Aqualung Legend vs Legend LX vs Legend LX Supreme

[Bigeclipse]

Hey all. I was wondering what I should get for my first set-up. I am entry level diver BUT I am loving it so far and can definitely see myself progressing into tech diving situations. So far I am only certified to 60 feet but I am currently in the process of doing my advanced open water (good to 100 feet) then deep diver by the end of summer (good to 130 feet). I do realize tech diving is a whole other ball game that I will probably not reach for another 3-5 years which at that point I may be buying new regulators anyways, but I will certainly be going to 100-130 feet a lot by the end of this summer and all next summer. Right Now I dive mostly fresh water, relatively colder, lakes in New York. Some are glacial formed lakes which get hundreds of feet deep. I believe average summer temps at depth (100ft) at the lake I frequent most is in the 50s but can be as cold to near freezing at super deep depths or if the lake has a bad storm which churns the water up. My dad is friends with the local dive shop owner and he recommended me the titan lx but then said if I really wanted to do some tech diving maybe to go for a legend. So I started reading up on those. I notice there are three basic legend models...legend, legend lx, and legend lx supreme. Which do you all recommend getting? He said I should just go with a regular legend, that the LX adds another adjustment feature for 120$ more but I really wouldnt use it. He said he uses a regular legend for his tech dives to 190 feet. He went to truk lagoon last year and said the deepest he went there was 190ft, both him and his buddy were diving doubles with regular legends. Now for costs, yeah if I can save money great...especially since I was originally going to buy a titan set-up which it is already 230$ more just to go to the basic legend...is it worth it to go another 120$ more over a regular legend to get the LX that he says the second adjustment I will never use, at the very least not in the next few years anyways? thanks for the advice.

 

[v.saint007]

Aqualung Regs last a long time more than you indicate before you will think of tech diving (3-5yrs). My mentors' aqualung is almost 12 years old and still going strong. If you have short listed aqualung for yourself, I am sure you must have done a fair bit of research.

I have a LX Supreme for my back mount rec diving and a pair or Apeks for sidemount. These are the only two companies that I respect in terms of regs. My belief is, buy the best of the regs (even if a bit expensive) because they are your life support system. Also, I would recommend going in for a DIN with a yoke adapter. Thus you don't have to buy another reg or convert this to DIN when you decide to go tech.


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[rongoodman]

I got a Legend LX Supreme when I started out, and while it worked fine, it was very expensive and I don't even use it anymore--the hose routing isn't all that good for the tech diving I ended up doing. I'd save some money and avoid the top-end if I was starting again. OTOH, instead of buying the cheaper octopus, I bought two identical second stages--that I would do again.

Where in NY are you? Have you been diving in Lake George yet?

 

[ams511]

OP in Scuba you do not always get what you pay for. Look at the posts and you will see that people who own both a Titan LX and a Legend admit they cannot tell any difference in breathing. This is because most of perceived breathing effort is determined by the second stage and both the Titan LX and Legend use the same second stage. So do NOT spend a ton of money on a new regulator. The value sweet spot is always in the middle of the line. My recommendation is this. Apeks is an Aqualung company and are very well respected in the tech diving community. The first, second and octo are all balanced regulators and can be upgraded with an adjustment knob if you want. Also the first stage is sealed and the seconds are cold water capable.

Full disclosure: I do not particularly like Aqualung. While they do make good long-lasting gear their regulator line is overly convoluted for no other reason than to hit different price points and let their dealers talk you into a more expensive product. There is no need for eight Legend models. If you want Aqualung then bargain hard for the Titan LX. Prime Scuba has some good deals on AL octos. If you go cold water I would recommend the Glacia.

If you want to save some serious coin than do what another poster has described as buying your second set of gear first.

 

[Bigeclipse]

I got a Legend LX Supreme when I started out, and while it worked fine, it was very expensive and I don't even use it anymore--the hose routing isn't all that good for the tech diving I ended up doing. I'd save some money and avoid the top-end if I was starting again. OTOH, instead of buying the cheaper octopus, I bought two identical second stages--that I would do again.

Where in NY are you? Have you been diving in Lake George yet?

I live 45 minutes south of lake george and that is the lake I frequent most.

---------- Post added June 11th, 2014 at 02:41 PM ----------

OP in Scuba you do not always get what you pay for. Look at the posts and you will see that people who own both a Titan LX and a Legend admit they cannot tell any difference in breathing. This is because most of perceived breathing effort is determined by the second stage and both the Titan LX and Legend use the same second stage. So do NOT spend a ton of money on a new regulator. The value sweet spot is always in the middle of the line. My recommendation is this. Apeks is an Aqualung company and are very well respected in the tech diving community. The first, second and octo are all balanced regulators and can be upgraded with an adjustment knob if you want. Also the first stage is sealed and the seconds are cold water capable.

Full disclosure: I do not particularly like Aqualung. While they do make good long-lasting gear their regulator line is overly convoluted for no other reason than to hit different price points and let their dealers talk you into a more expensive product. There is no need for eight Legend models. If you want Aqualung then bargain hard for the Titan LX. Prime Scuba has some good deals on AL octos. If you go cold water I would recommend the Glacia.

If you want to save some serious coin than do what another poster has described as buying your second set of gear first.

From what I have heard, read on-line, and spoke to the owner of the shop...there is certainly a noticeable breathing difference between titan lx and legend at depths greater than 130ft... NOTE: I am not upgrading just the second stage...it is the first and second stage complete set-up I am buying.

 

[ams511]

From what I have heard, read on-line, and spoke to the owner of the shop...there is certainly a noticeable breathing difference between titan lx and legend at depths greater than 130ft... NOTE: I am not upgrading just the second stage...it is the first and second stage complete set-up I am buying.

I know what you are buying. The Titan LX and Legend use the same second stage. The only difference is the first stage, which are very similar to each other. A colleague of mine likes to tell this story. He walks into a dive shop in Tel Aviv and asks the owner what is the difference between these two regulators, the owner answers about $200. My colleague dives the Titan LX. Consequently, I would be skeptical about the claims of the dive shop owner because he has a monetary interest in selling you what he has and the most profitable regulator. If you have your heart set on an AL then I would contact TS&M who is a mod here on SB. She has first-hand knowledge of both regulators.

Another thing that sends up a red flag is diving to depths greater than 130 feet on air. Unless you have a death wish, on deeper dives you will want to use Trimix to reduce narcosis. The helium in the mix is much lighter than the nitrogen it replaces so at depth a regulator with trimix breaths like a regulator on air in shallow water. BTW, if you plan to dive to those depths then you will need to take additional courses like trimix, deco procedures and into to tech and will need doubles. At 130 feet your no deco limit is 8 minutes.

I closing, it is your money so buy what you want but make an educated decision. If you really want to tech dive then go to a tech dive board like the deco stop and ask what regulators they use. Scubapro and Apeks will be the most popular.

 

[Bigeclipse]

I know what you are buying. The Titan LX and Legend use the same second stage. The only difference is the first stage, which are very similar to

Another thing that sends up a red flag is diving to depths greater than 130 feet on air. Unless you have a death wish, on deeper dives you will want to use Trimix to reduce narcosis. The helium in the mix is much lighter than the nitrogen it replaces so at depth a regulator with trimix breaths like a regulator on air in shallow water.
I closing, it is your money so buy what you want but make an educated decision. If you really want to tech dive then go to a tech dive board like the deco stop and ask what regulators they use. Scubapro and Apeks will be the most popular.

I appreciate the feedback and yes I may be new to the sport but I have done lots of reading and I am already open water certified. I am signed up for advanced diver and will be for deep diver next summer. I do understand the differences when going beyond the 130ft mark. the shop owner is a family friend and basically gives us products at cost so the monetary statement isn't exactly true in this instance. he actually wanted to simply sell me a titan lx. I asked what he uses and he said he uses the legend with DIN and has never had issues with those on his double setup down to 190ft. he says beyond that he has a whole other setup. I came on here to hust get some other feedback...not be bashed for sounding like a newbie

 

[ams511]

Sorry if I sound like I am bashing you but I am not. Many people, myself included, were taken advantage of by dishonest dive shop employees when they were just starting out and didn't know better. So we are rather skeptical of dive shop claims. One thing for you and other newbies to know is that manufacturers and dive shops know that students are predisposed to wanting what their instructor uses and consequently outfit them accordingly. If you are interested in technical diving then I would recommend the GUE book "Doing it Right". It could help you decide on equipment purchases and some other things.

 

[axxel57]

I appreciate the feedback and yes I may be new to the sport but I have done lots of reading and I am already open water certified. I am signed up for advanced diver and will be for deep diver next summer. I do understand the differences when going beyond the 130ft mark. the shop owner is a family friend and basically gives us products at cost so the monetary statement isn't exactly true in this instance. he actually wanted to simply sell me a titan lx. I asked what he uses and he said he uses the legend with DIN and has never had issues with those on his double setup down to 190ft. he says beyond that he has a whole other setup. I came on here to hust get some other feedback...not be bashed for sounding like a newbie

No worries, with a Legend you are perfectly fine.

In all the tests I did on Legends and other brands,the Legend is the best diaphragm 1st stage I know. The balancing is the best of all 1sts and also the dynamic IP during flow test is excellent.

I'm considering to get me one for my D-Series 2nds, because the qualities are better than the ones of my MK25.

Since it seems that I have serious `death wish` issues according to ams511, it is probably not bad to add a tick of safety to my equipment ( or would it be a double `death wish`mixing brands, oh god?).

Anyway the Legend 2nds are strong and and good breathers you can use for any dive profile you might encounter in the future.

Just do yourself a favor and avoid the APEKS ATX 2nds, you might be okay with them,but chances are you might be not.

Having the choice between a Legend and any APEKS regs, to my opinion you are better off with the Legend (if you could get a TITAN LX for your Legend 1st, that would be a cheaper alternative).

Good luck

 

[rongoodman]

Worrying about how a regulator is going to breath on air much past 130' is probably just a theoretical exercise anyway, since you're not likely to be doing dives to those depths on air. The reduced density of trimix will be much more significant than minor mechanical differences between regulators.


(My Hog D1s do just fine at 195', and they're half the price of the Legends.)