Why not Atomic?

[Paulmal]

I know a lot of tech guys that dive Atomic. A lot has to do with price point. Everyone (most everyone) would like to own a BMW but a lot can't. Same with your regs. I dive Atomic M1's but have friends that use Z2's it's all what you can afford. Hog is a cheap Chinese Knock off of Apex which is an American copy of some other reg. Atomic created their own reg design, I know they left Scubapro to start the company. I have had poor customer service from SP so never again. Atomic has had great Customer Service and their products are bullet proof.

Nothing wrong with hog just a cheap Reg and does not jive with my consumer preferences.

 

[BoltSnap]

F.Y.I I was a dive shop owner for 10 years selling Dacor, SP, AL, Mares, Poseidon, Sherwood and Atomic. Atomic was the best for me to the point where I only sold and used Atomic regs. after trying the rest. The others weren't bad (one Italian brand was very unreliable though with many recalls and issues with spare parts) but the Atomic was better and least total cost of ownership to me and to the dive shop for rental while having the best/one of the best performance specs.

 

[Fishpie]

For me the number one quality for a tech reg is reliability and then performance and lastly price.

I prefer diaphragm for reliability and they come out of the box sealed and are easy to put a second seal on for cold water.

Scubapro MK25 and Atomic are very similar piston regs and (arguably) equally reliable and the only reasons I can think SP are more popular is tech divers prefer to twist their own venturis, they are historically what everybody used and they are possibly less expensive.

Apeks got a kick start over here by being highly regarded by some prominent members of the WKPP.

Can't say for others but for me HOGs are a very good clone of an Apeks, with no drop in performance from the original and less than half the price.

 

[BDSC]

Atomic had there new T3 at the DEMA show. Get you one for yourself and maybe some B2's for your students. Just remember..........

"Before Atomic Aquatics, there was no BEST in Scuba Diving"

 

[Dr. Lecter]

So riddle me this one, the other part of my question; why don't tech guys use Atomic?

Plenty of us do; I prefer M1s with cave rings for my doubles. For stage/deco bottles, though, I use Apeks due to the whole 'high chance of flooding while in use' thing.

 

[nimoh]

I know a lot of tech guys that dive Atomic. A lot has to do with price point. Everyone (most everyone) would like to own a BMW but a lot can't. Same with your regs. I dive Atomic M1's but have friends that use Z2's it's all what you can afford. Hog is a cheap Chinese Knock off of Apex which is an American copy of some other reg. Atomic created their own reg design, I know they left Scubapro to start the company. I have had poor customer service from SP so never again. Atomic has had great Customer Service and their products are bullet proof.

Nothing wrong with hog just a cheap Reg and does not jive with my consumer preferences.

can you elaborate on what you mean by "Apex which is an American copy of some other reg"?

I was under the impression that Apeks was a UK company

 

[Fishpie]

Apeks.....proudly made in Blackburn Lancs.

 

[BoltSnap]

Bro,

What is so special about the T3? How can a perfect regulator get more perfect?

Atomic had there new T3 at the DEMA show. Get you one for yourself and maybe some B2's for your students. Just remember..........

"Before Atomic Aquatics, there was no BEST in Scuba Diving"

 

[Scott L]

You will find dozens of threads on HOG regulators. I use them because they are very well made and very reasonably priced. Atomics are great regulators but they are expensive to service (or so I am told by Atomic users around here). As I am fond of telling my sons...these decisions shouldn't be "us against them". People do their homework and buy the product that best meets their needs given their budget, the type of diving they do and the reviews of people they know and trust.

By the way I know lots of tech divers who use Atomics.

Atomics are great regulators, HOGS are great regulators and the list goes on.

Atomics can be sent directly to the factory for expert servicing...

 

[Wookie]

I am a tech diver and I use both HOG and Atomic. I bought Atomic T1's back in the day. They have been upgraded a million times and are now T2x's, and that's what I use for back gas. The seat saver feature is why tech divers don't like them, when deco bottles/stage bottles are charged and off and the gas leaves the second stage, water is driven into the first stage on descent. I leave my cylinders charged and on. There is nothing wrong with the HOGs except some of the older D2's have trouble with the anodizing so they look ugly, but work fine.

Tech divers love HOGs because they can easily get parts and work on them themselves. As Capt. Gene said, don't let a monkey mess with your Atomics. They really need proper technician support to last forever. But they do last forever.