what is a reasonaly priced reg?

[blue32]

$70 a day? Whew! If I p/u my gear on a Friday evening for diving on Saturday, I pay $32. That includes BC, weight & weight belt, tank, reg, octo, spg and dive bag. since my dive shop is closed on Sundays, I get an extra days rental for free. Gear is due back by 6pm on Monday. So actually, I'm getting gear for 3 days for 32 bucks. I guess they could charge me for Sunday, but the people at my LDS are way nice people and they know I have a tight budget.

 

[MuddyFox]

Go for the Oceanic Alpha. I've read nothing but good things about it. I even read a review where folks were attracted to its breathing performance. The Rodale's review said it performed up to "tech" standards... www.leisurepro.com for a good deal.

Also you might consider the Apeks TX20. It's fine for tropical diving. Apeks makes a mighty fine line of regulators.

 

[Scubaroo]

Speaking of the TX20, there are regs and octopus on eBay at the moment if you do a search for "Apeks". I think it's LeisurePro selling them (they sell on eBay), and I haven't seen anyone bid on their previous TX20 auctions, so you might be able to grab a first and second stage with octopus in the two auctions for about $230 shipped. Then you can add the console of your choice, or just an SPG, and a seperate wrist mounted computer or bottom timer with whatever your remaining budget allows. If you're only doing recreational diving, it's not a bad idea to just use an SPG and bottom timer/depth gauge, and use the PADI RDP or whichever tables you were taught during open water. Cheap and educational.

Apeks regs are great pieces of gear - if you're looking at buying entry level gear, pay an extra $50-$80 and go with the Apeks - the TX20 is the same design as their higher end cold water regs minus "bells and whistles" such as user adjustable second stage, and environmental sealing on first stage. They will last you a very long time.

yknot raised a good point about other gear - regs, BC and exposure suit are definitely high on the list of priorities when it comes to owning your own gear, but talk to a dive shop and see if they can put a package together for you if you need the other items. Shops can often offer finance as well if you have the means to service the debt.

 

[MgicTwnger]

Check out the new issue, the big article is a review of a zillion regs. A lot of people on the board think that the reviews are biased towards advertisers, but I don't find that to be the case.

 

[Curly]

How much is a cab ride?

Guess it depends on what you plan to do with it, what you may do with it later, and how much you can afford.

Plenty of good advice on this forum!