Another "buying my first regulator" thread

[Damselfish]

I've had a Mikron for a bunch of years. I noticed the bubbles at first but don't anymore. I'd actually forgotten all about them until I saw this thread.

I like the compactness. The weight savings is nice and is much more than the 4oz someone mentioned, maybe more like 2 pounds overall? Maybe it's 4oz on the 2nd stage but most of the weight savings is in the 1st. Breathes fine for any depth and position I'm in, but that should be true of plenty of regs. (Most good regs should breath fine if properly serviced and tuned, rentals tend to be lower end and not always in peak shape, so not a good comparison - I don't think it's something you need to obsess about a huge amount. If you care about a reg breathing dry when you're sideways/upside down/whatever, that's something worth specifically checking into.)

I would keep in mind service. Make sure you can get it serviced locally or are ready to ship it someplace for service. (Personally, I don't get regs serviced too often, I find have way fewer problems if I don't give someone a chance to fix what's not broken.) My understanding is the Mikron requires a special (expensiveish) tool to open, so if you needed service when traveling that could be a drawback over something more generic. It's not the only reg that needs a special tool but this one may be less common. But I haven't actually had that problem, and worst case I'd just rent if I needed to.

 

[stuartv]

Get a Conshelf 14 from Amron Commercial Sales and you're done with all of your regulator concerns

... until you feel like you need 2 HP ports, or a swivel turret, or a bottom LP port....

To the OP: From what I've learned around here, it seems the 2nd stage regulator is what really makes the most difference in how easy a reg breathes (assuming you have a basic, decent quality 1st stage). The local people I talk to all seem to agree that the ScubaPro G260 is the nicest-breathing 2nd stage reg you can buy right now. I haven't tried one, so I can't say myself. My shop carries every brand I can think of except Deep6, HOG, or Poseidon. They carry ScubaPro, AquaLung, Apeks, Dive Rite, Hollis, Oceanic, Aeris, Atomic, SubGear, and probably something I'm not thinking of. The shop owners and other staff all seem to have the G260 on their personal reg sets.

 

[buddhasummer]

I've owned G260s and G250s, the difference is almost imperceptible to me, "maybe" the G260 is a fraction smoother. It wasn't enough for me so I sold all my G260s and just kept the G250s, super simple to service and breathe very nicely. Slightly off track, sorry OP.

 

[buddhasummer]

Cosmetically I prefer the Conshelf 21 and 14 first stages but practically speaking I prefer the old Titan. I dive dry 8 months of the year and the hose routing on the Titan is much prettier, IMO it's a hot mess using a Conshelf. Single tank BM, just SPG and diving wet I think the Conshelf (21/14) is a great option. YMMV.

 

[tech3324]

I dive dry 8 months of the year and the hose routing on the Titan is much prettier, IMO it's a hot mess using a Conshelf.

Which Titan version is it that you prefer for dry? The gen I was barrel shaped like a Conshelf, and gen 2 was kind of "cone" shaped IIRC. Is it the port locations that you like on the Titan compared to Conshelf?

 

[buddhasummer]

Older barrel shaped, yes, hose routing is much nicer, particularly when diving dry. I added the dry enviro seal to my Titan.

 

[Umuntu]

Thank you for the clarification, as these details will facilitate my decision. I had been leaning toward the Mikron, but your explanation makes the Titan seem more appealing than I had initially thought.

If you are looking at the Titan you should also look at Aqualung Core. The Core is essentially the same first stage as the Titan with a balanced second stage. A Venturi lever, but no adjustment knob on the second stage.

Excellent breathing at depth and available either as a warm water option Core, or an environmentally sealed cold water option Core Supreme. I replaced my MK25/S600 with the Core Supreme as my travel regulator. The second stages are light.

 

[stuartv]

I've owned G260s and G250s, the difference is almost imperceptible to me, "maybe" the G260 is a fraction smoother. It wasn't enough for me so I sold all my G260s and just kept the G250s, super simple to service and breathe very nicely. Slightly off track, sorry OP.

Sidenote : I saw a post recently that said something like "just don't get a G250HP."

What's wrong with the HP?

 

[Couv]

What's wrong with the HP?

Nothing really wrong with it-they work and breathe just fine. However, for those of us who DIY service our own regulators it has a lot of unnecssary parts that are not easy to come by. The sad thing is the extra parts and tuning complications do not add one iota to the performance.

 

[buddhasummer]

Nothing really wrong with it-they work and breathe just fine. However, for those of us who DIY service our own regulators it has a lot of unnecssary parts that are not easy to come by. The sad thing is the extra parts and tuning complications do not add one iota to the performance.

I would almost say the same of the G260, although I do think the G260 is perhaps the best looking modern second stage and it is well made. The G250 requires nothing more than a flat head screw driver and a chopstick to service, can't get a whole lot simpler, even I can do it, well after bit of a learning curve and some pointers from the usual suspects.