New diver seeking reg advice

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Opossum

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So I have been diving off and on at my LDS for almost a year now (won't get into why it has been so long).

My wife and I both have our own BC's w/ weight integrated systems. We have all of our snorkel gear as well. I am just curious about what reg setup to get. I am not a big spender. We do plan on diving mainly in the carribean (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and hopefully to the St. Lucia side of the Carribean in the future) and in local lakes. I have been looking at Mares R2 Rebel, Mares MR12, Aeris A1, Oceanic Alpha 8, and a few others. Any insight for a new diver (well, new divers) who plan on sticking to the warmer waters? :D


Oh, I feel the need to add that my wife is not a big fan of deep dives. I doubt we will go anything lower than 60ft, at least not for a long while. So the simple local lakes and Carribean will be our main focus.

Cheers.
 
I dive a Mares R2 ($134 at Scuba Toys last time I looked) -as an engineer I appreciate KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) when appropriate, the R2 is simple and bulletproof. My diving is also temperate to warm (50-75f) with depths 60-100 feet. Within these constraints regulator are working at the very low end of their capacity and I think you would be pleased with the R2 or for that matter any on the list. While there is certainly advantages to balanced regs (easier to breath high volumes when deep with low tank pressure) it simply does not apply to the diving you descibe.
 
So I have been diving off and on at my LDS for almost a year now (won't get into why it has been so long).

My wife and I both have our own BC's w/ weight integrated systems. We have all of our snorkel gear as well. I am just curious about what reg setup to get. I am not a big spender. We do plan on diving mainly in the carribean (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and hopefully to the St. Lucia side of the Carribean in the future) and in local lakes. I have been looking at Mares R2 Rebel, Mares MR12, Aeris A1, Oceanic Alpha 8, and a few others. Any insight for a new diver (well, new divers) who plan on sticking to the warmer waters? :D


Oh, I feel the need to add that my wife is not a big fan of deep dives. I doubt we will go anything lower than 60ft, at least not for a long while. So the simple local lakes and Carribean will be our main focus.

Cheers.

Here is my standard cut and paste spelling errors and all.


Hello,

Shortly, you will be swamped with advise about buying a regulator, mostly by people who own a brand and are very fond of it. One thing to keep in mind about regulators is that most are great at what they do. So how do you separate the weed from the chaff? That won't be easy, but it will be fun and entertaining. Soon you will find out there are quite a few gurus on this board in each section. It's helpful to pick out a few of them and read lots of their post and you will be off to a very good start. In the regulator section I can highly recommend the post of (in no particular order) Awap, DA Aquamaster, Captain, Pescador775 and Luis H …there are lots of others but that will keep you busy for a while.

At any rate, you want a regulator brand that has a good track record for keeping parts available for each model. Of course unless you intend to DIY, you also want a regulator that can be serviced by your local dive shop and lots of locations in the world. The two best companies in both regards are Aqualung and Scubapro.
My recommendation for the average recreational diver, i.e. not freezing water, 150 feet or less, is a simple non balanced piston 1st stage such as the Scuba Pro MK 2 (or Aqualung Calypso, Mares R2, Sherwood Brut and a few others.) This simple design is usually inexpensive, nearly bullet proof, easy to get parts for and easy and inexpensive to service. It is also easy to DIY because it requires only a few o-rings and a seat. Yes, the unbalanced design will increase the breathing effort at low tank pressure, but I view this as a good thing especially for new or inexperienced divers. See this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/87374-scuba-pro-r190-2.html

Additionally, if/when one wants to start more advanced diving where high concentrations of oxygen will be used this type regulator can be moved to that application.

For a second stage I like an adjustable and balanced unit. This provides the ability to have the regulator tuned to minimum inhalation resistance with the option of the diver increasing the resistance it if he/she finds the need to. Having said that, a straight forward classic downstream design with a simple to replace set of o-rings and button soft seat can be highly recommended as it is a tried and true design, parts are usually available and almost anyone can service them.

I do think it is a good idea to have the same manufactures 1st and 2nd stage to make getting service less complicated.

For high end/higher performance regulators see the following link for DA's excellent advice.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/181745-advice-regulators.html

good luck,

couv
 
So I have been diving off and on at my LDS for almost a year now (won't get into why it has been so long).

My wife and I both have our own BC's w/ weight integrated systems. We have all of our snorkel gear as well. I am just curious about what reg setup to get. I am not a big spender. We do plan on diving mainly in the carribean (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and hopefully to the St. Lucia side of the Carribean in the future) and in local lakes. I have been looking at Mares R2 Rebel, Mares MR12, Aeris A1, Oceanic Alpha 8, and a few others. Any insight for a new diver (well, new divers) who plan on sticking to the warmer waters? :D


Oh, I feel the need to add that my wife is not a big fan of deep dives. I doubt we will go anything lower than 60ft, at least not for a long while. So the simple local lakes and Carribean will be our main focus.

Cheers.

I would Go With Scubapro MK2 With the R190 second stage ,Why?
Reliabilty,Cost Effective ,plus if you going to the carib thats the reg system they rent.
So if you need service anywhere you can get it.
That simple piston design has been around since the 60s
I would not be afraid to dive that reg down to 39 degrees,it has a slower flow rate so most likey will not have any problems with freezing,however you should always go by what your manual says the reg can safely do.
 
Take a look at the Oceanic GT3, I dive in Lake Erie and see tons of people using them up here so they are good for cold water which means they are great for Warm water. Plus Oceanic has the Dry Valve Technology, i wouldnt go with the Aplha 8 or the A1, they are piston regulators, which allow water into the first stage, and if youve seen what salt water does to regulators you know that you wouldnt want water entering your first stage. The GT3 is also an Adjustable Regulator. I havent really looked at the Mares line so i dont know much about them but i will stand by the oceanic line.
 
You're going to get a lot of variance based on people's own experience (as someone else stated).

When I started, I called ScubaToys and spoke with Joe. I told him the types of dives I expected to do, including temperature, depth and frequency of dives. Joe was able to recommend a great package for me. I ended up with (for a reg set-up):

the Aeris Atmos Pro
the Mares Brigade Viper Octo
the Oceanic Datamax Pro Plus II computer (which I absolutely love!)

It was a great purchase and I've had no regrets....
 
Like Couv posted some great adivice regulators are your life line sort of to say with this in mind and the type diving all the regulators you listed would do the job, look for one that will be easy to get serviced in your area, my self love my apeks but there are many great regulators out there.
 
For a nice entry reg, Id suggest a ScubaPro MK2/R190. The nice thing about ScubaPro is they have a Free Parts For Life program, where as long as you service your regs every 13 months or less, the parts are free and you only pay labor. As someone else stated, the MK2/R190 is a very popular reg and has been around for a very long time. It is really hard to find a place that doesnt service scubapro, let alone the MK2/R190 setup. I use the MK2/R190 on my deco bottles and have no complaints. They have been very reliable and never have given me grief. Granted an unbalanced 1st wont breathe as easy as a balanced first at depths beyond 100ft or so, it sounds like you wont be doing many dives to that depth.
 
I do have a Scubapro Knighthawk BC with an Air2 octo built in to the power inflator. My need for an alternate 2nd stage is not required. I do love the fact that everything is simplified with my octo built in. I like to keep things clean. :D

I have found the Mk2Plus/R295 reg system on Scubapro.com. I have not found anything listing the R190. Is the 295 the updated model? (sorry for being such a newb! :rofl3: )
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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