*Floater*
Contributor
I recently bought my first reg as well. I chose Dive Rite RG2500 from NESS. My reasons were as follows:
1. Good feedback: Most feedback here and on thedecodstop.com about Dive Rite regs was positive, and tech divers seem to have a good opinion of them so I figured they couldn't be bad and should conform to my needs if I do more demanding diving in the future.
2. Price: It was a good deal; $350 with warrenty for first & second stage, DIN-yoke adapter and octo, plus the store also carries brass SPG's for $40 a piece (or $100 for 3) - they are in bar but that's a plus for me because I do metric. (I use my computer and Timex Helix DM watch for depth gauges).
3. DIN-Yoke adapter: Came with the reg and this was a big plus for me because I travel a lot to dive and don't know whether I'll get DIN or yoke at my destination. Also the regs are DIN based which seems to be prefered over yoke- another plus.
4. Ease and cost of service: Supposed to be on the easier, and at some point I may want to learn how self-service my equipment, so this was another plus for me. The service manual can be found online for free.
5. The ratings were around average in scubalab tests, but I heard that most regs today breath pretty well (average diver may not even be able to tell the difference) so the other considerations above were of greater concern to me. Besides, I didn't feel I needed a top of the line reg, just a good reliable one.
6. You can get an ICE kit for these regs for cold water diving, though I didn't because I probably won't be doing any in the near future. Still I liked the option for future possibilities.
Those were my considerations - I'm not an experienced diver though so there may be things I failed to consider and hope others weigh in.
If I like this reg, then I'll probably buy another DR first stage for use with doubles.
1. Good feedback: Most feedback here and on thedecodstop.com about Dive Rite regs was positive, and tech divers seem to have a good opinion of them so I figured they couldn't be bad and should conform to my needs if I do more demanding diving in the future.
2. Price: It was a good deal; $350 with warrenty for first & second stage, DIN-yoke adapter and octo, plus the store also carries brass SPG's for $40 a piece (or $100 for 3) - they are in bar but that's a plus for me because I do metric. (I use my computer and Timex Helix DM watch for depth gauges).
3. DIN-Yoke adapter: Came with the reg and this was a big plus for me because I travel a lot to dive and don't know whether I'll get DIN or yoke at my destination. Also the regs are DIN based which seems to be prefered over yoke- another plus.
4. Ease and cost of service: Supposed to be on the easier, and at some point I may want to learn how self-service my equipment, so this was another plus for me. The service manual can be found online for free.
5. The ratings were around average in scubalab tests, but I heard that most regs today breath pretty well (average diver may not even be able to tell the difference) so the other considerations above were of greater concern to me. Besides, I didn't feel I needed a top of the line reg, just a good reliable one.
6. You can get an ICE kit for these regs for cold water diving, though I didn't because I probably won't be doing any in the near future. Still I liked the option for future possibilities.
Those were my considerations - I'm not an experienced diver though so there may be things I failed to consider and hope others weigh in.
If I like this reg, then I'll probably buy another DR first stage for use with doubles.
