Please share your opinions about ScubaPro and AquaLung product quality.
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RICoder
Contributor
I can only comment on SP, since thats what I own. Their equipment is top notch, I dive in cold water and warm, not to mention traveling with the gear, and its not given me any problems. Being large and well regarded, you'll find it easier to get serviced in remote locations (as said above, its been my impression as well).
pterantula
Contributor
ppatrick:
I've used rented ScubaPro gear, and it works. Lots of fellow divers had their own SP gear, and they loved it.
I own the AL Titan LX/Calypso (free octo deal was a great incentive), and it's fantastic - the best breather I've used thus far, and the mouthpiece is low-fatigue.
There has been alot of issue over the morals of current AL business (see the dedicated thread abt this), so that's a very personal decision right there.
Based on the products you've mentioned, you can't make a 'bad' decision with one or the other - both are pro, reliable and reputable.
(For the record, my LDS said to bring my AL reg in every year, even if for merely an inspection, to maintain the warranty. I've never heard talk of 2-yr maintenance except on these boards.
Most all of my LDS staff dive Knighthawks with AL regs, so there's one example in action....)
I've dived with scubapro regs for the past 25 years with no incident, so I can opt for them. Aqualung has a good rep, but I've no personal experience with them other than my first reg that I bought used...got maybe 5 dives on it before it got stolen. Dived SP ever since.
Aqualung's every other year annual service thing is misleading. I overhauled to Legends last week that I personally serviced the previous year. They had not been dove extensively but they did get used on a couple trips and there was in my opinion enough salt encrustation to warrant a full tear down, cleaning and annual service. I did not want the customer to have to bet next year's dive trips on their continued health.
I think it is likely that many techs would choose to do the service every year unless you dive the regs lightly, in fresh water only and/or with a very thorough soak and rinse after every salt water dive.
It is in the end a bad deal for everyone involved except Aqualung, who spends a lot less on annual service parts. The tech gets caught between penny pinching owners who A) insist their regs do not need serviced every year, just insepcted, and B) complain and blame the tech when their inspected but not serviced reg fails in the middle of their $2000 dive trip. The shop owners ends upcarrying the liability on the techs judgement on whether the reg needs a full annual service and the customer ends up with a questionable reg in some cases that should have been fully serviced.
Plus Aqualung can hope to make a 2 year annual service as they use, for example, a soft seat in the LX second stage that is a lot harder than seat used by Scubapro in the G250HP, S550 and S600. The harder seat may wear for 2 years, but it does not deliver the same performance or low inhalation effort as the SP regs, so the Aqualung owner pays for the longer service interval with slightly lower perfromance.
Aqualung also use a poppet in the LX second stage that looks a lot like a plastic version of the poppet Scubapro used to use in it's G250 second stage, so performance is very similar, but the technology is in my opinion a bit more refined in the SP regs.
Scubapro's free parts for life program also differs in that you can rehabilitate the warranty on an SP reg if you take a few years off from diving. The process requires you to pay for the parts on the first service after the lapse, but you then get reinstated and parts are again free for subsequent annual services.
Aqualung makes good regs all in all and they are a solid and reputable company, but if you compare the two companies and their regulators overall, Scubapro has the edge in both performance and service.
I think it is likely that many techs would choose to do the service every year unless you dive the regs lightly, in fresh water only and/or with a very thorough soak and rinse after every salt water dive.
It is in the end a bad deal for everyone involved except Aqualung, who spends a lot less on annual service parts. The tech gets caught between penny pinching owners who A) insist their regs do not need serviced every year, just insepcted, and B) complain and blame the tech when their inspected but not serviced reg fails in the middle of their $2000 dive trip. The shop owners ends upcarrying the liability on the techs judgement on whether the reg needs a full annual service and the customer ends up with a questionable reg in some cases that should have been fully serviced.
Plus Aqualung can hope to make a 2 year annual service as they use, for example, a soft seat in the LX second stage that is a lot harder than seat used by Scubapro in the G250HP, S550 and S600. The harder seat may wear for 2 years, but it does not deliver the same performance or low inhalation effort as the SP regs, so the Aqualung owner pays for the longer service interval with slightly lower perfromance.
Aqualung also use a poppet in the LX second stage that looks a lot like a plastic version of the poppet Scubapro used to use in it's G250 second stage, so performance is very similar, but the technology is in my opinion a bit more refined in the SP regs.
Scubapro's free parts for life program also differs in that you can rehabilitate the warranty on an SP reg if you take a few years off from diving. The process requires you to pay for the parts on the first service after the lapse, but you then get reinstated and parts are again free for subsequent annual services.
Aqualung makes good regs all in all and they are a solid and reputable company, but if you compare the two companies and their regulators overall, Scubapro has the edge in both performance and service.
pterantula
Contributor
(replaced by PM.)
My family has four aqualung regs: two calypsos and two titan lx. They get checked every year and none has needed servicing since 2001 and 2002. We think very highly of these regs.
1amphibian
Contributor
I had previously owned an AL reg and currently have the mk25/s600 setup that you are looking at, in fact two of them. They preform flawlessly and the adjustments are very easy to make.
Servicing of the SP products is easy and the intermediate pressure is very easy to service on the SP 1st stages.
You are really comparing apples to apples in the one, as they are both top of the line products from good companies (politics aside). I never had any problems with my AL reg either and at the time as an 18 year old, I wasn't very careful with it.
You win with either setup, so work out the best price and servicing and go with the one that will suit you better.
Chris
Servicing of the SP products is easy and the intermediate pressure is very easy to service on the SP 1st stages.
You are really comparing apples to apples in the one, as they are both top of the line products from good companies (politics aside). I never had any problems with my AL reg either and at the time as an 18 year old, I wasn't very careful with it.
You win with either setup, so work out the best price and servicing and go with the one that will suit you better.
Chris
DA Aquamaster:
I can testify to this. I have been diving the same reg since I started, an SP. It had been over a year since use and at least 5 years since service since I wasn't diving much and what diving I was doing was just some shallow recovery of items for buds. Before that is was service regularly, but not always annually unless I felt it was needed.
Well, dad had to take me to Coz' for christmas and renew my addiction so upon returning the first thing I did was get the reg to the shop for service. I had to pay for service and parts, but unit is now once again under full warranty.
As for politics, I don't think I like all of SP's pricing and dealer policies, but I like Aqualungs even less. However, I also love SP regs & SeaQuest BC's so I'm kind of in a catch 22. With SP, not as big a deal, not in need of a reg currently, but am champing at the bit to get into a PRO QD+.
Scubapro make great regs. They used to make the best regs by far, I think this is fair to say. The G250 when it came out was the reg to beat and Atomic was founded by some guys that left Scubapro. The D400 was another great reg.
They then made some newer smaller versions, most of which were not as great as the legendary G250. With the S600 and X650 they are back to their old form...well nearly (to those that loved the G250, nothing can reach it, but that is just nostalgia...). Breathing performance is excellent.
The X650 looks like the old D400, but inside is very similar to the S600. Some say it looks strange. I think it looks great.
The S600 MK25 combination is supposed freeze slightly more "easily" in extremely cold water (ice diving etc). If you do very cold water diving get a membrane 1st stage such as the SP MK17 coupled with an S600 or X650.
In terms of performance, there is not really anything better, just equal I suppose. Apeks is also worth looking at.
Scubapro really stands behind their products. They had a recall of some limited number of regs, since the parts that were used were found to be not up to their standard. I think this shows that they do not shy away from some negative publicity if there is the interest of the diver at stake. I believe this happens to other manufacturers too, from time to time, but not all are as open and do a recall.
I would suggest you go with Scubapro. Aqualung, although around for ever as well, has some strange business practices recently that I heard of. Their version of the parts for life deal also is strange. I mean, either they do parts for life, or not. How are they going to monitor whether you have 50 dives per year or 48 or 52 (or 520 for that matter)? And if you miss a service....this just sounds like a service history for cars.
Only suggestion for the BC is: Think about what type of BC you really want. I used to have the SP Hawk. It is a great BC, but ultimately I found it still too big and constricting and I changed it for a Halcyon Eclipse Wing. Best thing I ever bought (until my Salvo Light last week that is). But among the recreational/tech fusion BCs, Scubapro makes some of the best. Excellent quality, too.
Good luck and happy diving.
A.
They then made some newer smaller versions, most of which were not as great as the legendary G250. With the S600 and X650 they are back to their old form...well nearly (to those that loved the G250, nothing can reach it, but that is just nostalgia...). Breathing performance is excellent.
The X650 looks like the old D400, but inside is very similar to the S600. Some say it looks strange. I think it looks great.
The S600 MK25 combination is supposed freeze slightly more "easily" in extremely cold water (ice diving etc). If you do very cold water diving get a membrane 1st stage such as the SP MK17 coupled with an S600 or X650.
In terms of performance, there is not really anything better, just equal I suppose. Apeks is also worth looking at.
Scubapro really stands behind their products. They had a recall of some limited number of regs, since the parts that were used were found to be not up to their standard. I think this shows that they do not shy away from some negative publicity if there is the interest of the diver at stake. I believe this happens to other manufacturers too, from time to time, but not all are as open and do a recall.
I would suggest you go with Scubapro. Aqualung, although around for ever as well, has some strange business practices recently that I heard of. Their version of the parts for life deal also is strange. I mean, either they do parts for life, or not. How are they going to monitor whether you have 50 dives per year or 48 or 52 (or 520 for that matter)? And if you miss a service....this just sounds like a service history for cars.
Only suggestion for the BC is: Think about what type of BC you really want. I used to have the SP Hawk. It is a great BC, but ultimately I found it still too big and constricting and I changed it for a Halcyon Eclipse Wing. Best thing I ever bought (until my Salvo Light last week that is). But among the recreational/tech fusion BCs, Scubapro makes some of the best. Excellent quality, too.
Good luck and happy diving.
A.
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