First let me say welcome to the
ScubaSource family. We're glad to have you aboard! Also glad that you jumped right on in. Here's the answer to your question:
DIN is nothing more than an Industrial Standard from Germany. It stands for
Deutsche Institut fuer Normung. DIN's are generally used in Steel cylinders but can be installed on Al as well. It's a much more
secure form of attaching the regulators first stage to a cylinder because the o-ring is internal and therefore won't rupture at depth.
Yoke's are more standard than DIN and found in 90% of shops and boats rental inventories. If you plan on only renting the Yoke is more for you. If you are going to purchase steel cylinders down the road there is a better solution:
To get the best of both worlds, pick up your reg with a DIN but purchase a DIN-to-Yoke convertor as well. They run for about $25. This way you can easily switch from DIN valves to Yoke valves is seconds. The vice-versa is more complicated. Switching from Yoke to DIN requires extra steps that can be done in the field but requires a vice and a torque wrench to be done properly.
The only drawback to having a kit on a DIN reg, is that it
can stick out an extra 1/2 inch, making it uncomfortable to some. Without a frame of reference this should'nt bother you.
Hope this helps you make a choice.
