General Advice

[DrSteve]

I'm looking for some general advice. Regulator + kit for my wife.
We know she wants a Zena BC
I dive with a Suunto Cobra so no compromise there - she gets a cobra

Now the regulator. I have an old US divers which works fine for me. I'm reluctant to spend a tonne of money, but I also know you get what you pay for. So I'm figuring 2-300 should suffice plus the octo.

I've been looking around and narrowed down some requirements and possible choices. She's not a hard core diver and is unlikely to go down in cold conditions (diving people! Think Diving!):
Need 1 HP port, 4 LP ports, balanced diaphragm and a second stage adjuster would be good too. Choices so far:
Aqualung Cousteau Glacier (285)
Titan (275)

Mares Proton (150)
MR22 Abyss (290)
MK16/S550 (280)
G250HP (314)

Any other thoughts? Of course if someone just happened to have a package that would be awesome.

 

[PK]

Hi,

Here's some advice:

Regs that have Titanium are expensive and is worth it only if you think a lighter weight is worth it. It's primarily meant for travelers who want to minimize weight of luggage. Otherwise, metals shouldn't matter. You can save $ or spend $ wisely if you know this.

In general, ask you sales person the differences of each regular that they sell so that you can understand what you're buying. You can also ask to see the literature that comes with the regulator.

 

[5615mike]

I'm looking for some general advice. Regulator + kit for my wife.
We know she wants a Zena BC
I dive with a Suunto Cobra so no compromise there - she gets a cobra

Now the regulator. I have an old US divers which works fine for me. I'm reluctant to spend a tonne of money, but I also know you get what you pay for. So I'm figuring 2-300 should suffice plus the octo.

I've been looking around and narrowed down some requirements and possible choices. She's not a hard core diver and is unlikely to go down in cold conditions (diving people! Think Diving!):
Need 1 HP port, 4 LP ports, balanced diaphragm and a second stage adjuster would be good too. Choices so far:
Aqualung Cousteau Glacier (285)
Titan (275)

Mares Proton (150)
MR22 Abyss (290)
MK16/S550 (280)
G250HP (314)

Any other thoughts? Of course if someone just happened to have a package that would be awesome.

IMO AL Titan LX will fit the bill perfectly. Outstanding rig.......especially for the money. Have 2 of them and are great. Glacier is waste of money if you are not doing cold diving.

 

[gj62]

If you are considering titanium...

I've heard that you have to be careful with titanium regs and nitrox - so you might want to think about that if you do plan on using nitrox. I know most of the major players have eliminated some of the concern, but the idea of my reg beginning to combust during a dive is novel...

There's also a weight/cost factor (I'm looking at regs now and struggling with the same). This really only is an issue for travelling (we're landlocked, so all our fun diving is travelling). However, saving a couple pounds - given how my wife packs anyhow - really isn't worth the titanium aspect - I'd rather put my money into breathability...

 

[DrSteve]

Thanks guys!

Just happened that the Titan LX was in the right ball park price wise.

We aren't going to be doing enough travelling where an extra pound will make that much difference, especially given the weight of my reg! So I'm after something for her which will be functional, safe and preferably have an adjustment control on it because I guarantee she'll say it is hard to breath off!

 

[Genesis]

Yeah, don't waste the money on titanium. Its a colossal ripoff and makes the reg non-O2 compatable. While some manufacturers will say its ok to 40%, I wouldn't - Titanium burns like he|| in an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

Brass doesn't burn up to 10,000 psi in pure O2. Its also a LOT cheaper, and properly maintained, will last longer than you will.