newb needs reg recommendation

[midwestdvr]

Hi, y'all. I'm a newly cert diver with only 8 post cert dives under the belt. I was hoping for a reccomendation on a regulator price range US$300-400, maybe a little over. Will do mostly 2-3 trips/year mostly either in the carribean or Philippines, for now. Since I'm from MO, will probably have to do some lake diving to practice skills in between trips. As for LDS choices, only two here. An SP dealer and Genesis dealer. Will have to travel upwards over an hour for next closest one . Went to the SP dealer but all they had was a fill in person, didn't know much about the regs. Owner was on a trip. Nice looking regs but the prices were a little bit on the steep side ;-0 . Thanks in advance for the help. Will post on BC forum about BC questions too.

 

[gfisher4792]

Welcome to the board! I have a SP G250/MK25, and it works fine for me! By the way, SP dealers are allowed up to a 10% discount on their equipment, so ask next time you look.

Not sure if you took note, but for the range your asking about:

S550/MK25 reg is listed at $433 on the SP catalog, which with the discount would site below $400 (not including sales tax). This setup has received good praise/ratings.

G250/MK25 $477
S550/MK16 $388

If possible, would try to get setup with MK25 1st stage, but all of these have received good ratings. BTW, I have heard that if you get an S550, you can purchase an upgrade kit later and convert it to a S600. Hope this helps!

 

[Doc Intrepid]

regulator parts, trained technicians, and repairs can be difficult to come by.

I'm guessing as to current conditions, but when I was in Okinawa, the Philippines, Guam, and Palau a while ago you could find Scubapro almost everywhere. I don't even think that Genesis regulators existed then. I certainly never saw them anywhere in the south pacific.

My advice is that, if you know where you think you want to travel to, use this board to contact shops/people there or divers who go there regularly and inquire into availability. I suspect you'll find that Scubapro is more broadly available overseas than many other brands.

Just a thought,

Doc

 

[Lead_carrier]

ScubaPro is an excellent reg.

You can look into the MK16/G250, MK16/G380 combos to try to save a few dollars but still have top notch quality.

The AquaLung Titan LX it a sweet reg for the cost also.

 

[Juls64]

MK25/S550 and love it. Make sure you see what authorized dealers for what brands, are close to you so when you need service it is convienient. That is a factor as well.

Juls

 

[paulct]

Don't know much about other regs but my dacor viper america sux.
Tried looking above me and the reg won't breath, fine when horizontal or down. Unless you can suck a golfball through a garden hose, stay away from this reg.
Saving to get a real reg. my 2 cents worth. It does make a great paper weight though.

 

[Scubatooth]

paulct once bubbled...
Don't know much about other regs but my dacor viper america sux.
Tried looking above me and the reg won't breath, fine when horizontal or down. Unless you can suck a golfball through a garden hose, stay away from this reg.
Saving to get a real reg. my 2 cents worth. It does make a great paper weight though.

hold on , in what position are you in when you say its hard to breath? upside down on your back ? because the viper series was designed to work in any position.

because i have been in every postion with mine and havent had any problems , you probably need to have it looked at.

 

[nk5]

paulct once bubbled...
Don't know much about other regs but my dacor viper america sux.
Tried looking above me and the reg won't breath, fine when horizontal or down. Unless you can suck a golfball through a garden hose, stay away from this reg.
Saving to get a real reg. my 2 cents worth. It does make a great paper weight though.

Viper America may not be anything like a Poseidon, but it should not give such a problem. Get it checked out.

There are a lot of great regs priced between $300 to 400. Buy one which unlike SP is not price-protected!

 

[paulct]

I seem to be having the same problem as the review for the viper tec at http://www.divernet.com/equipment/0302regtest2.htm.
Look at the inverted section. Will be dropping off reg at dive shop to get checked, anyway.

 

[MonkSeal]

midwestdvr once bubbled...
I was hoping for a reccomendation on a regulator price range US$300-400, maybe a little over.

I don't know about US prices but in Europe you can buy DST (1st stage), TX50 (2nd stage), AT20 (octo) and pressure gauge for that money.