am in the process of replacing all my regs with them (4 down and 4 to go). They have been under the ice, in heavy silt, and down to 130 plus feet. I have had zero issues. And rather than spending $400 for a 1st stage, one second stage, and a hose I can't use or won't use because of the length, you can get a complete set up with a first, two indentical seconds, seven foot hose, back up hose, and adapter for yoke valves for under $450.00. Two year service interval, no tools needed to remove the face plate, no complicated procedure to do it like one shiny new reg that just came out, and no back alley deals needed to get service kits. You can buy them from any dealer. And I do ship usps to canada so no outrageous ups or fedex fees. Pay your normal.customs fee when you pick it up and go.

I see no reason to pay for or recommend a $700- $1000.00 reg for anyone as it in truth offers no real benefits over a less expensive one with comparable performance and features with less cost for service as well.

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[nimoh]

I have owned both the XTX200 and XTX50 for a few years now, and honestly cannot tell the difference, so I would probably go with the XTX50, as a matter of fact, when I needed to pick up a stage reg a few months ago, I bought the XTX50, taking my own advice

One thing I wish I would have done way back is get a DIN first stage, my stage reg is a DIN (I believe other posts have recommended DIN). Ulimately, I plan to switch to doubles and will most likely be going with an Apeks Tek3 setup. Unfortunately, I have never owned a reg other than Apeks, so my assessment of quality is a little subjective, but I am very happy with my regs, and don't see any reason to change.

I read one post listing some advantages of the XTX200 and/or XTX50 indicating reversing the hose routing, and while yes this is possible, I am not sure why this would be considered an advantage, since I can't think of any reason why you would want to do that.