"Euro" vs. "North American" versions?

[Hank49]

I don't know about Apeks regs but for some reason ScubaPro sells for much cheaper in Germany. Maybe Apeks does the same in Spain for whatever reason. In 99 I paid US$550 for an MK20 with G250 only in Kentucky. No hp, no octo. When I got back to the Philippines a friend from Germany laughed at me because he was selling the same setup for US$275 and he made a little on the deal. Maybe they figure Americans will just pay more. ???

 

[Daryl Morse]

Didn't mean to offend. Just read your post the wrong way and got full of myself.

I wondered what the CE mark on my Apeks was and when I looked found the article from Rodales. According to them (and I know they are not the most reliable source) several lesser brands of regs stamped with CE failed the standard U.S. Navy and European tests. Obviously not a reliable sign of quality.

I'd bet that all Apeks regs are stamped with CE since they mention it on thier web site and it would cost them more to make each variation.

Hey, no worries.

My experience with CE/PED/ATEX was in the area of equipment for the purification and separation of industrial gases. It doesn't have any direct bearing on scuba equipment (except that divers breath 02, N2 and He), but equipment for use in a high pressure (PED) and/or explosive gas (ATEX) situation costs significantly more for use in Europe than in North America. It's even more extreme in Japan.

Some of the cost differences are legimately due to stricter standards that are physically more expensive to comply with, but a protectionism is a big factor as well. The increased manufacturing and certification costs for CE/PED/ATEX are enough that equipment companies will make different components (e.g., solenoid valves, flow meters, control values) for Europe in European factories, and there are entire product lines that are designed specifically for Japanese market and manufactured there. They do the same thing, but cost much more than products for the US/Canadian markets.

Again, I don't know enough about scuba equipment, but the US market is big enough that different standards could easily justify having a different product for the different markets. That's why I asked if anyone knew if Apeks (or whatever other manufacturer) made CE and US versions of the same regulator. Your example from Rodales could well demonstrate that in scuba equipment, the differences are more for protectionism than anything else.

 

[StSomewhere]

I'd bet that all Apeks regs are stamped with CE since they mention it on thier web site and it would cost them more to make each variation.

Mine is also stamped CE but has the US part in the second stage that allows for a slightly lower cracking pressure. If you do a search, RescueDiver009 once posted the details on the differences.