Who Makes The Best Regulator?
- Thread starter AtomicScubaDiver
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You like this and someone else likes that. Some people buy into hype and some don't. Some like to flash their trick watch others have a Timex. It all is very relative and means very little.
The best regulator is the one that works for you.
The best regulator is the one that works for you.
Jimmer
Contributor
That reminds me of the time that my old boss started chewing out us engineers at work because we were all driving imports. Two Honda's made in Alliston Ontario, and a Toyota which was actually made about 15 km away in the same city we worked in. Of course he supported the local economy with his made in the USA Corvette.
Stuff like that really pisses me off. Even if Honda/Toyota are Japanese companies, they still have North American headquarters and employ a LOT of North American workers, which then keep other people (like myself designing injection moulds for the auto industry) employed. Frankly I don't give a crap where the profits go, if they are employing locals and paying their taxes, sponsoring local events and charities, then I'm all for it.
P.S. there was this big push among union guys up here to slap "made in Canada matters" bumper stickers on their cars. The ironic thing is I have yet to actually see one on a car made in Canada.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
If Toyota made regulators That would probably be the one I'd own.
My '02 Tacoma P/U was made at the Nummi plant about 1.5 hours from my house in the Bay Area. Unfortunately they shut the plant down after many years due to the depression, but my point is people from right around where I live got paid to build my truck.
I also buy all my own parts for it (which are very cost effective) and do all my own work on it.
I can haul all my dive gear, and it has four wheel drive if I need to get to a really remote dive site. And I can haul a load of firewood or camp gear if I want. It also didn't cost me an arm and a leg to buy.
With a Mercedes or Audi, first of all I can't afford them to start with, and they wouldn't be my first choice to use to haul dive gear or firewood. Parts are outrageous and I wouldn't feel comfortable working on them much past changing the oil and maybe brake pads.
Service is crazy expensive so to me they are impractical and useless.
Transfer this thinking to regulators:
I don't do crazy deep demanding dives. What I want is a regulator that is bullet proof, simple, cheap to rebuild, and one that I can buy parts for. To me this is the best reg.
Most of my dives are in the 40 to 80 foot range. I don't need some super high end expensive reg that needs to be serviced once a year to uphold the parts warranty.
Cost of use and maintenance is a big factor for me especially in this economy.
Bling has no value when it comes to needing a workhorse that is economical, bulletproof, and reliable.
I always go for the commercial/industrial line of thinking. Not the prettiest or most expensive, but the best worker.
Pick something with that criteria in mind from any brand and you have the best reg IMO.
My '02 Tacoma P/U was made at the Nummi plant about 1.5 hours from my house in the Bay Area. Unfortunately they shut the plant down after many years due to the depression, but my point is people from right around where I live got paid to build my truck.
I also buy all my own parts for it (which are very cost effective) and do all my own work on it.
I can haul all my dive gear, and it has four wheel drive if I need to get to a really remote dive site. And I can haul a load of firewood or camp gear if I want. It also didn't cost me an arm and a leg to buy.
With a Mercedes or Audi, first of all I can't afford them to start with, and they wouldn't be my first choice to use to haul dive gear or firewood. Parts are outrageous and I wouldn't feel comfortable working on them much past changing the oil and maybe brake pads.
Service is crazy expensive so to me they are impractical and useless.
Transfer this thinking to regulators:
I don't do crazy deep demanding dives. What I want is a regulator that is bullet proof, simple, cheap to rebuild, and one that I can buy parts for. To me this is the best reg.
Most of my dives are in the 40 to 80 foot range. I don't need some super high end expensive reg that needs to be serviced once a year to uphold the parts warranty.
Cost of use and maintenance is a big factor for me especially in this economy.
Bling has no value when it comes to needing a workhorse that is economical, bulletproof, and reliable.
I always go for the commercial/industrial line of thinking. Not the prettiest or most expensive, but the best worker.
Pick something with that criteria in mind from any brand and you have the best reg IMO.
I have carried wood and tents in my clk230 Mercedes. It also will carry 8 tanks and 4 sets of gear. Done that more than once. Tough little thing. And it is fast........ too.
Nah, it's not that bad. Maintain 'em on time, and they Never give you trouble. Cheaper in the long run.
Oh, and Apeks.
You can make yourselves feel better about buying Japanese stuff as much as you want, but if GM, Chrysler or Ford go out of business, it will have FAR reaching implications for the American economy and national security than if Toyota or Honda or any other foreign auto manufacturer went out of business.
If I am in a car accident, I'd rather be in a Mercedes or Audi than a Honda or Toyota (I have been and so have family members. VERY nasty accidents to the point where the cars were totaled. My brother-in law driving in Japanese car had to be sent to Germany for serious operations. My brother didn't suffer a scratch in his head-on accident in his Mercedes even though his accident was much more serious than my brother-in's accident.).
You may go a very long time of not needing the top of the line, but when you do need it, you need it.
Who and what is the best regulator is usually a matter of taste and personal preference but perhaps we can agree that a diver should buy the "best" regulator they can afford to buy with the definition of what is the best left up to them to define based on their circumstances.
For me Atomic first and SP very close second. Both are US and Atomic is ALL US including manufacturing.
If I am in a car accident, I'd rather be in a Mercedes or Audi than a Honda or Toyota (I have been and so have family members. VERY nasty accidents to the point where the cars were totaled. My brother-in law driving in Japanese car had to be sent to Germany for serious operations. My brother didn't suffer a scratch in his head-on accident in his Mercedes even though his accident was much more serious than my brother-in's accident.).
You may go a very long time of not needing the top of the line, but when you do need it, you need it.
Who and what is the best regulator is usually a matter of taste and personal preference but perhaps we can agree that a diver should buy the "best" regulator they can afford to buy with the definition of what is the best left up to them to define based on their circumstances.
For me Atomic first and SP very close second. Both are US and Atomic is ALL US including manufacturing.
Ozwald
Contributor
I looked for a reasons to buy NA. I needed something that could handle all driving conditions, ice, snow, rain, gravel roads etc. while at the same time being fun and efficient to drive. It's not unusual for me to do 400-500 kms in a day maybe 8 or 9 times a month.
North American vehicles just couldnt cut it nor would any of them be worth anything after 2 years......went with an Audi A3 2.0 turbo S-Line.
What a fun car to drive.
North American vehicles just couldnt cut it nor would any of them be worth anything after 2 years......went with an Audi A3 2.0 turbo S-Line.
What a fun car to drive.
Value for money spent= Zeagle
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