what to buy..??

[bowtieman427]

may get flamed for this but I bought good regs cheap used off CL.
First I got a Scuba Pro MK 16 with G250, Apex XTX 200, and a Aqualung Legend. These are all very very good regs used right around $300 or less. If you go used route make sure you make a deal with seller that you want them serviced and checked out before you buy. Depending on the price you may want to work in the seller gets it all done for you. I find all kinds gear that is like BN from people that went all out bought tons of stuff and dove once or twice. The only thing I bought new was my dive computer. Servicing can be a deal breaker for you too if you are into lifetime warranties and like the warm fuzzy buy new. With the used reg you are on your own and will most likely have to spend $50-100 more every other year for parts.

 

[Diver0001]

Aqualung make some fine products that will serve you well however their business practices are objectionable imho.

I'm not sure what business practices you're talking about. Have you ever personally had them screw you for something? I haven't and I've been using their products for 26 years, as I mentioned above. The shop where I work hasn't either and they own something like 50 titans and service hundreds Aqualung regs on a yearly basis.... A friend of mine who owns a Titan got it rebuilt twice under warranty and then replaced with a new one because it was making a vibration that bothered him.... That doesn't sound like screwing over their clients to me....

So I'm wondering what evil things Aqualung is doing to their clients thta their clients aren't aware of....

R..

 

[bowtieman427]

sorry accidently post again. Good luck with your search.

 

[Scubasarah81]

what mares regs do you have? i have the carbon wife has the proton they are dry at least ours are. when you say they are wet do you taste salt water when ocean diving?

i picked up a set of scubapro s600's mk17 rebuilt for under 700

OK, my green is about to seriously show here... I have no idea what kind of Mare regs they are. As i said they were a gift to me. My Dad bought them for me used from our dive shop. They are some kind of metal, looking nothing like new regs that i have seen. And when i say they breathe wet, I mean minute amounts of water come in when i inhale if i bend my head back to look up, if i descend head first, and sometimes just for the hell of it it seems I have had them for three years and have had them serviced annually. This past dive trip however, they began breathing wetter than usual and making a terrible whistling sound every time I inhaled. I had them checked out at the resort dive shop and apparently the "cap" had a very small crack..

 

[halocline]

Buying a low end Reg is like going to McDonald's and asking the Clown to do a brake job on your car..... It is cheaper than getting a real mechanic to do it and it will probably work.

The most important piece of Equipment I dive is my Regs. I use a Sherwood Maximus on my primary tank and a Sherwood Oasis on my pony.

The idea that "low end" regulators are any less likely to work than high end models is pure BS. Equating safety and reliability with high prices on regulators is one of the dive industry's favorite sales tricks, and it's obviously worked on you.

Except, of course, for the fact that your Sherwood is a decades old design, and was never considered a high end reg. Yet, it has built a deserved reputation as a bullet proof workhorse, much like the SP MK2 and aqualung conshelf/titan etc...

So, your choice in regulators doesn't exactly match your statement.

 

[Fishpie]

Chances are your old metal Mares regs will be a whole lot better than any set you replace them with.
Use the money to go diving.

 

[adambayam]

On a budget reg for me is around $300 or less. I can think of a few of them, all respected regulators. They include the Genesis Atlas, Sherwood Blizzard, Apeks XTX20 or even XTX40 (but the XTX200 is unfortunately, not in this price range), Oceanic CDX5 and the aforementioned Aqualung Titan.

Heavy regulators are more of a rarity these days. You will find that most 2nd stages (the part in your mouth) are made from lightweight polymers.

 

[c5diver]

unless you are a cold water diver then metal is what you want. i would like to know the model regs you have. my guess is an older abyss which looks nothing like the current model but inside not changed much. it has had many looks over the years. and as stated before they are most likely better than what you will replace them with. is your octo fine? if so a repair is a good way to go, if your lds can get the parts.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Scubasarah81,

If the 2nd stages of your Mares regs are metal, they are highly dangerous, and must be immediately disposed of in a safe manner.... I'll be happy to provide that service for the cost of postage....

Just kidding!!!!

Properly adjusted and serviced, your Mares regs should breath "dry", but because they are metal 2nds will "humidify" the air, reducing "dry mouth".... but the air should still feel "dry", not wet....

Also, properly adjusted and tuned, they breath REALLY well, but the tech has to make the extra effort. If they stick religously to the instructions in the repair manual, you get a nice, stable, ho-hum performing reg.... spend an extra 10 minutes "tweaking" the tuning of the 2nd stage and you have a high performance 2nd stage....

If you have your heart set on new regs, then you've gotten some great answers already.

Best wishes.

 

[Scubasarah81]

Thanks everyone for the input. It sounds like i already have a good set of regs from what i am gathering, so i think fixin them up is how i'll do it for now!