Best Regulators for beginner

[Mflynn06]

Will be getting my OW done at the end of this month. Want to start gathering equipment. I’m usually one to go overboard, so I’m asking those with experience. What are a few mid range regulators for OW beginners? I’ve read you want ones that are easily serviceable. I’ve read about unbalanced vs balanced vs over balanced. I really have no idea what I need and don’t want to buy a piece of crap. I don’t even know what brands to look at. Any help is appreciated!

It will be mainly used for lobstering and spear fishing in less than 60ft of water since that’s what my certification/experience will limit me to. Always warm Florida keys water.

 

[Angelo Farina]

There is one dominant brand which is sold and serviced everywhere in the world and which can be serviced with new, updated parts even 50 years after manufacturing: Scubapro.
Then there are many other brands producing excellent regs. But they are "the others".
So the first decision to take is: Scubapro or the others?
If you choose the first, my recommendation as a 45-years user of their equipment is to get a combo made of one MK17evo first stage and two identical G260 second stages, one of the two with a longer hose.
Buy online from Europe or Australia, you can save up to 50%.
If you choose "the others" I leave to other contributors to give you suggestions...

 

[Wibble]

Please don't fall for the shiny shiny oooooohhhh it's so wonderful. And very expensive.

Get cheaper things to start with until you're hooked. Then you sell a kidney for all the latest shiny stuff.

Regarding regulators, ignore anything that is labelled "new". Old designs are nearly always cheaper and work very well.

If you buy second hand -- which is a great way to save a lot of money -- please factor in a regulator service; something like $£€100. Beware of the price!

 

[rongoodman]

There's no need to spend a ton of money. Deep 6, Hog, or Dive Rite should be fine. I would recommend avoiding a cheap second stage for your secondary, though. If things go south, that's the one you might end up breathing. 1st stages with rotating turrets and a 5th LP port can make hose routing nicer.

 

[BoltSnap]

There is one dominant brand which is sold and serviced everywhere in the world and which can be serviced with new, updated parts even 50 years after manufacturing: Scubapro.
Then there are many other brands producing excellent regs. But they are "the others".
So the first decision to take is: Scubapro or the others?
If you choose the first, my recommendation as a 45-years user of their equipment is to get a combo made of one MK17evo first stage and two identical G260 second stages, one of the two with a longer hose.
Buy online from Europe or Australia, you can save up to 50%.
If you choose "the others" I leave to other contributors to give you suggestions...

I agree with this (except for the bit about buying from Europe or Australia. Buy local for support)

 

[Wibble]

There's Apeks too. A nice DS4 or DST first stage and a couple of ATX40s. Work very well and are cheap.

 

[grf88]

There's Apeks too. A nice DS4 or DST first stage and a couple of ATX40s. Work very well and are cheap in the UK.

Corrected that for you.

 

[Mflynn06]

I appreciate all the replies. There are so many brands it gets a bit confusing.

 

[Hoag]

I see that you are in Miami. That should mean that you will have access to a number of "Local Dive Shops". Talk to them about servicing. Especially as a beginner, it is unlikely that you will be servicing your own regs, so find out what brands you can get serviced locally. That is what I would use as a starting point.

Next, I would TRY (keep in mind that things change and this might too) to determine if you want a reg that will be good for a beginner (cheap, reliable & breathes relatively easily) or a "forever reg". If you are looking for a beginner reg, there are lots out there that could be highly recommended. If available locally, the Sherwood Brute is a great reg to start off with. I would also consider some of the entry level regs from major manufacturers such as Oceanic, Aqualung or others. Next would be the companies such as Deep 6 which put out high quality reasonably priced regs that you might not be able to get serviced locally and might have to send in to have them serviced. Finally, if you decide to jump right in the deep end so to speak, and get a "forever reg", IMHO it is hard to beat the Aqualung Legend series. There are other regs that will out-perform them but by that time, you are starting to get into the "law of diminishing returns". It will cost a lot to get a minor increase in improvement.


The bottom line is that any reg from a reputable manufacturer will be safe and will breathe relatively easily. The availability of servicing locally will likely be a factor. My recommendation would be to get a good middle of the road reg that you can get serviced locally at a dive shop you trust.

 

[RyanT]

As others have said, just about any regulator you buy from a reputable company will work well and be reliable. I've used just about all of them at some point. Currently, I'm using Deep6 regs, they are solid, perform well, and are substantially cheaper than many other brands. You can easily spend North of 2k on a reg set and it won't breath better or be more reliable than many cheaper models. Since you're in Miami, I recommend going over to Aqui Watersports in LBTS, and talking to the folks there. I do all my business with them when I'm in S. Florida.