Recommendations for Easy Breathing Regs?

[DreadnoughtNH]

Any new regulator from the major brands will breath better than a beat up poorly maintained rental reg.

You can narrow down your choices by answering a few questions.

What kind of diving will you be doing (Cold water, warm water, salt, fresh)?
What kind of diving do you see yourself doing in the future (vacation recreational, tech, cave)?
And most importantly, what brands do your local dive shops service?

So much this!!!

But to answer the OP question directly, I have an AL Legend first stage and reg. It's probably overkill for the diving I'm regularly doing (travel, warm water), but it breathes SUPER easy, particularly when I set it to max flow. I tend to back it down to min flow to conserve air (yeah, I'm a gas hog), and it does have a tendency to wheeze slightly when I do that. But if you're looking for a good setup (and can afford the AL price), I think it's worth it.

 

[Cj3141]

+ on the AL legend. I have lx supreme and greatly enjoy it.

 

[Diver below 83]

I’d recommend the deep 6 signature set. For the price your not going to find a better complete set. Secondly if you can wait till the Black Friday sales they throw your going to get a fantastic deal.

Deep 6 Configurable Single Tank Package

 

[GJC]

That's not important at all when you can mail them to a shop that does a proper job. In my area, I have had a number of shops screw up my regulators prior to my Deep 6 days. Then I started mailing them to Octopus Gardens, across the Puget Sound in Port Townsend.

Touche!

Add to my last question:

And whether you mind mailing your regulator to get it serviced.

 

[Bigbella]

I have dove Poseidon rigs -- Cyklon, Jetstream, and Xstream -- for decades; and, provided, that they are kept up to specs, breathe beautifully and dry, regardless of your position in the water.

The complaints that I have typically heard of the brand, have come from poorly maintained equipment; that, and just grossly inaccurate calibration -- the ballparking, that is all too common in dive shops these days. Other complaints have been the cost of maintenance; but Scubapro parts, for example, are on par, if not now, more expensive.

Away from my test bench, I can get most regs within "the sweet spot" simply with an decent IP guage and a hemostat that I carry in my bag . . .

 

[runsongas]

i wouldn't buy anything until checking what deep 6 has on offer on black friday

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

You might get in touch with Beaver divers in Denver. They sell their MK25evo/S600 regs from their rental/demo fleet for great prices. I have bought two sets from them and other than a few scratches on one S600, they were like brand new for a fraction of the price. Great people to deal with and I got top of the line regulators for not much more than I would pay for a much lower end set.

Most higher end (and many lower end) regulators will have an adjustment that will make them easier to breathe. That adjustment definately makes a difference on our Scubapros. Check for a knob on the left side of the 2nd stage. When mine is WFO, it almost breathes for you.

Good luck,
Jay

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

You might get in touch with Beaver divers in Denver. They sell their MK25evo/S600 regs from their rental/demo fleet for great prices. I have bought two sets from them and other than a few scratches on one S600, they were like brand new for a fraction of the price. Great people to deal with and I got top of the line regulators for not much more than I would pay for a much lower end set.

OT: I think that is smart business. They probably sell more SP regs than the average dive shop.

 

[Saboteur]

I respectfully call B.S.

Within recreational depths, no properly serviced/tuned regulator will be difficult to breathe. The difference in work-of-breathing between top-of-the-line regs and good-value workhorses like @flyboy08 mentions should be nearly imperceptible. Call me a cynic, but my suspicion is that your instructor had you breathe from a poorly tuned reg, perhaps so he could sell you a "better" (i.e., properly tuned) one.

Exactly....I had my own reg set develop a problem on a trip so I needed to rent regs off of the operator for the last two days, they were Scubapro (don't know the model) but visually and likely the same model as the dive boat keeps sets stowed on board. One set breathed great, the other was noticeably more difficult to breathe. For the most part it's not the reg, it's the tuning. Price differences are features, materials and finish.

 

[CanadaDan]

It's indeed more about the tuning than the particular set. Rental sets can take a beating and the set you had may just have needed a good retune,

Buy a a set based on your needs (temp and travel weight typically being the biggest factors) and budget from your local dive shop.

FWIW my Apeks XL4+ set is cold'ish' rated, light weight, easy breathing... but a bit over the budget mentioned.