TheOldPilot
Registered
Hello All,
I did scuba for a brief bit in college 15 years ago, but wasn’t in an area where there was much available so didn’t continue. Recently got back into it and, of course, a lot has changed in 15 years when it comes to gear. I’m getting into investing into my own gear and could use some help.
I have done the best I can searching my answers out on the internet, but tend to find only thinly veiled sales pitches or half the people saying something is great while the other half hate it. It’s the internet, I get it. Hopefully I can find some more concise views or additional information from you.
Anyways, I wanted to put forward my needs/goals for diving, what I’m looking at for some purchases of second stage regulator/octo, and see if anyone has first-hand experience they can speak to…especially if they have experience with more than one of these and can provide a comparison.
Priorities/objectives are as follows (in no specific order):
- I primarily will be doing “shallow” warm water diving – reefs and the like.
- Travel is a part of my plans, so size/weight considerations come into play
- Durability/ease of maintenance are a priority. Some of my long term plans will include extended time away from civilization, so being able to service on my own is of value. And while still at home, my LDS is four hours away, so any pro service would be mail-in anyways.
- I would like to keep my 2nd stage and octo of the same brand for ease of maintenance (only have to learn how to service one, buy one brand of parts, etc.)
- I’m a KISS, Toyota-kind of person (i.e. value minded). I don’t need the flashiest and I don’t care about brand names. I don’t like paying extra for gizmo features, but I will pay extra for quality/durability. (For instance, I’m a former firefighter and we would spend extra for tools that was forged as single pieces vs welded together, if that makes sense. The welded things were often flashier, but the single forged tools were much stronger.)
I’m looking at the following. Assume this would also include the corresponding octo (or a duplicate in situations where a corresponding octo isn’t made). For these, I consider the price differences negligible – just looking for the best that meets my needs as listed above:
Edge Nano* (Edge Nano Sport Regulator)
Deep 6 Signature (Second Stages - Regulators)
DGX Gears XTRA/D6 (DGX Gears Regulators)
Hog Classic 2.0 (HOG Classic 2.0 Second Stage)
Cressi Compact/Compact Pro (Cressi Regulators & Octopus Cressi Professional Scuba Diving Equipment)
Zeagle Envoy II (Envoy II Regulator - Zeagle)
*Note - The Edge Nano is obviously offering less than the others. It caught my eye simply because of the value proposition in that you can find a first stage, second stage, and octopus for $200. I'm not shopping a price point here, but at that cost/size/weight, maybe it's just worth picking up as a back-up set.
Thanks all!
I did scuba for a brief bit in college 15 years ago, but wasn’t in an area where there was much available so didn’t continue. Recently got back into it and, of course, a lot has changed in 15 years when it comes to gear. I’m getting into investing into my own gear and could use some help.
I have done the best I can searching my answers out on the internet, but tend to find only thinly veiled sales pitches or half the people saying something is great while the other half hate it. It’s the internet, I get it. Hopefully I can find some more concise views or additional information from you.
Anyways, I wanted to put forward my needs/goals for diving, what I’m looking at for some purchases of second stage regulator/octo, and see if anyone has first-hand experience they can speak to…especially if they have experience with more than one of these and can provide a comparison.
Priorities/objectives are as follows (in no specific order):
- I primarily will be doing “shallow” warm water diving – reefs and the like.
- Travel is a part of my plans, so size/weight considerations come into play
- Durability/ease of maintenance are a priority. Some of my long term plans will include extended time away from civilization, so being able to service on my own is of value. And while still at home, my LDS is four hours away, so any pro service would be mail-in anyways.
- I would like to keep my 2nd stage and octo of the same brand for ease of maintenance (only have to learn how to service one, buy one brand of parts, etc.)
- I’m a KISS, Toyota-kind of person (i.e. value minded). I don’t need the flashiest and I don’t care about brand names. I don’t like paying extra for gizmo features, but I will pay extra for quality/durability. (For instance, I’m a former firefighter and we would spend extra for tools that was forged as single pieces vs welded together, if that makes sense. The welded things were often flashier, but the single forged tools were much stronger.)
I’m looking at the following. Assume this would also include the corresponding octo (or a duplicate in situations where a corresponding octo isn’t made). For these, I consider the price differences negligible – just looking for the best that meets my needs as listed above:
Edge Nano* (Edge Nano Sport Regulator)
Deep 6 Signature (Second Stages - Regulators)
DGX Gears XTRA/D6 (DGX Gears Regulators)
Hog Classic 2.0 (HOG Classic 2.0 Second Stage)
Cressi Compact/Compact Pro (Cressi Regulators & Octopus Cressi Professional Scuba Diving Equipment)
Zeagle Envoy II (Envoy II Regulator - Zeagle)
*Note - The Edge Nano is obviously offering less than the others. It caught my eye simply because of the value proposition in that you can find a first stage, second stage, and octopus for $200. I'm not shopping a price point here, but at that cost/size/weight, maybe it's just worth picking up as a back-up set.
Thanks all!