What regulator to buy for cave diving + regular diving

[attack33]

If I had any advice around cave equipment it would be to look at all the components of your kit and understand their complete operation and failure points before going too far in the overhead. Full disclaimer: I am not an instructor and probably will never be. This is just based off my experiences and there are much more qualified people out there. I was tying off to Ginnie main line the other day when a swivel o-ring blew. No biggie. Turn the short hose off, switch to long, notify team, cut the dive. An LP hose failure will drain an 80cu foot tank in ~81 seconds. I practice thirds and proper gas management so the chances of this being fatal at max penetration are low, but why even assume that risk if its avoidable? It compelled me to look at every single component and understand its risk vs. benefit. It wasn't the regulator, but the nice shiny unnecessary swivels that created the issue. Yes, the regulator is your main life support, but tanks, valves, hoses, adapters, mouthpieces, zip ties, bungee, SPG's, etc. can get you into trouble or cause you to cut a dive as well. Hell, I have had mouthpieces rip to shreds in training with gas sharing scenarios in overhead as well. It is not if your equipment will fail, but when. I don't say this to create fear. It is the reality of this type of diving. Anticipate worst case scenarios and and anything happening at max penetration in a silt out. Anyway, I did a test with my wife the other day blindfolded where I let her breathe off of an Atomic Z3, Dive Rite XT, Apeks XTX50, and HOG D3 to see which breathed the best. Granted she's not an ANSTI breathing machine, but she chose HOG. Surprising, right? The cheapest regulator I own. Price does not always equate to performance. I would look at serviceability, availability, durability, performance, and specs before I chose a reg. There is no direct ascent to the surface in cave diving so deco is unavoidable a lot of times. You will definitely be owning quite a few regulator sets on your journey. I recommend something of the Apeks clone variety. Good luck!

 

[Compressor]

I was definitely JOKING!!! I dive nothing but MK20/G250s and Mk10/G250s

It didn't sound like it but that's fine.

 

[halocline]

I use old SP regs, I especially like the metal case 109 (balanced/adjustable) 2nd stages in caves. They are very simple, built like tanks, and tend to dry me out less than plastic 2nd stages. I use any of the older balanced piston 1st stages; they all route fine for doubles and sidemount. I have sets of MK5s, MK10s, and MK15s. The later ones (MK25) are perfectly fine, I just like working on the older ones better.

There's no particular challenge on regulators in caves. You just need real reliability and a turret is very useful for sidemount routing.

 

[lostsheep]

Isn't that the old gold mine?

We have a couple of sort of divable mines up here. They are very short and very crappy, and on private land.

Hall City is a cave that allegedly had stolen gold stashed in it back during the gold rush days.

 

[rjack321]

The Cascade grotto can help set you up with some localish dry caving (within 3 hr drive from Kent). Diving-wise you will need to go far far away from Washington State.
Cascade Grotto – Enjoying and conserving caves in the Pacific Northwest and beyond since 1951

 

[happy-diver]

APEKS regs have become unreliable, leading to bordeline oversphinctering C.R.A.P.
Do not listen to happy-diver up there in post number 9 he seems to also be C.R.A.P.

and yeah my info is a bit historical, thanks.

 

[Jeremy Williams]

Since nobody has mentioned it... I would choose a second stage that I can easily take apart in the cave with no tools. Get the dive shop to show you how to do it and then try to do it yourself before you buy if you aren’t sure. Remove the front cover and diaphragm and reinstall them.

 

[halocline]

Since nobody has mentioned it... I would choose a second stage that I can easily take apart in the cave with no tools. Get the dive shop to show you how to do it and then try to do it yourself before you buy if you aren’t sure. Remove the front cover and diaphragm and reinstall them.

When I started cave diving I specifically used a 2nd stage that I could take apart without tools, but I don't bother anymore. I think it's very very rare that you would ever need to take apart a 2nd stage in a cave. And the conditions that would lead to a clogged 2nd stage that you couldn't clear just with a purge are also likely to mean you would be doing so in zero vis. Then there's the idea that you might need parts like a new diaphragm or exhaust valve, are you carrying those too? It's a slippery slope.

There is the argument that if you drop stages, maybe that regulator could get silted up badly enough so that you would need to take it apart to get it working, although I have never encountered anyone who has actually had that issue. And in that case, maybe the better solution would be to carry a spare 2nd stage in your pouch. (we all have multitools to remove and install a 2nd stage) It would be quicker and easier to simply exchange a 2nd stage than to take it apart and try to fiddle with a diaphragm and/or exhaust valve.

 

[DogDiver]

Just my 2 cents worth. I like using MK2-R190s on my deco and stage bottles. They only have one moving part in the first stage. In fresh water you can remove the hole regulator and put it on a failed bottle without any damage other than maybe some water in the SPG. Kind of like the Chevy truck of regulators. Nothing fancy, but will save your bacon.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Regs that look like APEKS regs are copies of APEKS regs

APEKS regs are THE cave diving reg, also many CCR regs.

I see a lot more Scubapro than Apeks. Heck I see a lot more Dive Rite than Apeks. But Apeks is common.

I personally use Deep 6 for my primary regs, and Scubapro for stage/deco (Mk25/G250HP). My primary will be Scubapro by the end of the year (Mk19Evo/S560).

My primary reason for going Scubapro over Deep 6 is international service, it is hard to go anywhere in the world that has any really amount of diving and not find a Scubapro shop. I also keep service kits in the unlikely event that the local dealer doesn't have them.