What Reg Do You Recomend
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Spoon
Contributor
YOUDUKE:
bro you cant go wrong with apeks or scubapro. either or and your fine. most of these regs nowadays are made to high standards. its a matter of preference from here. but from where im from, the apeks line is the most popular especially with the tech diving community.
Scuba Pro MK25 is a great reg. But, I don't trust it in cold water. I have 2 of em. Had them under Ice with no problems. But, I've seen others have a lot of problems.
Apeks anything is great in Cold and warm water. Cheap and good is the TX50/DS4. Or for a smaller second stage ATX50/DS4. TX100 and ATX200's are great also. If you want to spend more money for the same performance of the DS4.
ScubaPro can be worked on Anywhere. Apeks should be able to also. But definately more ScubaPro shops...
That's what I use. Never used an Atomic. Heard they are great. Same with Zeagle. Do know Apeks are great regs though... Sherwood Blizzard is a good reg. But not in the same league as the Apeks..
Apeks anything is great in Cold and warm water. Cheap and good is the TX50/DS4. Or for a smaller second stage ATX50/DS4. TX100 and ATX200's are great also. If you want to spend more money for the same performance of the DS4.
ScubaPro can be worked on Anywhere. Apeks should be able to also. But definately more ScubaPro shops...
That's what I use. Never used an Atomic. Heard they are great. Same with Zeagle. Do know Apeks are great regs though... Sherwood Blizzard is a good reg. But not in the same league as the Apeks..
I was in your shoes a month ago. I read and read and looked at reviews and posted questions and polls and got tons of answers. This forum tends to like ScubaPro and Apeks regs mostly with Atomic and Zeagle coming in a somewhat distant second. All 4 of those score well on the various reviews. (Check out the regulator articles on www.scubadiving.com under the grear/regulator section) What I gleened from all this "research" was that modern days regs don't suck. Most of them are fairly good. Some are slightly better than others.
Anyway, I posted this poll:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=107553
I didn't include Apeks in my poll because I didn't have access to them locally. But based on the feedback on the poll, I went into my LDS certain I was going to buy two ScubaPro MK25/S600's. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, they only had one at the time. So we purchased one SP reg and one Oceanic Delta3 Titanium setup.
We jump in the pool at ScubaToys to try out the new equipment and I quickly notice that at 11 feet my ScubaPro Mk25/S600 was not giving me as much air as I was hoping to receive. I am sure it was enough air, but for a big guy and newbie like me it gives me comfort to feel like my regulator is delivering a bunch to me. So for reference I swapped regs with my daughter's Oceanic and it was giving me much more air at 11 feet. I was immediately more comfortable with it. Luckily, ScubaToys let me swap my ScubaPro reg out for the Oceanic and that's the one I am using now.
Now the quesion arises, did I get the right reg? If you ask the forum which regulator you should buy, the Oceanic won't come up most likely. In fact, I have seen it called a cheap, low end regulator by some. But under the water where it counted, I felt a lot better about it than the more expensive and highly reguarded ScubaPro. I have been in the water with it about 20 times now but only down to 33 feet so far and I am still liking this Oceanic a lot.
I'm not recommending any specific regulator for you here. My point is, if you can only go by people's opinions to buy a reg then buying what they recommend is your only way to go. But if at all possible, try to get in the water with some of them and you might be surprised at which you choose personally. I was.
Anyway, I posted this poll:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=107553
I didn't include Apeks in my poll because I didn't have access to them locally. But based on the feedback on the poll, I went into my LDS certain I was going to buy two ScubaPro MK25/S600's. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, they only had one at the time. So we purchased one SP reg and one Oceanic Delta3 Titanium setup.
We jump in the pool at ScubaToys to try out the new equipment and I quickly notice that at 11 feet my ScubaPro Mk25/S600 was not giving me as much air as I was hoping to receive. I am sure it was enough air, but for a big guy and newbie like me it gives me comfort to feel like my regulator is delivering a bunch to me. So for reference I swapped regs with my daughter's Oceanic and it was giving me much more air at 11 feet. I was immediately more comfortable with it. Luckily, ScubaToys let me swap my ScubaPro reg out for the Oceanic and that's the one I am using now.
Now the quesion arises, did I get the right reg? If you ask the forum which regulator you should buy, the Oceanic won't come up most likely. In fact, I have seen it called a cheap, low end regulator by some. But under the water where it counted, I felt a lot better about it than the more expensive and highly reguarded ScubaPro. I have been in the water with it about 20 times now but only down to 33 feet so far and I am still liking this Oceanic a lot.
I'm not recommending any specific regulator for you here. My point is, if you can only go by people's opinions to buy a reg then buying what they recommend is your only way to go. But if at all possible, try to get in the water with some of them and you might be surprised at which you choose personally. I was.
The thing to take home from this is that any manufacturer's high-end regulators work well and are very reliable.
*I* suggest that you make your choice based on the recommendations of your favorite shop and your pocketbook.
*I* suggest that you make your choice based on the recommendations of your favorite shop and your pocketbook.
Duckgill
Guest
Well, Scubasarus is correct in saying everyone had a different view. But, Apeks came up more than once. And Apeks is owned by the famous U.S. Divers aka. Aqua Lung. I have used U.S. Divers equipment since the 1970's and it has always been reliable. I did up grade in 2004 to an Auqa Lung Lengend LX. I upgraded from a U.S.Divers Calypso III purchased in the early 70's. It still works and I still have it and can get service on it. It's your choice and preference but you might look at the Apeks or an Auqa Lung Titan or the Titan LX. I'm like you in the sense that I don't like having to buy new equipment every couple of years.
halocline
Contributor
Jarrett:
Something's really strange about this, because the MK25/s600 delivers WAAAYY more air than it is humanly possible to breathe, no matter how big you are. I can guarantee you that the Oceanic does not deliver more air; maybe you had the 2nd stage adjustment set so that the reg would breathe harder or the reg was seriously out of tune, or for whatever reason at the time you were using the SP your state of mind and/or physiology was different causing you to have some sort of reaction about not being able to breathe easily enough..who knows. As long as you got the reg you want, you're set. People sometimes criticize the MK25 for having too high a flow (something around 5 times the capacity of the most high performance 2nd stages available under full freeflow) so I'm certain your problem was not the reg's capacity.
Mark Vlahos
Contributor
Pick a regulator from any of the major manufacturers. Choose a regulator that is in the middle of their product line or higher. Choose one that is not gimmicky, stay away from ones that are far more expensive because they are slightly lighter. Exotic aluminum alloys or titanium are almost always not worth the extra money, and in some cases do not hold up well over the years. ScubaPro and Aqualung both have histories of continuing to provide parts for regulators that are very old. If you plan on keeping your new regulator for the next twenty years this might be a big factor.
One factor that is often overlooked is the long term cost of ownership. Some regulator manufacturers have "parts for life" policies. Typically when you get the regulator serviced every year, you pay for the labor but the parts are free. If you miss one service interval you are usually out of the program, and you will need to start paying for parts. Parts may cost you as little as $10 per stage, or $30 for a typical set, or as much as $25 per stage, or $75 for a typical set. These parts costs are in addition to the cost of the labor. ScubaPro has a policy where if you miss any service intervals you can buy yourself back into the program by paying the parts cost once, and on the next yearly service you are back in the program. In all of the cases you need to save the recipts and warranty cards or booklets from EVERY service to prove that you are the original ownner and that you are current on the service.
In my opinion it is usually cost efective to spend a few dollars more to get a regulator in one of the "parts for life" programs and keep current on the service, rather than save a few bucks but need to spend extra with every service. It is your choice, but be informed. Ask the shop what the cost of service for each regulator you are considering is. Once you know this cost factor out the total cost of ownership for five years and make any price comparisons based on purchase price PLUS the cost of maintenance for five years.
If you are looking for brand names many other posts have given you those. I have either owned or used as rentals ScubaPro, Apeks, US Divers (now Aqualung), Zeagle, Oceanic. I have been diving with people who have been using DiveRite, Atomic, Mares. Any of these brands will be worth considering, as well as other major brands that I have not mentioned. Take your time, and make your choice based on price and solid proven designs from good companies. If anything I would probably stay away from flashy regulators and choose one that looks relatively normal and like all of the competition.
Good Luck,
Mark Vlahos
One factor that is often overlooked is the long term cost of ownership. Some regulator manufacturers have "parts for life" policies. Typically when you get the regulator serviced every year, you pay for the labor but the parts are free. If you miss one service interval you are usually out of the program, and you will need to start paying for parts. Parts may cost you as little as $10 per stage, or $30 for a typical set, or as much as $25 per stage, or $75 for a typical set. These parts costs are in addition to the cost of the labor. ScubaPro has a policy where if you miss any service intervals you can buy yourself back into the program by paying the parts cost once, and on the next yearly service you are back in the program. In all of the cases you need to save the recipts and warranty cards or booklets from EVERY service to prove that you are the original ownner and that you are current on the service.
In my opinion it is usually cost efective to spend a few dollars more to get a regulator in one of the "parts for life" programs and keep current on the service, rather than save a few bucks but need to spend extra with every service. It is your choice, but be informed. Ask the shop what the cost of service for each regulator you are considering is. Once you know this cost factor out the total cost of ownership for five years and make any price comparisons based on purchase price PLUS the cost of maintenance for five years.
If you are looking for brand names many other posts have given you those. I have either owned or used as rentals ScubaPro, Apeks, US Divers (now Aqualung), Zeagle, Oceanic. I have been diving with people who have been using DiveRite, Atomic, Mares. Any of these brands will be worth considering, as well as other major brands that I have not mentioned. Take your time, and make your choice based on price and solid proven designs from good companies. If anything I would probably stay away from flashy regulators and choose one that looks relatively normal and like all of the competition.
Good Luck,
Mark Vlahos
No one said that.Jarrett:Heh, I like this theory. It CAN'T be the reg, I'm just too dumb to breathe
However, I believe that there is no chance whatsoever that the reg was incapable of delivering the amount of air you wanted. There are many possible explanations, including the reg being out of tune.
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