Do it all regulator.

[ajduplessis]

As mentioned, you will be doing a "world tour" while diving. I would consider the availability of parts/service centres on the equipment you plan on buying, should you develop issues. I am not sure about the general availability of Apeks around the world. Definitely going to be a issue in South Africa, not sure about other parts of the world.

Enjoy your trip!!! Lucky bastard

 

[Belce]

planning to dive the poles, I would be looking for advice from folks actually there for my regulators. I think you would find acceptable for that Scubapro's Mk17/A700 combo as the best choice from them and certainly better than anything else for that extreme locale that Scubapro offers.

When it comes to cold water the A700 is the best 2nd stage that Scubapro makes and with the Mk17 1st stage the kind of kit you would want to look at for diving in water at less than 0 C.

 

[hg frogman]

Scubapro R555 and R395 are not for cold water diving. Both Mk25 and S600 are far from ideal for cold water, too. Mk17/G250V is a much better combo for cold water because the Mk17 is a diaphragm reg with dry chamber AND the G250V has a big full metal barrel (while S600's barrel is made of plastic).

In my experience, owning two Mk17/G250Vs is very close to the "does it all" regulator's combo. You can dive a twinset, a single tank with Y valve, or a single tank with single valve. You will use one of the G250Vs as the octo (buy a longer hose for this).

The routing of the hoses can be an issue with some regs (especially for a twinset) but the Mk17 permits nice routing for all the set-ups listed above.

For Antartica ??? I would perhaps go one step beyond and opt for two Mk17/A700s (full metal seconds) ??? ... but this A700 is new, with not much proven record yet ... I have no experience of Antartica so I would check firsthand with people actually diving there and I wouldn't trust those guys on the internet

Underwater is never "extremely" cold (-2°C only) but with outer temperatures like -50°C plastic and rubber become brittle or at least "special", so Antartica's diving certainly has problems of its own.

I have no clue about the Apeks.

 

[kathydee]

Sounds like a fantastic journey! Reg service might be an issue.

You may want to check service center locations for the regions you are planning to travel.

 

[halocline]

The G250V might be a slightly better choice than the new A700, for the only reason that G250 parts are everywhere. If you can find a SP dealer willing to sell you repair kits, bring a few with you, that way in the unlikely event anything goes wrong, you can give the tech the parts. One bit of advice, bring an extra SPG spool, those tiny o-rings are a PITA to change on a boat and they seem to go fairly frequently.

Lucky guy, taking a year dive trip. I'm sure you'll get the training you need to dive doubles in antarctica.

 

[NETim]

Switching back and forth between doubles and single tanks is not as simply as just using half of the reg set for the doubles. When you use a single tank, your LP inflator hose and drysuit hose (if you are using one), pressure gauge and both regulators are coming off a single first stage. With doubles, you split those functions up between the two first stages, so that you have redundancy in both breathing gas and buoyancy. So, if you want to use doubles regs for single tank diving, you have to take them apart and move the hoses. It takes about ten minutes or so to do, but it's a PITA to do day after day, which is why almost anybody who dives both ends up owning three first stages and four second stages.

Ah, another piece of the puzzle revealed. :cool2:

 

[AquaNSun]

It's also a good idea to see if you like tech diving first and how far you would go. If you ended up not liking tech, it will save you money not having to buy so many sets of regs and making your backpacking travel a lot lighter and planning a lot easier. A good dive insurance is also important and some will cover your equipment with additional cost. Without insurance it would be very costly if something happened on your trip.

Good luck with your adventure and best wishes. Dive safely.

 

[Thalassamania]

I know of no group that has approved any ScubaPro regulator for use in the Arctic or Antarctic. My understanding is that the dive locker at McMurdo is (at the moment) using Sherwood Magnum Blizzards.

Antarctic gear write up

 

[Couv]

I haven't done any ice diving, however I have done commercial work in very cold water. For Arctic/Antarctic diving you should consider a full face mask/regulator combination.

I don't often agree with AJ Duplessis, but you are indeed a lucky bastard.....have fun and keep us posted on your equipment choices and trip.

Couv

 

[sdiver68]

Oceanic Delta IV has been endorsed and even required for cold water diving by the NOAA:

Regulators: Two Recalls and NOAA's New Favorite - Undercurrent, July 2007