First reg

[tangaloomaflyer]

I guess this has been asked a million times before but...

I've logge 24 dives now and I'm starting to do a speciality course (deep diving) so I'm thinking about getting my own gear. First I want a reg - where do I start? I want something I won't need to replace in a year or so, but I'm not a millionaire either.

Also, i live in Australia but all the gear seems to be more expensive here. I will probably end up getting it brought over from England when my family come over. Why the mark-up?

 

[seductiveconcepts]

I love my Sherwood Blizzard... it is dependable and easily serviced, have been diving mine (our whole team has been) for years and not one problem! I would put my family in Sherwood... But there are a lot of good ones out...

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Scubapro, Sherwood and Aqualung all have reputations for long term product support. Scubapro and Aqualung regs tend to perform a bit better, while Sherwood, with the exception of the SR1, has a reputation for mostly simple and bullet proof designs.

 

[anzac65]

I haven't looked at the prices in Australia but I wouldn't recommend buying anything in England. We get shafted too. UK manufactured equipment is cheaper in the US. Go figure ????????? !!!!!!!New England, now there's a better suggestion.

 

[Garrobo]

Just about any name brand reg will do you OK. Be sure to buy one that is approved for cold water.

 

[jsado]

How about the new Oceanic EOS with the FDX-10 1st stage? Looks like it's really nice and priced fairly....

 

[jsado]

I don't know how much we can trust statements like this from manufacturers... BUT assuming it is 100% truth - this is off the Oceanic website...

"When engineering brought the near complete EOS in for conformational testing the results were so astounding, the laboratory stopped testing and performed a complete calibration of all instruments, and in re-testing the EOS was found to have a near effortless inhalation resistive effort on test after test. Perfect."

 

[Jimmer]

I'm a fan of Zeagle regs, and I understand they have decent support in Australia, which is what my primary concern would be. No matter how much I love my Zeagle's, if I struggled to get service or parts, I'd look at something else. As for pricing I know Scubatoys.com will ship to Australia, and I know I've seen someone on the board here who handles Zeagle in Aus as well, but I don't know who that would be.

 

[Garrobo]

I've been using an Oceanic CDX5 first stage with a GT3 second and a Alpha8 octo for about a year and they have been super.

 

[jsado]

I've been using an Oceanic CDX5 first stage with a GT3 second and a Alpha8 octo for about a year and they have been super.

I have the same set up minus the octo, I opted for the airxs..... I love it