I've been civilian diving for over 6 yrs and military (Navy) diving for 4 yrs. I've finally decided to purchase my own dive kit. 90% of my logged dives are military dive and when I did dive civilian, I always rented kit from wherever I was. So my experience with different types of "gucci" kit out there is limited. One of my big questions is regulators. What features makes the price difference? All I need is something to make HP air to ondemand LP air, right? So what else make one more expensive than others? Same goes for BC. Though I have lots of dives logged I feel like a dinosaur when it comes to diving kit...help please.
Why so many?
- Thread starter s22031
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Greg Barlow
Contributor
s22031:
Granted, some gear is way overpriced. A major manufacturer of diving equipment is going to obviously spend a considerable sum in the R&D that is necessary to create a quality product. Once actual production begins and the sales increase, then the initial manufacturing costs are going to be somewhat regained. The more of a product that is sold, the greater the profit margin.
As far as features in a reg go...Yeah, there are some that are borderline ridiculous. Titanium bodied first stages are a prime example.
Greg
ScubaSarus
Guest
To name a few
Material used Titanium
Tolerance held - mfg
Patents held - a great invention
Amount of parts needed
Adding a second stage adjustment
Preformance tests after its made.
I dive with a simple sherwood blizzard nothing fancy
Material used Titanium
Tolerance held - mfg
Patents held - a great invention
Amount of parts needed
Adding a second stage adjustment
Preformance tests after its made.
I dive with a simple sherwood blizzard nothing fancy
Sounds like you're looking to find a decent performing reg for the price right? Best bang for your buck? I chose Apeks, I have the ATX200, it's environmentallly sealed as I dive cold water as well as warm. Great breather at depth. Easy to rebuild. About $400.00 If environmentally sealed first stage is not a concern you can get a less expensive model for a cheaper price. Scubapro is also top of the line and can be serviced anywhere if you plan on traveling alot. Same options with 1st stages depending on the environment you plan on diving. I thought about Atomic at one time, great performance but it's one of those high priced Titanium jobs. Hard to find service I believe. Set a price range, do your homework and make a decision on how you plan on diving among other things.
Greg Barlow
Contributor
An important point that must be remembered is that a more expensive price tag does not necessarily equate a better performing regulator. For example, the Atomic Z1 offers identical performance parameters to the vastly more expensive Tx1. The Apeks line follows the same pattern with the various first stages all delivering virtually the same gas flow. There are the "bells and whistles" that many divers prefer on a reg. A number of these, such as inhalation effort controls and venturi adjustments certainly have their place and respective value. Expensive alloys and cosmetics are there for the same reason that expensive Italian suits exist...prestige.
I use and am extremely pleased with the performance of my Mares regulators. I have used them for so long and have serviced so darn many that I can tune them to meet the needs of 90%(+) of the world's divers. Adjustable inhalation second stages can be user tuned to deliver virtually zero inhalation effort, but at the price of increased mechanical complexity and slightly decreased reliability. To each his own....
Purchase a high quality reg and care for it properly. It is very tough to go wrong with a major brand model.
I worked for Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine for a few years and had a hand in the regulator tests. Any reg that can pass US Navy Class A standards is certainly up to the challenge of the vast majority of divers that I have had the pleasure of knowing. 27 years and counting has enabled me to form a few viewpoints on regs and their design parameters. My background is secondary science education, so I've always had a technical interest in the mechanical factors in a reg's design and funtioning. Divers have never had it so good! I wouldn't want to go back to the regs of yesterday that didn't offer any form of venturi assist or vast gas flow from a balanced first stage. I've drawn air from many vintage regs, and still enjoy making vintage dives. Yet, when I am making a dive in excess of 40' or so, a modern model is serving my needs.
Choose a reg that meets your needs and keep it in pristine condition.
Safe diving!
Greg
I use and am extremely pleased with the performance of my Mares regulators. I have used them for so long and have serviced so darn many that I can tune them to meet the needs of 90%(+) of the world's divers. Adjustable inhalation second stages can be user tuned to deliver virtually zero inhalation effort, but at the price of increased mechanical complexity and slightly decreased reliability. To each his own....
Purchase a high quality reg and care for it properly. It is very tough to go wrong with a major brand model.
I worked for Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine for a few years and had a hand in the regulator tests. Any reg that can pass US Navy Class A standards is certainly up to the challenge of the vast majority of divers that I have had the pleasure of knowing. 27 years and counting has enabled me to form a few viewpoints on regs and their design parameters. My background is secondary science education, so I've always had a technical interest in the mechanical factors in a reg's design and funtioning. Divers have never had it so good! I wouldn't want to go back to the regs of yesterday that didn't offer any form of venturi assist or vast gas flow from a balanced first stage. I've drawn air from many vintage regs, and still enjoy making vintage dives. Yet, when I am making a dive in excess of 40' or so, a modern model is serving my needs.
Choose a reg that meets your needs and keep it in pristine condition.
Safe diving!
Greg
DFC5343
Guest
s22031:
What reg you dive Navy?
spurtill
Guest
As everyone said so far some regs are ridiculous prices for stupid reasons. However i think you wanted more a list of things that maybe you should be willing to pay for. Some regs and bcds are ridiculous prices but some of them are dearer because they provide better quality or more features.
What you pay will depend on the type of diving you plan on doing. If you plan to stay 20m or shallower in moderate tempteratures then any modern reg/bcd should suffice.
The dearer regs tend to work better at depth (or so they will have you believe), some will work better is cold water, some will just plain last longer as they are more rugged.
BCDs vary is their lift capabilities, but for recreational diving thats not a huge factor and their hard wearing capabilities. Then you can pay extra for more D-rings, or for the D0rings to be made of steel, etc. Or you may pay extra for a light bcd so you can take it in your luggage when travelling
In short, if you are doing recreational diving (20m range) any decent reg and bcd shoudl suffice. If you are doing more challenging diving then whats best suited will depend on the exact nature of your diving.
A simple bcd, similar to what you'd be used to and a decent reg is probably the way to go.
What you pay will depend on the type of diving you plan on doing. If you plan to stay 20m or shallower in moderate tempteratures then any modern reg/bcd should suffice.
The dearer regs tend to work better at depth (or so they will have you believe), some will work better is cold water, some will just plain last longer as they are more rugged.
BCDs vary is their lift capabilities, but for recreational diving thats not a huge factor and their hard wearing capabilities. Then you can pay extra for more D-rings, or for the D0rings to be made of steel, etc. Or you may pay extra for a light bcd so you can take it in your luggage when travelling
In short, if you are doing recreational diving (20m range) any decent reg and bcd shoudl suffice. If you are doing more challenging diving then whats best suited will depend on the exact nature of your diving.
A simple bcd, similar to what you'd be used to and a decent reg is probably the way to go.
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