Aqua Lung Legend LX ACD

[JThompson]

No I dont have the S600, I just compared them at my LDS. I'm not saying that the scubapro is bad, I hear good things about both. Just wondering why more people dont recommend the legend lx to all the new divers asking about regs. I guess from now on I'll have to be the one to stick up for the Legend. I think this comes down to that old argument that will never go away, Ford or Chevy, everyone has their own preference and they can both get you down the road, at least until the ford breaks down

 

[Couv]

Why don't you spend $35 and buy an old SP balanced adjustable? While you're at it spend another $40 and get a MK5? Then everything other than the hose and dustcap would be metal; you even get a metal yoke knob.

Well put Mattboy, one small caveat though, the poppet is plastic, but your advice is right on. Even for those who do not want to work on their own regulators, SP still supports their old regulators so parts should not be a problem. I will have to admit that I now have only MK 10 first stages (except one MK 2) because I feel they will be supported longer.

c

 

[mike_s]

Just wondering why the majority of people always talks about scubapro,apeks, and atomic regulators. Whenever anyone wants opinions on good regs everyone always talks about those 3. I dive with the aqua lung legend lx and love it. Is there a reason more people (Including "tec" divers) dont use this reg?

The Legend LX is a great reg. You'll see threads about it. Just do a search.

Some folks (me included) don't like the politics involved with Aqualung though. So you'll see that some folks don't buy there stuff because of that, so less threads about it.

Mind you, I have seen tecchies on my boats with Legends on their doubles. Usually with the gold ring replaced for the more palatable silver version

I didn't linke the "gold pimp ring" either. I thought it looked cheesy. They now make the Legend LX "Supreme" which comes with the Silver "Pimp Ring". It's the same regulator but comes with a lip guard, the silver ring, a cosmetic snowflack, and an intermediate pressure change. (oh.. and they charge $15 bucks more for it also...) It's purely a marketing thing and is not a design change from the orignal reg.

 

[FFMDiver]

looks tough...did you mean the MK-1?
Is the second pneumatically balanced (sort of balanced)?

Why don't you spend $35 and buy an old SP balanced adjustable? While you're at it spend another $40 and get a MK5? Then everything other than the hose and dustcap would be metal; you even get a metal yoke knob.

 

[Luis H]

looks tough...did you mean the MK-1?
Is the second pneumatically balanced (sort of balanced)?

Not unless it was converted. It can be easily upgraded during a rebuild. The parts are readily available (same as the G250).

 

[DA Aquamaster]

As far as plastic parts go i'm supprised that more people dont talk about the internal parts of the scuba pro S600. It seems that if you compare the legend and the S600, the legend has a better second stage. You would think with how much you have to pay for the scuba pro reg they would build it a little bit better. They both have good reputations for breathing good so when i was trying to make up my mind which one to get the internal parts are what made up my mind. Plus the legend was a hundred dollars cheaper

Somewhere in the distant past I posted that I liked the Aualung Legend as much as a Scubapro S600 or G250HP. And at the time I treid to get the shop owner to stock them.

The two designs are essentially identical. The Legend uses an interesting hybrid of the old Scubapro balanced poppet (a blue hard plastic poppet with a metal tail that fit inot the balance chamber) and the new S-wing poppet (a lighter more streamlined one piece plastic poppet.) The Aqualung poppet (which they call a shuttle valve) is a light weight one piece black plastic poppet similat in materials to the S-wing poppet but that is shaped almost exactly like the old Scubapro balanced poppet.

Given the design similarities it is not surprising that both offer nearly identical performance.

Aqualung is also one of the two companies I usually recommend as they have been around forever and like Scubapro has 1. a solid reputation for supporting long out of production regulators and 2. a evolutionary design approach.

Aqualung has acquired several companies over the last 15 years or so including Suunto (1987), Sea Quest (1990), Deep See (1992), and Apeks (1997) and they have been the US distributor for Drager since 2002.

Consequently an Aqualung dealer is an Apeks dealer and it is not surprising that the two brands have very similar second stages, but the current designs are as much if not more USD/Aqualung than Apeks. Apeks was a good catch for Aqualung as they were and still are able to cash in on the Apeks reputation in the technical diving world - even though the Aqualung Legend is just as solid a performing regulator as an ATX 200.

But none of that matters as Nemrod has it right that someone needs to start producing a real live chrome plated brass all metal second stage again and when they do they will most likely get all my business whenI replace the half a dozen Scubapro Balanced Adjustables that I still use in preference to the Legend, G250 or S600.

 

[squidster]

Somewhere in the distant past I posted that I liked the Aualung Legend as much as a Scubapro S600 or G250HP. And at the time I treid to get the shop owner to stock them.

The two designs are essentially identical. The Legend uses an interesting hybrid of the old Scubapro balanced poppet (a blue hard plastic poppet with a metal tail that fit inot the balance chamber) and the new S-wing poppet (a lighter more streamlined one piece plastic poppet.) The Aqualung poppet (which they call a shuttle valve) is a light weight one piece black plastic poppet similat in materials to the S-wing poppet but that is shaped almost exactly like the old Scubapro balanced poppet.

Given the design similarities it is not surprising that both offer nearly identical performance.

Aqualung is also one of the two companies I usually recommend as they have been around forever and like Scubapro has 1. a solid reputation for supporting long out of production regulators and 2. a evolutionary design approach.

Aqualung has acquired several companies over the last 15 years or so including Suunto (1987), Sea Quest (1990), Deep See (1992), and Apeks (1997) and they have been the US distributor for Drager since 2002.

Consequently an Aqualung dealer is an Apeks dealer and it is not surprising that the two brands have very similar second stages, but the current designs are as much if not more USD/Aqualung than Apeks. Apeks was a good catch for Aqualung as they were and still are able to cash in on the Apeks reputation in the technical diving world - even though the Aqualung Legend is just as solid a performing regulator as an ATX 200.

But none of that matters as Nemrod has it right that someone needs to start producing a real live chrome plated brass all metal second stage again and when they do they will most likely get all my business whenI replace the half a dozen Scubapro Balanced Adjustables that I still use in preference to the Legend, G250 or S600.

Hey Aquamaster are you gone for good?

Also doesnt the still made conshelf have the chrome plated brass second stage?

 

[squidster]

No I dont have the S600, I just compared them at my LDS. I'm not saying that the scubapro is bad, I hear good things about both. Just wondering why more people dont recommend the legend lx to all the new divers asking about regs. I guess from now on I'll have to be the one to stick up for the Legend. I think this comes down to that old argument that will never go away, Ford or Chevy, everyone has their own preference and they can both get you down the road, at least until the ford breaks down

Hey dude i am not trying to be a smarty pants ,i just wondered.
When i purchased my Scuba Pro i actually was wanting to buy a aqualung,but the LDS where i haved to get it serviced told me that the aqualung parts and service was not near as good as ScubaPro.
He said he has had to wait on parts etc.,.,,
Scuba pro was top notch.
He did say ther product was very good but they where not very reliable about following up on service.
However if i was thinking about a legend, i would just bite the bullet and get a APEXxtx200.

However The ScubaPro MK17/250v would be my first choice

 

[mike_s]

Squidster, Did he sell both Aqualung and ScubaPro, or just ScubaPro?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Hey Aquamaster are you gone for good?

Also doesnt the still made conshelf have the chrome plated brass second stage?

I am gone for the forseeable future - I am making about $50,000 more per year here and I actually like the job a lot.

More importantly, the wreck diving opportuities here in the mid atlantic region are world class and the techincal dive training opportunities are vastly better than anything I could get in Denver or MSP and with less travel are a lot less expensive.

The Conshelf XIV second stage is still all metal, it if were balanced and adjustable I'd be a happy camper.

Scubapro is very good about sending parts and about replacing warranty parts with turn around times on new orders of 5 to 7 days.

I am not real clear on the "Aqualung parts take longer to get" concern though. Aqualung parts did take a week or two longer to receive, but annual service parts are an item that should be stocked pretty heavily anyway and Aqualung, like Scubapro, has comparatively few annual service parts kits for all their regulator models as most of the kits fit several models so the logistics are not that bad.

I noted the last time I was in there that Scott was also stocking Apeks regs in addition to Scubapro (and a few Aqualung regs) and that is a good thing in terms of consumer choice, but I suspect the same parts issue would apply to Apeks as well given that Apeks is a subsidiary of Aqualung and as far as I know they use the same dealer/distribution network. I could be wrong, but an Apeks should have the same slightly longer parts delay as an Aqualung regulator.

I like the Aqualung Legend a lot and it made a lot of sense for the previous owner to stock them (but he seldom did for reasons I never understood) prior to Scubapro introducing the Mk 17. However now that you can get a Mk 17 S600 or Mk 17 G250, there is not really any reason in my opinion to get an ATX 200 or an Aqualung Legend as they all deliver pretty much the same exceptional performance - and I like the bullet proof cold water performance of the Mk 17 better.

The Apeks XTX series offers a reverisble second stage, but I really don't see much if any practical application for that feature.

Personally, just get what ever of the three you want and have him order it if he does not stock it - it should arrive in a week or two. Anyway you go; ATX 200, Legend or Mk 17 S600/G250 you'll be getting a good reg.