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I am a medical school student that is from Cincinnati, OH - but now I live 10 months out of the year in georgetown, grandcayman. Because of massive student loans ive been renting gear for shore diving, or simply just going on boat dives and paying the renter fees - and they have started adding up.
Long story short since its christmas I started putting together a kit for myself and have purchased everything but the regulator at this point.
I had purchased the basic scubapro MK2/R295 setup that I had been using on the island but i notice that after about 90 feet I can tell a difference in breathing, I purchased it for 215 on LP, and am now thinking that I would rather have a little better of a regulator for when I return to the states eventually.
which brings me to you guys - 350 is the max I can spend - but id rather keep it at around 300
I had seen an Aeris Ion on divers-supply for 250
but I am pretty lost as to where I should go - so I'm hoping you guys can school me a bit - id love an MK25/s600 combo, but am definitely lacking the bank for that atm
also my LDS said they would sell me an oceanic delta 3 (the older delta model i guess) for 300, but i have absolutely no idea if that is a good deal or not.
I suggest you consider simply adding a higher performance 2nds stage to your rig. A Scubapro G250 would due nicely and cost a lot less than going to a Mk25/s600. In fact, if you were to go for a used G250 or 109/156, you should be looking at under $100 including an initial service. You might want to PM DA Aquamaster on this board and see what he might have.
I only run Scubapro regs and ya the MK2 is unbalanced and is not an easy breather at depth. You can always find a used MK10, that are a balanced piston reg or MK11,17 that are a balanced diaphragm and will deliver more air than you could want at depth. EBAY is a great place to look for regs. I have 3 MK10/G250's and I love them. The 2nd stage G250 is the easiest breathing reg SP makes (IMO). You pair a G250 up with a MK10 or MK17 you have a great reg.
The problems you are haveing are mainly with your 1st stage so if you only have money for your 1st stage invest in that and then later add a good 2nd stage.
I only run Scubapro regs and ya the MK2 is unbalanced and is not an easy breather at depth. You can always find a used MK10, that are a balanced piston reg or MK11,17 that are a balanced diaphragm and will deliver more air than you could want at depth. EBAY is a great place to look for regs. I have 3 MK10/G250's and I love them. The 2nd stage G250 is the easiest breathing reg SP makes (IMO). You pair a G250 up with a MK10 or MK17 you have a great reg.
The problems you are haveing are mainly with your 1st stage so if you only have money for your 1st stage invest in that and then later add a good 2nd stage.
The Mk2 is not the main problem here, at least not until tank pressures gets quite low at which point you should be well on your way to the surface. All 1st stages are "balanced" for depth effects. The unbalance 1st refers to the fact that it is not balanced for changes in tank pressure. The Mk2 will provide plenty of flow to get high performance from a good balanced 2nd stage. An R295 is simply not a high performance 2nd stage.
But the Mk10 is a great 1st stage and not too expensive if you shop around.
The Mk2 is not the main problem here, at least not until tank pressures gets quite low at which point you should be well on your way to the surface. All 1st stages are "balanced" for depth effects. The unbalance 1st refers to the fact that it is not balanced for changes in tank pressure. The Mk2 will provide plenty of flow to get high performance from a good balanced 2nd stage. An R295 is simply not a high performance 2nd stage.
But the Mk10 is a great 1st stage and not too expensive if you shop around.
Ok well I am not a regulator tec by no means but I have dove with the MK2 as a loner when I was having my 1st servised and anything really past 80ft and it is a hard draw to breath. I had it down to 110' and hated every second of it. I asked my instructor when I got back to the shop WHY? and he gave me the rundown about balanced and unbalanced 1st stages. The MK2 being unbalanced there for as the tank pressure changes at depth and as the PSI drops due to usage it gets harder to breath.
I am not saying your wrong its is just in my experience the MK2 is not an easy breathing REG at deeper depths. It had nothing to do with my second stage cause I was useing one of my G250's wide open and I still had problems. In the shallows it is a fine reg. I still have a lot to learn about regs and other things. I am learning a lot right now because I am working on my Master Diver.
The Mk2 is not the main problem here, at least not until tank pressures gets quite low at which point you should be well on your way to the surface. All 1st stages are "balanced" for depth effects. The unbalance 1st refers to the fact that it is not balanced for changes in tank pressure. The Mk2 will provide plenty of flow to get high performance from a good balanced 2nd stage. An R295 is simply not a high performance 2nd stage.
But the Mk10 is a great 1st stage and not too expensive if you shop around.
Are you saying that an S600 would breath just as well on an MK2 as it does on an MK25???
Are you saying that an S600 would breath just as well on an MK2 as it does on an MK25???
No, I am not. But the difference would be much less than the performance difference between an S600 on a Mk2 vs an R295 on a Mk2; or an S600 on a Mk25 vs an R295 on a Mk25. The second stage will make a bigger difference than the 1st stage.
In fact, with a fairly full tank and low effort diving, you might not be able to tell the difference between a Mk2 and a Mk25. With lower tank pressures and/or higher breathing demands, the difference between the two first stages may become more noticeable. I use a G500 on a Mk2 for my pony regulator. I tune the G500 on the hot side so it tends to freeflow a bit if all the way open on a full tank (more like the Oceanic specs on an adjustable 2nd than the Scubapro specs). So, as tank pressure drops, I can make user adjustments to not incur a noticeable lose of performance.
The difference is still noticeable nonetheless. The internal workings/flow rates, etc. are MUCH better on the MK25. I have used the G380 and 250 on MK2 and there is still big difference on deeper and/or high exertion dives.
When it comes to a regulator, I'd buy the best highest performance most reliable regulator I can afford (and perhaps more than I can afford).
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Originally Posted by LakeCountyDiver
