Mares Metal Tech LE vs. Scubapro MK17/S555

[TheRedHead]

The MK17 had an excellent review in Dive magazine:

http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=2472&v=3&sp=332806698589342878290

It has an overbalanced 1st stage (as does my Apeks) and that's important to me in deep diving. I have to disagree that the advantage of buying Scubapro is that they are sold through small shops.

 

[halocline]

That Mares first stage is higher performance than the SP MK17.

Just wondering, how did you determine this?

 

[cerich]

Just wondering, how did you determine this?

cool expensive toys(machines) that determine air flow, IP drop under demand and other cool stuff

Many regs are actually "overbalanced" in diaphram designs, however not advertised as such. Other factors are MUCH more important to performance.

Or as Doug put in a email to the Oceanic reps

"This is not that uncommon in diaphragm first stages - the same benefit is achieved by the FDX-10 and CDX-5 first stages"

 

[TheRedHead]

Many regs are actually "overbalanced" in diaphram designs, however not advertised as such. Other factors are MUCH more important to performance.

The deciding factor for me was knowing that my instructor and mentor regularly dives Apeks to over 300 feet and comes back to tell you how well they perform. Then being able to test the regulator before I bought it and finding that it was a super easy breather and very dry inverted was a big selling point.

 

[cerich]

The deciding factor for me was knowing that my instructor and mentor regularly dives Apeks to over 300 feet and comes back to tell you how well they perform. Then being able to test the regulator before I bought it and finding that it was a super easy breather and very dry inverted was a big selling point.

Hey, I'm not bashing any reg here! I was just pointing some stuff out. There are dozens of different regs that I have had past 300, and they weren't all Oceanic.

The shop you use is HUGE in Aqualung, of course your Instructor is diving Apeks.

 

[TheRedHead]

You should make a list, cerich. Of all the machine tests, new technology, claims and marketing hype, regulators that people dive to 300+ foot depths get my serious consideration.

 

[cerich]

You should make a list, cerich. Of all the machine tests, new technology, claims and marketing hype, regulators that people dive to 300+ foot depths get my serious consideration.

Suffice it to say that at Oceanic we have the most sophisticated equipment to test OC,CC and SCC dive equipment in existence.

I would be happy to answer any PM on regs that I would not hesitate to take deep.

Best,

Chris

 

[dannobee]

You should make a list, cerich. Of all the machine tests, new technology, claims and marketing hype, regulators that people dive to 300+ foot depths get my serious consideration.

The Mares Abyss with a very similar first stage has been to over 1000 ft. Did you intend to dive deeper than that?

 

[TheRedHead]

The Mares Abyss with a very similar first stage has been to over 1000 ft. Did you intend to dive deeper than that?

Nope, but an Abyss would be a reg that would make my short list. I almost bought one once on ebay but got sniped. It's not so much how deep I plan to dive, but it is a yardstick of measuring the trustworthiness of regulators. I have a couple of regs that I don't feel comfortable diving to 150 feet.

 

[Stu S.]

We regularly dive at Jupiter and Boynton Beach, FL. Jupiter Dive Center and Splashdown Divers both have dive shops at their boats. Both sell Scuba Pro. Last Sunday, we had a diver on the Delta Splash who was getting his regulator fixed while we were loading up the boat. I was impressed by that. That's what I meant by the small shop advantage. Anyhow, I bought the Mares metal to get a bit more second stage moisture retention.