Apeks ATX 50 vs DR RG2500 vs Atomic Z2

[zackalack8999]

Apeks ATX 50 +DS4 vs DR RG2500 vs Atomic Z2
Which of these is best in your opinion, and why? People with experience with one or all three of these regulators feel free to chime in. Which have cold water capability? Which is easiest to maintain? Which is best in terms of warranty? Etc. Here we go.


Obviously the ATX 50 is the cheapest, but, are the other two that much better for the extra $100. Poor college freshman here.

 

[SparticleBrane]

What's the retail price on the Apeks? Personally I'd go with the Apeks, especially if you can get it from an authorized retailer for a good price. I own both the DR RG2500 (w/ICE cold water kit) and 2 sets of XTX50s w/DS4s.

I used the RG2500s for a year before buying the Apeks. The DiveRite regs were fine in cold water and I never had an issue with them. They breathed well. I didn't like the hose routing for doubles, though.

I haven't dove the Apeks enough to seriously compare, but from the start they seem to be a bit 'smoother' in their breathing. Hose routing for doubles is nice. The DS4s are environmentally sealed and don't have a swivel. They're bulletproof.


There's absolutely nothing wrong with the DiveRite; it's a great reg and breathes nicely. Personally I prefer my new Apeks regs, though. I have no experience with the Atomic.

 

[zackalack8999]

Apeks ATX50 +DS4 on ebay for 359.00, the DR is 425.00 from Diverite Express, and I think the atomic is like 460 or so.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Why would you want to get it on Ebay, other than price? If you want it new, try locally and see if you can get it relatively cheap compared to MSRP. New, free parts for life, warranty...etc etc etc. There are also plenty of used regs floating around out there that are perfectly fine.

 

[zackalack8999]

My LDS at which I take my classes is only an authorized dealer of Atomic, not Apeks nor DR. If I hear enough good things about the Z2, however, I will definitely consider purchasing it from them.

 

[johnny_bravo]

Well the Atomics are high on the list on all reg reviews. I dive a Z2 and it's fantastic. You will need a sealed first stage for cold water (i'm talking near freezing) but should be fine unsealed 50F water.

They have lifetime warranty, not contingent on service, and recommend service every two years.

Hope this helps.

-J.-

 

[paulwlee]

Have no experience with the Dive Rite, but owned an Apeks ATX200 and various Atomics. Both are nice regulators. My Atomics breathed better than the Apeks, although the Apeks was great too.

If by cold water you mean water below 40F, then the dry seal system of the Apeks is a better system. If you're talking about temperatures higher than that (and especially salt water) then no special cold-proofing is needed.
The Atomic can be sealed and work great for cold (<40F) water, but it gets a little messy during service. (Although it will be the service person who deals with the mess.)

As mentioned above, Atomics have a 2 year service interval, and Apeks has free annual service kits (if serviced every year without lapses) so service cost should end up about the same. The free parts deal for Apeks only applies though if you buy it from an authorized US dealer, which it probably won't be if it's from Ebay.

 

[hamsiss]

My choice has become an Apeks just one month ago, but I can't tell anything about Atomics (it is not sold nor serviced in here).
After searching for a long time I decided going with Apeks instead of Scubapro (I liked the balanced diagraph design; all parts dry) which uses similar technology with Atomics (balanced piston).
My choice is Apeks (which also offers you cold water capability over Atomic), maybe one day you'll want to dive in cold oceans

 

[pcornell]

This current promotion might make Apeks a little more affordable

Breathe Free

I guess that means the Apeks comes with a no charge Egress octo.


I was just looking at one today because of that deal.

 

[hamsiss]

pcornell ends the thread