Best Regulator set up for under 500$ (1st stage, 2nd stage, and octo)

[Lorenzoid]

My thought is this: If you think you MIGHT ever want DIN regs, then get DIN. You can use a DIN reg with a Yoke adapter. But, you cannot use a Yoke reg on a DIN-only tank, period. . . .

I disagree. If the OP "MIGHT ever want DIN regs" but does not really need them for the foreseeable future, then I would recommend the OP get yoke regs. As far as I am aware, the ONLY region of the world where dive ops might only offer "DIN-only" tanks is Europe. Few Americans go to Europe to dive. My impression is that pretty much everywhere else in the world, including all the popular tropical destinations, dive ops' rental inventory will consist largely or even exclusively of yoke tanks or convertible tanks.

. . .

If you are only going to travel to tropical destinations and rent tanks, then you should be just fine with a yoke reg.

I suspect everyone would agree with that.

The only downside to DIN is that it MIGHT cost you a 1/4" of clearance behind your head if you have to use a yoke tank. For me, that would not matter and, honestly, I'm unclear on how it affects other people. . . .

I think it's a little more than 1/4 inch, but regardless--it does annoy some people. Maybe we're the minority. But the OP should be aware. The silver lining here is that is someone buys a DIN reg and later decides that the adapter annoys them, the DIN fitting on many regs can be replaced with a yoke fitting. I have even heard of some people doing this conversion on an ongoing basis instead of using the aforementioned screw-on adapter. It takes a couple of tools, such as a crescent wrench and an Allen wrench, and some might advocate a torque wrench for installing the yoke fitting, but it's still just a few minutes work.

I would agree there USUALLY is "no trouble getting DIN tanks." But except for Europe and places that cater to technical divers, the majority of most dive ops' inventories will be yoke, not DIN. You often have to ask for DIN specifically, or they will assume you want a yoke tank. If you forget to ask in advance, they might not have one for you at the last minute. Even in S. Florida, I ran across this. "Yeah, we have DIN tanks, but they're all rented out at the moment--we should get some back tomorrow."

Me--as I said, I'm happy with yoke on my recreational, single-tank reg set. If and when I buy a set of doubles, I'm sure I'll buy a separate set of DIN regs.

 

[beaverdivers]

I came to the same conclusion with the diaphragm first stage. Where do you recommend looking to pick up used gear?


If anyone else has anything they would recommend feel free to join in.

Here's an excellent deal on a Scubapro MK17/S600 that is used but has been service: Shop Beaver Divers

 

[RJP]

Here's (another) 2000 words. Random pics from the Internet, not me. See where the tank valve is? If you look like that, how is moving the reg 1/4" closer to your body going to make you more likely to hit your head? It seems like you'd have to be wearing your tank REALLY high on your back for the yoke adapter to matter.

Oh, stuart...

What do you notice about the trim - and the tank/valve location - of the two folks pictured above?

What do you notice about the trim - and tank valve location - of this good looking fellow?

And he's not alone...

 

[eelnoraa]

The only downside to DIN is that it MIGHT cost you a 1/4" of clearance behind your head

1/4"?? It is more like 1". You need to compare between native yoke vs native DIN with adaptor. The difference is more than noticeably for smaller folks. I can show some pictures tonight.

The picture you shown is someone with jacket BC and ill mounting tank position.

 

[RJP]

I bought Hollis DC3

The only real knock I have on mine is that they do not have a LP port on the bottom. Not an issue for using with singles. But, I am going to doubles and I really wish I had LP ports on the bottom of my regs to make the hose routing nicer in a doubles configuration.

Oh, stuart...

 

[DiverDan85]

Not to sure what LDS your currently using but if in the Charleston area check out Divers Training and Supply. They have a good selection of equipment

 

[bryanmc57]

Oh, stuart...

Ray, will you please stop injecting reality into the discussion!

 

[tazgator]

For the money, you can not go wrong with a Sherwood regulator set-up, you can get these serviced pretty much anywhere, commencing with your LDS.

 

[eelnoraa]

Not sure why pictures don't rotate properly. Tank is Worthington HP100 with convertible value. 1st stage is Mk25 DIN. I don't have Mk25 in Yoke so let's do native DIN on DIN tank vs. native DIN+adaptor on yoke tank.

Din to Yoke adapter is from Dlent on this board. It is one of the lowest profile and best quality adapter I have seen. In fact, I started with Dlent adapter, sold it because I got one in package with Atomic. Then sold Atomic adapter and bought another Dlent.

You can see with adapter, the distance from the back of the value to the edge of Mk25 is different by about 1-1/8". Not a smaller amount.



Here is the side view. Mk25 is very noticeably further from the valve. In fact, the vertical line of the 1st stage extended beyond the tank's circumference.


Next I will share native Yoke on Yoke tank vs native DIN+adapter on Yoke tank

 

[eelnoraa]

Both on yoke tank, or thermo convertible valve with yoke insert in this case.

Native Yoke vs Native DIN+adapter. 1st stage is Atomic here. Sorry for the different cap on the 1st stage. But in both case, the cap is flus with the 1st stage body, so it doesn't make a different. Notice Atomic 1st stage is slightly smaller than MK25.

There is a little more than 1" difference. Consistent with the above case.