What metal regs are available?

[Wookie]

Hmm yeah all of those seem to be around that $900 mark. I may have to add the metal regulator down the line.

Was I right to move away from the Mares regulators based on my friends suggestion?

Dunno why everyone loves Mares, they are getting almost impossible to deal with. They dropped my wife's dive shop as a repair facility because they didn't sell enough new product. NOAA just dumped them as their go-to regulator and bought hundreds of ScubaPro's They developed the MR-22 Navy for the Navy and I don't know any actual Navy diver who has ever seen one. They use ScubaPro.

I believe the advice you got was right on.

 

[Bob DBF]

I use Sherwood regs and a variety of old metal regs they may help some, but I doubt that that can make up for a bit of dehydration. Insure you are well hydrated, when I'm not drinking enough, water that is, I will get dry mouth regardless of the reg.



Bob

 

[EireDiver606]

Poseidon

 

[Addicted2H2O]

Just switch to a ffm. Problem solved!

 

[txgoose]

Longer dives, I carry water.

hijack apologies. How do you carry water? A platypus bag or similar?

 

[northernone]

hijack apologies. How do you carry water? A platypus bag or similar?

I've only used a platypus style bladder for water twice (it's my bcd now).

Most of the time I use a ziplock bag filled so it's easily sipping. Otherwise I use a regular bottle and drink by blowing into it displacing the water into my mouth. (Like drinking beer underwater)

I'm open to learning new ways, only drunk underwater ~200 dives so far.

Maybe a fun new thread idea?

 

[Couv]

There are plenty of high quality, high performance, low cost regulators available.

Re carrying water, why wouldn't this work?

@northernone stop diving drunk.

 

[JackD342]

I don't think you should be limiting yourself to a metal regulator. There are models out there that are designed specifically to capture some condensation from your exhalation and return it on the next inhalation. Sherwood Oasis comes to mind, and I know I have seen others but can't bring them to mind at the moment.
Oasis Pro - SRB9750
Of course if you do cold water diving, capturing moisture is the last thing you want your regulator to do.

Also, I think you were steered wrong on Mares. There may have been some local politics at play, but the company is healthy and makes some really well designed regulators. I gained a new appreciation once I took the technician course and realized how elegant and uncomplicated their core design is. There is a reason they don't put Venturis on their items - they don't need them.

And I am not so sure they designed the Navy at the Navy's request. I think that name indicates the design intent and the tests it has passed, plus it is a VERY strong marketing decision. One of the (relatively) recent iterations started as the Abyss Extreme, and then became the Navy (or maybe Navy II, I lost track) after it had passed the Navy testing process.

 

[walkonmars]

I think it may depend on how many dives you have done.
The reason I say that is because I posted a question regarding dry mouth.
When I had 1 to 50 dives I got dry mouth a lot and it irritated me much.
The irritation seemed to be forgotten after ~100 dives. Some divers seemed to have the same experience of "growing out" of dry mouth issues.
After all those dives, I believe I learned to periodically press my tongue to the roof of my mouth and gulp spit.
Also, as I got more experience, my breathing became deeper and slower so it likely also contributed to less irritation.
I used to run Aqualung Conshelf 21 type second stages which is a simple downstream design. The venturi assist inside is non-adjustable and diverts the air from a small vane. Maybe this directs a cold focused shot of air to my throat.
I now run barrel-poppet/pneumatically-balanced seconds (Hollis 212, Aqualung Legend and Apeks ATX-XTX seconds) that may provide a more diffuse blast of air. I tried the Apollo BioFilter and hated it. You need to "charge" the media with water every dive and depending on where you mount it the device is another point of easy damage. It is easy to accidentally grab it or bang the long cylinder hanging off the threaded fittings.
Maybe borrow or swap regulators with a buddy and see if it works better for you.
A not so bad advice to cure the issue it may be to get to get at least 100 dives soon (Unless you already have that many. Heck, get another 100 dives to be certain.)
At one point, I carried a "bag" type fruit drink (Capri sun) having foil containers. I could take a nice drink underwater after punching the straw through the bag. It was really a novelty rather than gear I needed to have. It was fun to say I did it before.

 

[buddhasummer]

There are plenty of high quality, high performance, low cost regulators available.
View attachment 484045

Re carrying water, why wouldn't this work?
View attachment 484039

@northernone stop diving drunk.

Show off.