Regulator Options for GUE

[Lorenzoid]

I decided on the Halcyon reg package from EE because I know it will show up to my door Fundies, Tech 1, Cave 1, etc. ready. This choice is one reason I love the standardized gear philosophy of GUE and can trust what EE sends me will work and prepare me for any future class I take. It helps me focus on the training, and that is one less piece I have to worry about heading into the classroom.

I agree. I admittedly like that feeling of assurance that when I buy some piece of Halcyon gear there will never be any nagging thoughts in the back of my mind whether it will be suitable. I don't know why I'm so adamant to avoid "expensive" Halcyon regs, yet I am reluctant to buy anything but expensive Halcyon wings. I am admittedly totally inconsistent. Or maybe, it's just a love-hate relationship with Halcyon gear.

 

[Hartattack]

I totally understand. Ugh, it's def a love-hate relationship between EE and my wallet.

 

[usf330]

Thanks for info. Will look at Deep 6 as well.

 

[Enraptured of the Deep]

I know someone who is selling two well maintained Scubapro Mk25s for a fair price. PM me for details.

 

[rduquesnoy]

We plan to do Fundamentals in august this year and just switched to doubles with new regulator sets.

We discussed some options with our instructor and ended up with the Scubapro MK25 (because of the hose routing) and the Scubapro G260 second stage. We intend to get into cave diving and an advantage of this second stage is that it's pretty easy to disassemble, even during a dive if necessary.

I really like this setup so far.

 

[eelpout]

Before Halcyon started selling regulators, Scubapro regulators were the choice of most GUE participants. Maybe David Rhea had something to do with that. Now my knowledge about the Halcyon line dates back to 2010 and I know for a fact back then, they were made by Scubapro and were identical except for the logos and the color. Looking at their new 2019 Halcyon Regulators they still look like their Scubapro counterparts. I used to own a dive store and was a Scubapro and Halcyon dealer.

 

[akdeepdiver]

Something to consider, and what many people don't think about is the ability to get your regs serviced. I've seen a lot of divers that find a great deal online for regs, and then later find out there is no local shop to repair them and they essentially double the service price when they have to pay to ship them somewhere. Many dive shops will not service regs that that they are not dealers for, or have not been factory trained due to liability reasons. I recommend that whatever brand you go with, you find out first if you can get them locally serviced to keep the costs down.

 

[jleng2]

I took Fundies with Aqualung Legend regs in a single tank config. They are great regs and I still have them for single tank (mostly travel) diving. When I moved on to doubles, I got a new set of regs - Apeks XTX50 / DST. They are also great regs and I also got one as my deco reg. If you want to upgrade your single tank regs rather than buying new when moving to doubles, consider the Apeks. I just don't like swapping hoses so I like to keep a set for single tank.

The Apeks DST has an option for a 5th port, but the port conversion kits were backordered when I got my regs. My instructor said it wasn't really necessary and we set the regs up for my doubles without the 5th port. I've been diving them for 2 years and decided not to get the 5th port upgrade after all, although others may feel differently.

@Hartattack below has an excellent point - always run any purchase by your instructor first. They may not like a piece of gear for an unforeseen reason, or may have a better option for you.

May I ask which variant of Aqualung Legend did you use?

 

[buddhasummer]

IMO Halcyon halo ugly high priced G250V. Good, but still... not sure in the US but EU pricing is frightening, Australia too.