Cressi - basic vs top end

[Bearkeley]

Hi - reaching a point of over-researching, almost as much as I will spend diving on my next trip, so turning to you for help...

It's time for us to buy our first regs...warm water only but plan to travel a lot. Prob will do not more than 50 dives a year but want a reliable, low maintenance (or low cost when doing annual) reg.

I know a lot of folks on the forum like SP but I don't want to spend more than 500 for 1st, second, octo and gauge. Cressi has some great prices and best of all, a good friend who is a DM really loves her MC9 Titanium.

Question...how do you decide between entry level, mid (ellipse titanium), or highest end of a brand (ellipse balanced - sealed). Price point is about 250/350/450....





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[buddhasummer]

Cressi is not big outside of Europe. If travel diving is in your future I'd be sticking with either SP or AL. If by some slim chance you need servicing whilst in a far flung location you'll likely be out of luck.

---------- Post added July 24th, 2015 at 11:36 PM ----------

The difference in price is usually about features eg adjuster or not or materials used obviously titanium is a more expensive material. Breathing wise I'd imagine they were more similar than not.

 

[runsongas]

the compact is a demand 2nd, whereas the ellipse is air balanced. the 1st stages seem to be the same, except for a sealing kit on the ellipse sc. is your LDS a cressi dealer? if not, i would consider hog or the dive rite setup from DGX if you are looking for more bang for the buck from buying online.

 

[Nemrod]

For worldwide parts and service now and twenty years from now, either SP or AL. I would look for new old stock AL Titan LX sets which are now rebranded as the Core LX to help marketing distinguish it from the lesser Titan model, always a confusing thing for many. N

 

[Bearkeley]

Is there a reason why I can't mail my regs to a shop that can service my regs if I can't get anyone local? Of course it's better to have your own regs while traveling, but unfortunately, we currently live 2.5 hrs from any dive shops, so I really don't have an LDS. The closest one is a Cressi dealer and found another one who is an AL and SP dealer, but none are really local to me, and would most likely opt to mail in for service anyway. However, are you guys thinking of basic parts that may need replacement, ie. o-ring that should be easy to replace but may not be able to in a remote location? (Thus, a $20 repair turns into $200)?

We seriously are also considering the MK2 (any other SP would be twice as much), but it is the most basic line. Is it still better for the convenience of repairs despite the fact that it will be unbalanced, unsealed (assuming sealing makes it less susceptible to corrosion), and 'lesser technology'?

Lastly, another argument we've played in our own heads....if higher lines aren't really as important for recreational divers, should we get the cressi at $250 (for the whole set with guage) and if something breaks, just toss it and get a new one....






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[halocline]

The MK2 is a fine regulator. This BS about "lesser technology" is pure sales crap. The fact that it's unbalanced will not have any appreciable affect on your diving. What it means is that with an unbalanced 2nd stage, breathing effort will increase as the tank empties, becoming noticeable at around 300PSI. At that time you should be on the surface anyway. The nice thing about the MK2 is that it is extremely simple, durable, and reliable, while delivering plenty of gas flow (100cft/min). That's the equivalent of emptying an AL80 in under one minute. Flow rates on 1st stages are a little like top speeds on cars; essentially useless info unless you're racing to empty the tank. The more important indicator of 1st stage performance is IP (intermediate pressure) recovery and stability, and the MK2 is excellent in this regard.

As far as sealing goes, it's a good thing to have for extremely cold water, but as long as you are diving in warmer than 40F-45F water the MK2 is very freeze resistant. The only way sealed regs corrode less than unsealed regs is if the owner does not rinse and soak the first stage after salt water dives.

I don't know anything specific about Cressi regulators, but I can tell you with certainty that any regulator manufactured by one of the big reputable companies (and Cressi is one of those) will work fine for recreational diving. So you won't go wrong as far as safety and acceptable performance goes. All the regulator does is step the pressure in the tank down to breathable (ambient) pressure. It's not a difficult engineering task to design these things.

Service is always an issue, and what you need is a competent service tech; it doesn't matter if it's local or not. I would forget about annual service and the dumb parts-for-life deals; just take care of the regulator and have it serviced when it either shows signs of a problem (to do this you would have to learn how to inspect your regulator which is easy) or whenever you feel comfortable, like maybe after 100 dives, or 200 dives. But annually? For a vacation diver that's about 20 dives on average, maybe fewer. If these things really needed service after such few dives, they'd be failing constantly.

There's a lot of hype at dive shops (and elsewhere, like scuba forums) about scuba regulators, and in general, people spend a fortune on these things unnecessarily. Try not to buy into the hype.

 

[axxel57]

Just get yourself the entry level model AC2 - XS2.

The 1st stage is a clone of the SP MK2, extremely reliable with a nice feature to adjust the IP to where you want it.

The first stage AC2 (an unbalanced 1st) has a hard to kill SS orifice which is way better than the one of the MK2 for the models from 2010 to last year. From this year on SP has a new, changeable orifice which I have not had in my hand.

I'm worried that SP uses now the same bad orifice of the last years, just changeable (which would be a help, but would point further in the direction of lower qualities of the components of SP).

The AC2 has also the better chroming of the 1st stage as I see it.

You can use the exact same o-rings and HP seats for the service as for a MK2.

The XS2 (an unbalanced 2nd) is nothing special but reliable and simple and reminds a bit of the legendary SP R190.

The XS2 to my opinion does not breath as smooth as the old R190 in average, but on the other hand does not have this killer venturi of the R190-R295 which often is feed forcing the diver with air even with venturi on minimum.

The LP seat can be used from the SP 2nds (R195 etc.), so it should not be a problem to find somebody to repair or service the reg where ever in the world.

Just make sure that you get a XS2 also as the octopus, it's simply stronger than the compact or ellipse 2nds.

The Cressi AC2 - XS2 combo comes in the moment for a very compatible price and is for me one of the most underrated unbalanced regs on the market.

It's pretty perfect for rental fleets or travelers who want a light weighted reliable work horse for their dives.

Halo explained like always very good the general pros and cons of unbalanced 1sts and 2nds. Nothing to add......

And don't worry, you won't have to toss this reg soon, I guess it will follow you even in the times you might have purchased a balanced model in the future when maybe going for technical diving.

Anyway, good luck.

 

[diversteve]

While I agree mostly with the above posters, I might go the extra $85 for the Ellipse Titanium/MC9. Because it - unlike the AC2 or the Mk2 has a 2nd high pressure port. Should you ever buy an Air Integrated wrist computer and want to keep a pressure gauge as back-up - you need two. There are splitters available also but IMO they're kind of a kludge...

Although the 1st stage is standard chrome/brass like all other regs in that class, Ti is a little stronger and more durable - also impervious to corrosion. They mention using some Ti components in both stages - it's not clear what.

Plus the 1st stage is balanced so why not have it at that price? ($235) Add an Ellipse Octo($130) and have $135 left over for gauges. Several options in that price range or less. If you want to keep your rig all Cressi, they sell a mini-2 gauge set for $135. I have the mini's (SP) and like the smaller form factor - it tucks away better and needs a smaller retractor if you use one.

Or put the XS octo on it ($69) and get a basic computer console for the balance. Tusa has their Element Computer/Pressure gauge set for $200 at Leisurepro - it's not air-integrated for that price but still it's a computer with logging, depth and all the other features. That one has an optional Deep Stop as well as the Safety Stop countdown. Using a computer vs. gauges/tables should buy you a little more dive time on repetitive dives.

my .02.

 

[Bearkeley]

Thank you all so much for the very helpful feedback! It gets really frustrating given all the 'hype' so even though I have almost 200, and hubby, 300 dives, buying regs for the first time is so intimidating! Learned a lot though...at least we now know that LDS doesn't mean Latter Day Saints!

Ok, so looks like we are going for the mc9 xs ....allows us to upgrade to titanium or balanced and maybe even integrated later. Talked to my LDS (2.5 hrs away) and he was great...couldn't come close to online prices but will put it all together and inspect for us for $50. Maintenance, if needed, for 70, and he agreed that if major overhaul is needed (at $170 max), I can easily have the option to buy later. Total cost online with basic gauge is less than $300!

Now I can actually stop surfing and researching and enjoy life! Thank you!





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[axxel57]

Okay, but let your LDS sell you a spare service kit for your reg, so while traveling you got the quite particular HP seat for your MC9, if there should be ever a problem with your IP.