Which of these regulators do you recommend for our situation?

[Jonathan Amato]

My wife and I are at around 80 dives over the last 7-8 years. We’ve started doing more regular local diving in San Diego, and it’s time for us to get our own regs. We plan to do the GUE Fundamentals course in the next few months.

I know with proper care and maintenance, regulators can last 20-30 years, so I’m willing to go in at the higher price point knowing that it’s something we are going to use for a long time. We plan to do a lot of Southern California diving, and we generally try to do at least one longer yearly trip to somewhere tropical like Hawaii, Tahiti, Quintana Roo, or Indonesia. We are interested in diving somewhere colder like Iceland, Canada, or Alaska, but any diving like that would just be one-off trips. We don’t really plan on going the tech route right now, but that wouldn’t be completely out of the question either.

After doing my own initial research it seems like the following two regulators are available and serviceable to me locally. And these are the ones that caught my eye the most because of their quality and features.

• Apeks MTX-RC
• Scubapro Mk25 Evo + (G260, S600, or S620ti)

I really like the swivel turret and number of ports on all of them, and the specs are all fairly comparable. The main difference seems to be Piston (Scubapro) vs Diaphragm (Apeks). I’ve been told Piston has less moving parts so it should generally last longer and be more durable, and diaphragms are more rugged to withstand extreme environments. My LDS says service costs would be fairly similar for each of these.

Does anyone have a strong case for either of these regulators that make the most sense for our situation if money isn’t a big factor?

 

[p_kos]

If it’s between Apeks and Scubapro then Scubapro MK19 + G260 will be your best choice as far as hose routing and performance in all water conditions. If you want to save money get Deep6 instead.

 

[BoltSnap]

1. Scubapro MK19/D420
2. Scubapro MK19/G260

3. Scubapro Mk25/D420
4. Scubapro MK25/G260 or S600

Forget about Apeks compared with the above.

 

[p_kos]

1. Scubapro MK19/D420
2. Scubapro MK19/G260

3. Scubapro Mk25/D420
4. Scubapro MK25/G260 or S600

Forget about Apeks compared with the above.

I agree but not sure if GUE still requires that your 2nd stage cover must be removable under water. That might rule out D420.

 

[rhwestfall]

Mk-17/19 over the MK-25 any and every day for me..... Sealed diaphragm is so more "for all conditions"....

 

[gqllc007]

I was going to suggest Mk19/G260 for Scubapro
Or Deep6 signature series
I have the Mk25/620ti,
I have the Mk19/D420
I have the Atomics ST1 and also the M1
I have the Deep6 signature series
The Deep6 has repeatedly blown my mind for performance and price.
You won't go wrong with any of the choices but you can get the Deep6 signature with the Octo Deep6 signature series for a great price. If you have to go SP then Mk19/G260 and let rsingler check it all out and make sure it is in spec

 

[Wibble]

First stages: Apeks DS4 or DST. Or the Tek3s if you can get them for a sensible price. DS4's are very cheap but excellent sealed regs. DSTs have the turret.

Second stages: Apeks XTX40 or XTX50 (if you need to dial the resistance down - unless scootering don't bother). A cheaper but very reliable reg is the ATX40 -- I've loads of those for stage regs and use them for primary too.

ScubaPro Mk25s are good for sidemount because of the turret.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I don't remember if it was @tbone1004 or someone else who mentioned that only a couple tools are needed for the Apeks and it is one of the easier regs to service in the field (my solution is to carry spare regs). So I'd choose an Apeks XTX50 (still have one) or MTX-R over the ScubaPros (also own them). Not sure why, but I've talked to a number of folks with similar issues in the squeeling of SP regs after service. My guess is that it is a technician's skill issue, but I've never experienced that with any other regs I've owned (Atomic, Apeks, IST, Deep 6).

 

[Compressor]

I never had APEKS but have had great service given to me over the years with ScubaPro. Sealed Diaghram is a great design as others have mentioned. I don't have the MK19 but a similar MK16.

 

[Newdiv]

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