XTX200 vs B2 vs ST1

[ekewaka]

Machining titanium is a huge pain in the :mooner:. Stainless steel is better, but still a pain in the :mooner:. Brass is much easier.

 

[jeckyll]

Thanks paulwlee.

Has anyone tried Apeks? How would you rate its dryness, esp. if comparing to Atomic? I know how everyone praise about Atomic being dry in all positions, even when you're doing a cartwheel (something like that...), is Apeks as good?

Umm, I'd say that, Yes, many people have tried Apex. Try the following and do some searching in the forums...

http://www.scubadiving.com/best_new_regs_2006

 

[jeckyll]

YMMV indeed. I don't like the Atomic mouthpiece much (although it's better than most other mouthpieces, I still need to hold it with my jaw) but really like the Aqualung(and now Apeks) Comfobite. First thing I do when I buy another (Atomic) regulator is changing out the mouthpiece to a Comfobite.

Please check with your doctor, there may be a cure

 

[Scared Silly]

Might consider looking at a Z2 also, since it will breathe the same as the B2. It's pretty much the same design, just different materials.

This is exactly what we did when buying. Bought 4 Z2s as they breath just like the others. Used the extra $$ to buy other toys.

 

[Sstorck]

I would chose the XTX 200, i looked at both for about a year before i made my mind up. many rescue divers in maryland use them. they just recently got used on the womens wreck depth record with no problems. I have heard many many good things and not one bad thing. I have not tried a atomic reg, i hear they are great too, i love my xtx200.

 

[Sstorck]

Machining titanium is a huge pain in the :mooner:. Stainless steel is better, but still a pain in the :mooner:. Brass is much easier.

Yes i agree. i am an enginnering student and have dels with all of these materials.

 

[Rick Inman]

I have both XTX200's and one Atomic M1. Both are wonderful. The M1 does grease all over my hands sometimes, because all they do to cold-water the thing is (as already stated) squeeze some crystalube into the 1st stage and slap a rubber ring around it (the second stage has a heat sink or something also). But the reg breaths just great. And I love the mouthpiece.

My XTX200's also breath great, but are a little wet when upside down (something I've discovered recently while video taping). But the XTX200's are truly environmentally sealed, which is nice.

The M1 has that reverse poppet thingy, so when the reg is off, if submerged, water can creep up into the first stage. This becomes an issue if you use it as a deco/stage reg, have it shut off and somehow lose pressure by unknowingly bumping the purge or something. Then, if water gets up into the first stage, when you turn it back on and take a breath, water rushing out of the first stage can freeze up and cause free-flow, ice chunks in your mouth, clicking and clacking and assorted other interesting things to talk about after the dive (and after you change your shorts). But with regular back-gas diving, it isn't an issue.

I have dived both regs in the 30's Fahrenheit, and have been more than happy with both. Either reg, and you can't go wrong.

Totally subjective, but when I dive deep (for me) deco dives, I trust the Apek regs more, which is why I use them for back gas.

 

[paulwlee]

Totally subjective, but when I dive deep (for me) deco dives, I trust the Apex regs more, which is why I use them for back gas.

To provide a view at the other end of the spectrum, I personally know a diver who switched over to Scubapro MK25's (very similar to Atomics) after a failure with his Apeks that resulted in a chamber ride, so there's one person who doesn't trust Apeks as much.

But I agree it's mostly subjective in the choice between the two.
There are people who swear by their Apeks's/Atomics/Scubapros.
I had all three at one point but went all Atomics. Frankly I think I'd have been happy with any of the three makes, but Atomics just appealed to me the most due to their clean design. The Atomic and Scubapro also seemed to breath better than the Apeks, but it's hard to tell as once beyond a certain performance threshold, a lot of it depends on the tune.