That sounds a bit high, somewhere in the 150 PSI range is more like it. Odds are he is using his HP gauge to check the pressure and most gauges are not that accurate, esp. at that low a pressure. With any reg, Zeagle or otherwise, once you start getting near IP (140 +/- 10 PSI), the reg is going to get harder and harder to breath from. Which by the way, is the reason I call BS any time I hear an OOA that starts something like...I was just diving along and the reg quit. I looked down and my gauge was on zero.....no, your reg was telling you that you were getting low on air long before that if you would have just listened to what it was telling you. What your buddy is telling you is normal for any reg. I highly recommend you breath a tank down to zero at least once so you know how it actually feels and to experience what the reg is telling you. Obviously, this has to be done in a safe place, like 5 ft deep in a pool where you can just stand up when you can no longer breath.