HOG Regs

[Ozwald]

Awesome! I can't believe how well these low priced regs breathe !! Funny thing...they look identical to my buddies Apeks....:-)

Gonna order two more sets!

[Pedro Burrito]

What first stage did you get? Did you get two second stages? What are you using them for? I've been torn between the Apeks and the HOGs. I haven't heard one bad thing about the HOG regulators. I think I'm going to be getting three sets sometime in January and I'm about ready to call Jim Lapenta to order them.

[Jim Lapenta]

I have a few people ordering new regs in January. I started using mine 3 years ago. Long before I started selling them. Have not stopped being impressed by them and the Edge line.

[Bigd2722]

I loved my APEKS. In 8 years I never had a problem with them except after every service or tune up. That's why I finally got rid of them. The HOG is looking pretty good to me.

[Hydreliox]

Funny thing...they look identical to my buddies Apeks

I very much doubt there are the same, as APEKS produce all of their regs in house in the UK, and I suspect the HOG regs are made by a manupacker. (When I ordered my second stages HOG/Edge were waiting to take delivery of stock which suggests to me they are not made in house). Still very nice regs though.

I loved my APEKS. In 8 years I never had a problem with them except after every service or tune up. That's why I finally got rid of them. The HOG is looking pretty good to me.

Its probably because you sent them off with a LDS for a service Bigd....I've seen it with Mares, ScubaPro, Apeks and I suspect once the same shops get their hands on HOG regs owners will experience the same problems as you! At least HOG offer a servicing course though I guess. Probably worth it if you have never stripped a reg before.

[highflier]

Yea, but they do not offer it to OW divers.. you have to take at least 1 adv class first

So nitrox is on my list to do now :/

Highflier

[Blue Sparkle]

Yea, but they do not offer it to OW divers.. you have to take at least 1 adv class first

So nitrox is on my list to do now

Just curious: Do you know that Nitrox is "enough" to qualify one to take the HOG class? I have not checked lately but when they first came out it said you had to have "tech" training, and I'm not sure that Nitrox would qualify (?).

[TSandM]

I don't know what the minimum requirements to take the class is, but I took it today, and even if I weren't going to service my own regulators, it was a great class to take. We did the regs, the wing inflators (which I already knew how to do) and manifolds, which I had never taken apart. It was great fun, and I have a much more thorough understanding of how the equipment I am using actually works. And luckily, I have local support, so the next time I want to take apart a first stage, I can do it under supervision. (We did two second stages, one being coached and one on my own, and they're much simpler. But there was only one first stage.)

Kudos to Chris for giving scuba gear owners credit for being smart enough to learn to do this!

[Nolan]

I am not sure, but I am guessing Highflier is talking about something like the TDI Nitrox course. I know as soon as I heard of the course, I went searching for "tech" training that didn't have much in the way of prereqs. Us beginners that happen to be mechanically inclined and would prefer to work on our own gear are all probably looking for ways to meet the tech course requirement so we can take the course!

[Blue Sparkle]

The class sounds fabulous -- I'm envious! I would really enjoy taking something like that

From memory (and checking a previous thread) you need "a tech rating" to take the HOG reg servicing class. I would guess that Nitrox would not be considered a tech rating (?). That's a slight bummer for a mechanically-minded non-tech diver, but it is nifty that there is a class for those who qualify.

Edited to add: Nolan, I was typing (and looking up a previous thread to check my memory) while you were posting. Maybe the TDI Nitrox class would qualify; I was thinking of one like I took from SSI which was more "OW-ish."

Us beginners that happen to be mechanically inclined and would prefer to work on our own gear are all probably looking for ways to meet the tech course requirement so we can take the course!

I hear you on that one! Whether or not I ever "go tech," I'm the sort of person who likes to understand and be able work on my own stuff, be it cars, boats, or whatever.

While searching for the tech prerequisite info for the HOG class, I did see mention of another reg-tech type class offered. It's in VA, and looks aimed at people who want to work for shops, but it might work for individual divers as well (although maybe it's more broad/in-depth than needed). It's listed here:

http://vascuba.com/DiveTraining/Equi...0/Default.aspx

Since it's offered through IANTD/SDI/TDI, that probably means there are other similar ones.

I have a pretty-detailed service manual and parts for my regs, but I would still really like some hands-on training.