First regulator - purely recreational vs. tec suitable?

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I'd echo what everyone else said but, with one caveat. Make your wife's first and second stages the same as what you're getting. If you're going tech diving, you're going to need at least 2 first stages. When the time comes, you'll be able to borrow/extend/cannibalize her set, to extend yours.
I don't disagree, I'm a major fan of standardization if can, but way to create marital strife...

Sharing gear among friends the with a shared mantra of "return as good or better than condition it was received before it's needed by owner" is VERY different than husband/wife/bf/gf/kids/etc cannibalism of your critical gear, especially if they were to value a solo or informal rec. dive as much as you may value an upcoming tec class...
 
Update on final choice:

Thanks to all for the comments & advice. finally went with Apeks MTX-RC long hose set. Scuba.com store (leisure pro) offered a holiday promotion so price-wise it was more compelling than the SP regs which I was considering. Discount was modest but satisfactory enough to me. Wife got the Apeks XL4.

We dove a dozen times in the past 2 weeks in Hawaii. very happy with the gears & diving experiences.
 
All the above post have merit.
The only one that was not mentioned was the Cadillac of regulators. The Poseidon brand.
Any brand that you choose will ultimately depend on the tech. servicing them.
At extreme depths there is a consideration of air flow.
I am still diving with some equipment that is more than 50 years old
One of my regs is a "Healthways Sonic" that came out before there were submersible pressure gauges.
Another option is taking a course to service your own equipment.
There is nothing like knowing that your equipment is properly tuned for the dive you are about to do.
 
All the above post have merit.
The only one that was not mentioned was the Cadillac of regulators. The Poseidon brand.
Any brand that you choose will ultimately depend on the tech. servicing them.
I'll take a stab at Poseidon, which I have used almost exclusively for decades, for both recreational and professional use. I have had the opportunity of trying out most every brand and have still found no real reason to switch; and they have now made their service kits available, over the counter -- and any manufacturer that is still unwilling to do so, would never be on my shopping list.

I currently have one of my 2004 MK3 workhorses disassembled, along with a Cykon 300 from the 1970s, both ready for the ultrasonic cleaner.

The XStream, mentioned earlier in this thread, and now over twenty years old, is bar none, the finest first stage I have ever owned; simple to service with a near-permanent diaphragm, which never required any costly or spoogy environmental sealing, even under the ice, and can be paired with any of Poseidon's second stages, dating from the Cyklon, which has barely changed, save for some minor material updates, since 1958, through to the Jetstream (now at over forty years old!); and the XStream, which is nearly the same in terms of its construction, though the second stage valve was just reduced in size.

Concerns raised about "soaring IPs" are largely mythical and can be attributed to any brand through poor or no maintenance. Mine are all rock-solid; and my only experience over a ridiculous number of dives, with a regulator that ever "blew" was an untested rig from a shop that I grabbed at the very last minute to make a boat; and the OPV, then located on an Odin ("Jetstream") LP hose, eventually did its job, and I was able to breathe normally during a controlled ascent -- and didn't even bother to use the pony bottle . . .
 
I like the Dive Rite Xt1/Xt4 combo.

You can get the DGX streamlined kit, or build your own. I prefer building, because I want something specific.

Yoke reg. All my single tank diving is yoke. Never been on vacation anywhere that Din was preferred. Rubber hoses only. 7' longhouse, because it's comfy. 24" necklace hose. 24" inflator hose IIRC. 26" SPG hose. Black psi glass SPG.

Pretty sure DGX can build you a longhose reg set, in yoke, and test it, if you ask them.

I bought their streamlined kit, then made changes.
 
One of my regs is a "Healthways Sonic" that came out before there were submersible pressure gauges.

The SPG was first available in 1958 from Sportsways. In 1958, engineers from Sherwood Manufacturing modified the piston regulator for underwater. I believe the Healthways sonic was first sold in the '60's, I've seen ads for the Sonic 300 in 1970, the NEDU evaluated the 300 in 1975.

Because of cost, and scuba training not considering the SPG necessary, it took a long time for it to be adopted by recreational divers. The same lag was seen with the use of alternate second stage.
 
Update on final choice:

Thanks to all for the comments & advice. finally went with Apeks MTX-RC long hose set. Scuba.com store (leisure pro) offered a holiday promotion so price-wise it was more compelling than the SP regs which I was considering. Discount was modest but satisfactory enough to me. Wife got the Apeks XL4.

We dove a dozen times in the past 2 weeks in Hawaii. very happy with the gears & diving experiences.
I think you made an excellent choice. Though all your options would have been excellent choices.
Having a long hose setup from the start will help you make a primary donate second nature before you move into tech diving, and the Apeks setup is fantastic. The first stage has a 5th port as standard (hidden under a protective cap), the second stages are pretty much bulletproof, and the black faced brass & glass SPG is perfection to me.

I personally run an MTX long hose setup, so pretty much the same, but without Venturi and cracking resistance controls. Other than that it's pretty much the same thing.
 
Eric, I looked at the Scuba.com site and a MK2/195 is $507. An Atomic Z2 is $570. Given the difference in performance I think the Z2 is the better deal. I think Scubapro is crazy with their pricing.
I have been places where Atomic could not be serviced. Outside the US stick with brands like Aqualung, Mares and SP.

Poseidon service in more remote places is a nightmare
 

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