Tanked Monkey
Contributor
I have just concluded several months of decision making about the new Apeks XTX vs. ATX vs. TX lines. I previously posted this in the middle of a non-dir regulator thread, but think it would have been nice to find someone's opinion in the DIR forum when I was researching this for myself. Here's what I found:
I just got a pair of the XTX100's a couple of weeks ago, for my first-ever doubles rig. I have about 15 dives on the new XTX100's, with 10 of them around 100 feet in local quarries, FL springs, and offshore on the Mighty 'O'. Performance is exceptional.
First Stage: I like the elimination of the 1/2" port, in favor of all at 3/8", but this was not a deal breaker for me either way. I wanted to have the same first stage for both posts on my doubles. I prefer the breathing performance from the FST (packaged with the 100 series) over the DS4 (packaged with the 50 series) for backgas. Personally, I didn't think the FSR (packaged with the 200 series) was worth the increased pricetag. YMMV
Second Stage: The reversible hose feature of the XTX series was of dubious value to me, as was the racheting venturi lever. I like the reg size of the ATX series (smaller, lighter), but favor the exhaust port size of the TX series (larger, better bubble dispertion) for my primary 2nd stage. So I really like the swapable exhaust ports for the XTX series, which allows me both large and small exhaust ports, keeping the same 1st and 2nd stages from both posts. I configured my primary reg to use the larger exhaust port to better direct bubbles away from my mask, and backup reg to use the smaller exhaust port, so I have a smaller backup hanging from my bungie.
Conclusion: I spent several months weighing all of these factors, and even waited 2 months for the XTX series to become commercially available. Now that I've dove the XTX100/FST regs, I love them, and their exhaust port flexibility. It was worth the wait to get the exact regs I wanted, considering that I'll be diving these regs for a very, very long time.
Best,
Mike
BTW - since both XTX100's came with free Apeks Egresses (which I don't use, of course), I have them for sale, if anyone's interested :mooner:
I just got a pair of the XTX100's a couple of weeks ago, for my first-ever doubles rig. I have about 15 dives on the new XTX100's, with 10 of them around 100 feet in local quarries, FL springs, and offshore on the Mighty 'O'. Performance is exceptional.
First Stage: I like the elimination of the 1/2" port, in favor of all at 3/8", but this was not a deal breaker for me either way. I wanted to have the same first stage for both posts on my doubles. I prefer the breathing performance from the FST (packaged with the 100 series) over the DS4 (packaged with the 50 series) for backgas. Personally, I didn't think the FSR (packaged with the 200 series) was worth the increased pricetag. YMMV
Second Stage: The reversible hose feature of the XTX series was of dubious value to me, as was the racheting venturi lever. I like the reg size of the ATX series (smaller, lighter), but favor the exhaust port size of the TX series (larger, better bubble dispertion) for my primary 2nd stage. So I really like the swapable exhaust ports for the XTX series, which allows me both large and small exhaust ports, keeping the same 1st and 2nd stages from both posts. I configured my primary reg to use the larger exhaust port to better direct bubbles away from my mask, and backup reg to use the smaller exhaust port, so I have a smaller backup hanging from my bungie.
Conclusion: I spent several months weighing all of these factors, and even waited 2 months for the XTX series to become commercially available. Now that I've dove the XTX100/FST regs, I love them, and their exhaust port flexibility. It was worth the wait to get the exact regs I wanted, considering that I'll be diving these regs for a very, very long time.
Best,
Mike
BTW - since both XTX100's came with free Apeks Egresses (which I don't use, of course), I have them for sale, if anyone's interested :mooner:
