Your Favorite Regulator? How did you decide?

[The Blue Whale]

The choices are many... most divers would not notice a significant difference from one model to another. But we'd like to hear your reasons why you have a favorite. If it's not a favorite, how did you pick the regulator you currently own?
Was it price?
Was it style?
Was it features?
Was it just part of a package deal?

This information will be used in some upcoming gear reviews and demo dives planned for the future. We appreciate your honest input.

 

[tstormdiver]

For me it is the Scubapro MK25 S/600.
My first regulator was a Sherwood Brut. I found out I was commonly over breathing it at depth & made for some uncomfortable dives. I then upgraded to a Sherwood Oasis. While a bit better, I was still having problems getting enough air when I under decent workloads. I switched LDS & the head instructor let me borrow one of his SP's. The Sherwoods couldn't even come close to delivering the air the SP's could. The SP's were nearly effortless in breathing, even at depth & when the cylinder would start to become low on pressure. I now own 5 of SP's (2 rec regs, 2 for my double cylinders & 1 for a stage bottle). While they are pricey, to me, they are worth every penny for the ease & comfort of my dives. Now that I am getting into technical cave diving, performance, reliability & air delivery is a must! The only thing about the SP's, is that they aren't the world's best cold water regulators, & I dive cold water frequently. I have only had 1 freeze- up/ free flow with them to date (been diving them for 3yrs). I look at it as a matter of not "if" it will happen, but "when" it will happen & prepare for it. If they are dove with a little common sense (as with anything), then they will perform as expected.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

Scubapro Mk25t/S600t- Reputation, Reliability, breathability, material (preferred Titanium because I keep them in a place with high salt content air and any chink in the plated brass armor would soon become a problem), ease of finding a foreign repair facility.

Atomic ST1- Reputation, reliability, 2yr service interval, material (see above), and breathability.

These were both my first choices.

 

[sander8]

The Atomic and Scubapro regs are in a class by themselves. I agree with the two previous posts.

 

[Zung]

Scubapro MK20/G250's because they are:

• Great breathers
• Very reasonable price used
• Easy to service myself

There IS a significant difference between regulators of different classes. I started with rental gears that were pretty stiff, then bought a Spiro (Aqualung) Supra/XL that breathes a lot better, and finally got the MK20/G250 that breathes a bit better still.

 

[Linedog]

Atomic B2, my old Conshelf 22 was OK, with my B2 I forget I'm underwater sometimes. Yes, it breathes that easy.

 

[SailNaked]

favorite: MK25/a700
how I chose: I bought some others I did not like as much.
why: smooth, east to configure and route hoses, light weight.

 

[scubapeter]

I have and have had a lot of regulators. I keep coming back to my apeks tx-50/ds-4's. They may be a couple generations old, but they have not given me a reason to replace them. They work well in a variety of environments and handle cold water with ease. I bought them from simply scuba about 8 years ago, about $200.00 each rings a bell.... not too bad by today's standard.

 

[Akimbo]

It is far easier to find great regulators than mediocre ones. The differences in resistance indicated by breathing machines are hard for divers to detect under conditions that would not empty their tank in minutes. I suggest putting an under $200 unbalanced first & second stage regulator in your demo and see how many people can really tell the difference — especially in a blind test.

 

[stargost]

here is a quick table summarizing impression on different regs (delta4.1, EOS, Titan, M1, xtx100/50, HOG), used between 15 and 50 dives or so.
Only second stages. (for first stage, the main feature I value would be sealed)
No comparison nor feedback about ease of breathing, because they are indeed all good.
But there are some other features that I have learnt to value much more, the key one being how easy it is to get a reg to free flow, at the surface, based on how it is adjusted.
So far, the apeks win by far. (all were check with IP ~140), and also testing cracking P when rinsing. Still, apeks are impressive. Probably best upside down as well. HOG are just below