Buying a diving regulator

[Dive Rite]

So I have been trying to do some basic research about diving regulators. A little about me, i am 20 years old and have been diving since i was 15. I have done some where around 40-50 dives. I currently am a student and go to school in Boston. My home is in florida. Every time I go home, few times a year I go diving, on average 2 sets of 2 dives a year. I would like to start to buy my own gear slowly over time. I figure the first place to start is my own regulator.

I wanted to know if anyone can start me in the right direction for the right regulator to buy. Since I plan on keeping it for a few years. I want a regulator that is Nitrox compatible and is designed more for warm water than cold. I don't mind spending some money on this since i am planing on keeping it for many years.

Thanks in advance
Matthew K.

Hi Matthew,

Check out our Solution Finder under 'What reg should I buy?' This might give you some ideas on what to look for in a regulator and also which regulator might best suit your needs.

If you buy a high performance regulator right from the start you will get years of service from it and it will be able to grow with you as you progress with your diving.

Best,
Ag

 

[halocline]

M
3. You want to get a reg that you can get easily serviced. I don't recommend you start servicing your own regs until you have a 100+ dives under your belt. (You don't need to be a mechanic to service a car).

5. Invest all the money you can, this will be the best diving investment along with your computer you ever make. That's why it's called a "life support system.


Make sure you have an environmentally sealed membrane (as opposed to piston) first stage (for cold water usage) and if you can afford an ACD/DVT function get that too.

I would avoid too many knobs, bells and whistles on the second stage. If the reg does it's work properly it will give you plenty of air at any depth.

Make sure the octo is as good as the PSS.

I still haven't figured out how to separate quotes, so I'll just toss in my 2 cents by your numbers.

3. What is the possible relationship between having at least 100 dives and servicing your own reg? I do agree that ease of service might be the most important criteria for buying a reg.

5. Here's the big lie: "invest as much as you can, it's life support, your life is worth it." First, there is absolutely no connection between expense and safety. Safety is entirely a function of reliability, and often the simplest, lower performance (and cost) regs are the most reliable and bulletproof designs. Plus, don't think of your reg as life support; if reg failure is life threatening to a recreational diver, that diver needs to re-think some very basic foundations of OW diving, like the buddy system.

Your next two comments are a little contradictory to me; you want simple, no bells and whistles (I agree with that!) yet advocate a sealed reg and the useless auto-close feature. I would definitely avoid the auto-close, and the sealed part is really unnecessary for the OP's use. Not a bad thing to have, but IMO not worth paying for in this case.

Having an octo that's as high quality as the primary is a good idea in principle, but if you're trying to save money, a simple full size downstream 2nd stage will work perfectly as an octo. It will be totally reliable and breathe just fine; maybe not quite as smoothly as a top quality balanced 2nd, but not enough difference to matter, especially in an emergency.

It's funny, the servicing part is really important. I've breathed off of G250s (very high performing) that felt terrible; much worse than my MK2/R190, and the only reason was that they were serviced poorly. It's very easy for a good tech to make a so-so reg breathe just fine for almost any recreational situation, and easy for a lousy tech to make a top-of-the-line reg breathe like a brick.

 

[shoturtle]

If you do not want to spend an arm and a leg for a good reg, The oceanic GT3 is a excellent choice it is good for warm and cold water. It can be had for around 300 bucks. It is nitrox compatible.

I rearly dive cold water, but I have a cressi alaska, it breaths nicely and it was only 279 bucks at leisurepro. nitrox up to 40% even though it does not say it on the box, that is what cressi told me when I contacted them. It is a EC rule for all regulators sold in the EU.

 

[tahoeguy]

I would recomend the Dive Rite "Huracane" preforms well in warm and cold water. I have dived it from Lake Tahoe too Hawaii. But seriously dude, start diving more. Mayby buying your own equipment will movtivate you.

TG

 

[Thalassamania]

If you are diving infrequently and need a bulletproof regulator at a price a student can afford ... look for a Sherwood Magnum Blizzard on eBay. When you graduate get a top of the line regulator.

 

[leapfrog]

I still haven't figured out how to separate quotes, so I'll just toss in my 2 cents by your numbers.

3. What is the possible relationship between having at least 100 dives and servicing your own reg? I do agree that ease of service might be the most important criteria for buying a reg.

5. Here's the big lie: "invest as much as you can, it's life support, your life is worth it." First, there is absolutely no connection between expense and safety. Safety is entirely a function of reliability, and often the simplest, lower performance (and cost) regs are the most reliable and bulletproof designs. Plus, don't think of your reg as life support; if reg failure is life threatening to a recreational diver, that diver needs to re-think some very basic foundations of OW diving, like the buddy system.

Your next two comments are a little contradictory to me; you want simple, no bells and whistles (I agree with that!) yet advocate a sealed reg and the useless auto-close feature. I would definitely avoid the auto-close, and the sealed part is really unnecessary for the OP's use. Not a bad thing to have, but IMO not worth paying for in this case.

Having an octo that's as high quality as the primary is a good idea in principle, but if you're trying to save money, a simple full size downstream 2nd stage will work perfectly as an octo. It will be totally reliable and breathe just fine; maybe not quite as smoothly as a top quality balanced 2nd, but not enough difference to matter, especially in an emergency.

It's funny, the servicing part is really important. I've breathed off of G250s (very high performing) that felt terrible; much worse than my MK2/R190, and the only reason was that they were serviced poorly. It's very easy for a good tech to make a so-so reg breathe just fine for almost any recreational situation, and easy for a lousy tech to make a top-of-the-line reg breathe like a brick.

Mattboy. I agree with what you are saying. So let me qualify my previous comments. As far as expense is concerned, I have had a chance to talk to some of the manufacturers I mentioned and also I have had a chance to use a whole lot of regs. As far as the manufacturers I mentioned, their top of the line regs outperform their less expensive regs on ease of breathing, breathing at different depths, in different positions, etc.

We could split hairs about what is bullet proof or not and you may be right in some cases but the OP said he was willing to invest in something better than average.

Explain why autoclosure is useless, please.

As far as a sealed first stage, why not get one if you can afford it and not have to buy another reg at a later date that has one to dive in cooler waters?

As far as the buddy system is concerned, the only couple of times I have had a problem AT DEPTH, my buddy was too far away and concentrating on something else and I had to do a CESA on both occasions.

As far as the octo is concerned, do unto others as you would have them do to you. That's a personal opinion, not a professional one, so I'm fine with what you say. A couple of times I had minor problems with my own second stage right from the beginning of a dive and was happy to be able to switch to my own octo for the rest of it.


We agree on servicing. I used to have some Poseidon Xstreams. The best regs I've ever had until they had to be serviced. After that, they never were the same again even after three services. So yes buy service above all.

Good comments, Mattboy.

 

[halocline]

Explain why autoclosure is useless, please.

As far as a sealed first stage, why not get one if you can afford it and not have to buy another reg at a later date that has one to dive in cooler waters?

As far as the buddy system is concerned, the only couple of times I have had a problem AT DEPTH, my buddy was too far away and concentrating on something else and I had to do a CESA on both occasions.

I probably should not have said "useless" on the DVT, but "unnecessary." That's what dust caps are for. Placing ANY potential obstruction in the valve/reg interface is silly IMO. And, with the oceanic design, the DVT opens and closes with each breath. It's a little moving plastic part that is in the HP air stream. Eventually one of those is going to disintegrate and get stuck right in the filter. The tank valve/filter is already the weak point in terms of flow in almost any regulator system. Another problem IMO is that you cannot easily inspect the filter just by taking of the dust cap and looking. This is a serious disadvantage to me. An early sign of problems with a tank (like a rental tank in vacation destinations) is telltale spots of rust or corrosion on a reg filter. For me, the DVT is a classic solution-to-a-nonexistent-problem, something the dive industry seems to be turning to with more frequency.

It's not that I'm against sealed regs, I just don't think it's good advice to the OP who specifically said "warm water". He could find lots of excellent regulators that are not sealed that would work perfectly in this situation. They would be easier to service, and he'd have more choice by not excluding some very good choices; MK2, MK16, aqualung titan, zeagle envoy, any of the MK5 based designs, etc.

With regards to OOA problems at depth with your buddy too far away, that has nothing to do with reg choice.

 

[Dive-aholic]

[hijack]

I still haven't figured out how to separate quotes, so I'll just toss in my 2 cents by your numbers.

Enter [ /quote ] at the end of the part you want to respond to and [ quote ] after your response and right before the next part of the quote. Do this without the spaces. This will allow you to separate quotes.

[/hijack]

 

[Bob3]

Now that you've got recommendations for almost every reg made; a good beater with a long lifespan that comes to mind would be the Aqua Lung Conshelf XIV.
Bought for peanuts off ebay & taken to a good wrench cranker, it'll probably be around yet for you to give to your grandson.
A Poseidon Cyklon 300 would be my choice though, I'm still using a couple that I got over 35 years ago.

 

[dwhthediver]

The Aqualung Titan LX Supreme is environmentally sealed, Nitrox capable, and easy to get serviced. The shop I teach through uses this reg as their rental model with very few issues, even after some rough treatment by students. Everyone has a personal preference, but in reality, major brand regulators, regular service by a good tech, and all of them will last years and years