choices choices choices!!

[mccaigk1]

hey all,

Im the new guy looking for my first reg. Have narrowed it down to 3 in my price range. Im chose based on availablity of a breathing resistence knob ( sounds like a good idea to me) and being environmentally sealed ( dive in mid-atlantic, and planning to not stop when it gets a little cold). I know you all probably have your alliegences, but has anyone had good or bad expereinces with these exact models? ( not just brands)

1. Scubapro mk25/gp250 ( or s600 if i can find a good price)
2. apeks atx50
2. atomic z2

your thoughts?

 

[Tavi]

Any of those would serve tou well.
I'd go with the Apeks

 

[Poseidon8118]

I would go with the Scubapro first, and the Apeks would be a close second.

Atomic was founded by two ex-Scubapro engineers and should give you the same high performance.

 

[progressweasel]

I have an Atomic B2 and I like it alot but the B2 and the Z2 are not sealed. The sealed reg in Atomic's Line is the M1 and it is more money. That said, the z2 should be just fine. I dive warm water but I have heard that the Atomics sealed or not perform just fine in cold conditions.

 

[Mike Nelson]

I have the Scubapro Mk25/s600. It works great, but unless you buy the extra kit it isn't environmentally sealed out of the box.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Having used a MK 25 extensively, it's a great reg, but I like the new Mk 17 much better. It's sealed design makes it bullet proof in cold water and the performance is excellent. The Mk 25 left a lot to be desired in cold water but the Mk 17 does not, and is pretty much eliminated any advantage Apeks had over the earlier unsealed SP designs.

The G250 HP is an extremely good second stage and is as good as or better than anything else you could buy.

 

[dirthead]

I have an Apeks ATX200 and a SP Mk25/S600. I prefer the Apeks, it breathes slightly better IMO. Being in Texas, the water is seldom colder than low 50's, so I would probably never run into a problem with a Mk25. However, KNOWING that the Apeks is suited for cold water diving is one less thing for me to worry about. If I had a Mk17, my first choice of reg might be different. I do like the S600 second stage, but the Mk25 first has never given me that feeling of complete confidence in a piece of equipment like the Apeks does.

 

[mccaigk1]

thanks guys i always appreciate the shared knowledge but could we keep it to the models i mentioned? im sure the atx200 is great but its also way out of my budget, im a student here and will be living on ramen for this thing, an atx200 means id have to start panhandling---

 

[DementialFaith]

If you don't have any problem buying a z2, you might as well go for the b2, not much differences between them.

 

[m3830431]

I tried the ATX 50 and the ATX 200 was not able to notice a difference so I purchased the ATX 50 with no regrets