What you should do is look at the regulators used by:
Jersey wreck divers
NC wreck divers
Great Lakes wreck divers
Florida Cave divers
You will generally see them using: Apex, Scubapro, Zeagle, Posiden, Atomic. Halcyon, etc
Can't say I've seen many Aqualung regs in the caves
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That may be, but in test after test, the two that stand at the top of the heap are the Legend and the Titan XL both available in cold water versions.
Tech divers seem to favor regulators that allow configuring hoses in some "preferred" arrangement usually for twin set ups. This makes sense and I do the same thing, preferring older MK V firsts for my twin rigs due to the superior hose routing vs using a Titan or Legend first, the hoses just do not set up well for twins. That "preference" of mine is not based on performance or reliability but upon utility. I prefer the MK V/MK25 and similar piston first stages with a turret and end port.
N
---------- Post added April 5th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ----------
I'll put my conshelf XIV supreme .... Up against the new kids on the block....
Jim
Owner of several of these, a fine regulator and still a go to often as not. Especially when I want a rugged, reliable no fuss regulator. But it cannot be tuned to equal top of the line SP/AL/Apeks/Atomics. However, on my wish list is the Kirby Morgan version with the adjustment knob.
My SP109 can be set to inhale better than my Conshelfs by adjusting the knob (during set up) to slightly free flow. You cannot do that with a Conshelf and still have a reliable no fuss second stage. That said, my Titan XL also breaths better than the Conshelf and set to a lower, stable cracking force, measurable on my Magnehelic. The balanced second stage mechanism on both my Titan and the SP109 allow a lower, stable cracking pressure. The downfall of the 109 in my opinion is the 25mm exhaust valve. I think the Conshelf has a better venturi action.
Not being a 109 expert, I sent my best set to one of "The Usual Suspects" and he tuned on them. They do fine, I mostly wanted to confirm that they were correctly set. He did improve upon them slightly and they are now very smooth.
WOB, work of breathing, has three basic components;
1. Initial cracking effort
2. Sustained Venturi flow/volume effort
3. Exhaust effort
These may not be the terminologies used by everyone but it is the things being measured. Simply measuring the cracking effort is only 1/3 of the story. These things are measurable and can be quantified. They are not subjective.
N