Which regulator?

[beardown]

I'm getting ready to buy some equipmernt and am still uncertain about regulators. I am a recreational diver (with hopes of doing some tech diving) but am willing to spend somewhat more money to get good equipment that I can grow into and not want to replace in a year or two. I have an opportunity to buy a demo Zeagle Flathead VI at a very good price ($399) but had the shopowner recommend a Oceanic FDX Delta or Oceanic Eco due to type of diving use (mostly recreational). I've also considered an Aeris AT400. I suppose ease of breathing is an important feature with a Venturi adjustment. It seems that there's lots of good recreational level equipment in the $350-$500 range, but the almost endless BS from dive shop owners that's promoted as meaningful information makes informed decisions almost impossible.

Any strong recommendations in the aforementioned price range? Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Nemrod]

Aqua Lung Titan LX.

N

 

[shoturtle]

Aeris is part of the oceanic company, the AT400 is pretty much the oceanic gt3 a very good reg that is going for about 250-300 now if it is not the dvt. With the 4 you mention, I would go for the oceanic delta 4, is great in the cold water, and has all the bells and whistle. It was the top of the line until the EOS came out. good hunting for a new reg

 

[Vie]

I'm getting ready to buy some equipmernt and am still uncertain about regulators. I am a recreational diver (with hopes of doing some tech diving) but am willing to spend somewhat more money to get good equipment that I can grow into and not want to replace in a year or two. I have an opportunity to buy a demo Zeagle Flathead VI at a very good price ($399) but had the shopowner recommend a Oceanic FDX Delta or Oceanic Eco due to type of diving use (mostly recreational). I've also considered an Aeris AT400. I suppose ease of breathing is an important feature with a Venturi adjustment. It seems that there's lots of good recreational level equipment in the $350-$500 range, but the almost endless BS from dive shop owners that's promoted as meaningful information makes informed decisions almost impossible.

Any strong recommendations in the aforementioned price range? Any thoughts are appreciated.

If you want a reg that you can "grow into" "with hopes of doing some tech diving," I'd recommend an Apeks DS4/XTX50.

Bear in mind also that a first stage for recreational use comes with a yoke type attachment (most of the time) whereas you'll need a DIN first stage for technical diving... Many brands offer a choice of yoke or DIN with their first stages.

 

[Dive Junky]

Any Poseidon. Cant go wrong.

 

[Jimmer]

Wow, 4 posts and 4 different suggestions, big surprise. So I'll add another one. I own 2 Flathead VI's, 2 Zeagle DSV's and 2 Oceanic GT3's. I prefer the Zeagle's over the GT3's, and the fact of the matter is I can't feel a difference between my Flathead's and DSV's. If you want good bang for your buck, the DSV's win hands down IMHO.

 

[dogenia]

I vote Aqualung Legend.

 

[Colliam7]

I have an opportunity to buy a demo Zeagle Flathead VI at a very good price ($399) but had the shopowner recommend a Oceanic FDX Delta or Oceanic Eco due to type of diving use (mostly recreational).

The Flathead VI is a good reg, and is certainly suitable for recreational diving, so I don't fully understand where the recommendation about the Oceanic alternatives is coming from. They are good regs, but you also won't go wrong with a Zeagle, and you can easily use the F-VI across a broad range of diving. I presume the price includes (at least) one second stage, which should be a ZX. I personally like the ZX second stages quite a bit, and find the Zeagle to be very easy breathing at depth.

It seems that there's lots of good recreational level equipment in the $350-$500 range, but the almost endless BS from dive shop owners that's promoted as meaningful information makes informed decisions almost impossible.

There is a lot of good equipment available. I am always somewhat hesitant to say that what you hear from owners is BS, as they may have personal preferences just like the rest of us. They may also be motivated by what incentives are available from the different manufacturers, which is not altogether bad. If you have two, equivalent quality, equivalent functionality, products, and one has a better margin than the other, is there anything worng with recommending that (higher margin) product? In this case, I would look carefully at the price proposition. There is no reason to spend substantially more than the $399 for a good recreational reg. But, if the price for an Oceanic, for example, is lower, certainly consider it. My experience on the east coast is that service availability for Zeagle is a little better than for Oceanic, but that may vary by region.

 

[SlowRain]

You are going to find that when you ask "what is best" you are going to usually get a variety of responses.

The Zeagle you mentioned is a good regulator, and I would recommend you starting with that one. As you get into tech, you are going to realize that eventually you will need a second regulator and that would be the appropriate time to sink a bit more money into some equipment. In other words you can take the Zeagle and put it into service as your second set on your tech rig, and buy something for your primary.

Opinion only, Poseidon. I have an Extreme Deep 90 with a 7' hose as my primary and a Jetstream/Odin as my second. Yes you will hear some knocks around expense of maintenance and availability of parts. I have yet to have a problem with either. As far as reliability, the Jetstream/Odin has been in use more than 25 years...and the design remains basically the same. That says something about their reliability. Again...personal opinion.

 

[flareless]

I've recently switched to Apeks gear and I'm extremely happy. I'm moving from Recreational to Technical Diving and use both the XTX200 and XTX50 regulators. Both are incredibly easy breathing and extremely well built.

My present configuration;

Doubles (Tec);
Apeks Tek3 first stages
Apeks XTX200 - primary second stage
Apeks XTX50 - Alternate second stage

Single (Rec);
Apeks DS4 first stage
Apeks XTX50 - Primary second stage
Sherwood Magnum - Alternate second stage

Note that the Sherwood was my older, primary second stage on my old setup. It was connected to a Sherwood Magnus first stage. I didn't realize how much difference a good first stage made. When I switched to the DS4 air was no longer rammed down my throat and breathing was far more comfortable. Even my old Magnum connected to the new first stage breathes so much better. I can't recommend the Apeks gear enough. Good luck with your choice!