First Regulator, Bahama's trip

[ams511]

The current Titan model is not CE cold water certified..The Calypso and the Core Supreme are.

-Z

Thanks for the clarification. The Titan uses the same second stage as the Calypso and the same first stage as the Core Supreme except for the cold water kit. So it would seem that adding a cold water kit to the first stage would give you cold water protection equivalent to the CE certification.

That said, the base Titan may be OK for cold water and Aqualung never bothered to get the certification. However the OP does not need cold water kit in the Bahamas.

One of the reasons I do not like Aqualung is that they play too many games. In the past all their regulators used the same second stage and they would differentiate them by the first stage. Charge $100 more because the first stage had a 1/2" port instead of the 3/8". Currently, why do they need 8 models of the Legend?

 

[Zef]

Currently, why do they need 8 models of the Legend?

9:
1. Legend Lux
2. Legend Lux Supreme
3. Legend LX
4. Legend LX Supreme
5. Legend LX Twilight
6. Legend LX Twilight Supreme
7. Legend
8. Legend Supreme
9. Legend Glacia

Seems a bit excessive to me as well.

-Z

 

[JackD342]

9:
1. Legend Lux
2. Legend Lux Supreme
3. Legend LX
4. Legend LX Supreme
5. Legend LX Twilight
6. Legend LX Twilight Supreme
7. Legend
8. Legend Supreme
9. Legend Glacia

Seems a bit excessive to me as well.

-Z

Glacial is discontinued. But from a SKU count perspective, you need to add in the DIN/yoke variations. (Not all of the above are available in both, at least in the US.)

 

[Zef]

Glacial is discontinued. But from a SKU count perspective, you need to add in the DIN/yoke variations. (Not all of the above are available in both, at least in the US.)

The Legend Glacial is still showing among the products listed on their French website:
Détendeurs

 

[JackD342]

Might be just the US then, but it was on the US site for several months after they depleted inventory here, so can’t just go by that. New corporate owners are pushing some SKU reduction, too, so feels more likely to me that it is totally gone.

 

[SandyRobinson]

...Parts for life is a gimmick to sell regulators...Clean the regulator and you will have no problems...If you stick with name brands there is no junk on the market. The liability risk is to high to sell crap...

Some good advice here. Regarding the parts for life, you do not want to pass the anniversary date for the free parts or you will be buying them forever.

In the FWIW category, I use Atomics for my tech dives but for my recreational dives, I use a 17 year old Oceanic Alpha 5? that still performs well for me. Take care of your regs after diving and they will take care of you.

Good luck.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I have an AL Legend LX and have been happy with it. I’d also look at Apeks. I know people with Deep 6 that are happy with it but do know that you will need to service it yourself or send it in for service because many shops won’t touch it for liability reasons if they aren’t trained with that manufacturer. My guess is it’s also an insurance coverage issue for them.

Parts For Life (PFL) isn’t as bad as people make it out to be if you dive enough. FYI the Aqua Lung program is alternating years of inspection and overhaul. I just had an inspection for $30 and my IP creeped and I also had a leak somewhere that was fixed. Next year it will be an overhaul and it is $90 including PFL for all 3 stages. That’s $120 every 2 years or $60 a year. That’s not bad at all, even if I don’t dive 100 dives a year going forward. If you factor in rental costs and how many times you can actually rent a reg upwards to $60 for dives and trips, that could be your breakeven. Obviously, getting your own reg is an investment as well but I see that being amortized over a long period of time with how long people keep their regs.

 

[ams511]

Parts For Life (PFL) isn’t as bad as people make it out to be if you dive enough.

No it isn't, but most people do not dive that much and Aqualung knows it. There are very few places in the U.S. that offer year-round diving opportunities and most people neither have the time nor money to take multiple dive trips per year. Also most people drop out of the hobby after several years and once you miss the deadline you are out of the program. Life gets in the way. So I stand by my comment that it is a sales gimmick. Every once in a while there will be a story of someone with an ancient regulator that can no no longer be serviced getting a new regulator thanks to parts for life. These divers are truly the outliers.

As far as your inspection goes. If you had IP creep the only way to repair it is to rebuild the regulator. If that was the case, you would need to pay for the parts. Free parts is a once every 2-yr deal. More likely, the IP was off due to the seats wearing and the first stage was adjusted. The leak was probably a bad o-ring somewhere. I am surprised you or your buddy did not pick it up during the bubble check.

Your analysis is not correct. What you should be looking at is the difference in the cost for service with and without parts for life and compare that to other regulators. If you purchase a Deep6 regulator the first service is free. You can also go the route of checking the regular before each dive and only servicing when problems are discovered. Another choice is purchasing cheap Amazon regulators and diving them until they need service and then buy a new set. Someone in another thread bought a first, second, and octo for under $150.