I have been using a xs tri-metal regulator for about a year and half. I took it to get serviced at my LDS in Franklin, TN. When I took it in the tech said that he had serviced a bunch of them and that they were "dangerous" at depth. Not uncomfortable but flat out dangerous. When I got the reg back he said that he had confirmed on the bench that the breathing effort would increase substantially at 60 ft and that at 100 ft it would be "very difficult" to breath. My finance picked the reg up so she is freaking out and asked him if he could fix the problem and he said that he can't because it is inherent in the design.
Here is the thing, I have been 100 feet deep with that regulator several times and hardly notice any difference in breathing effort. In fact it is the most comfortable regulators that I have used and I have never had a free flow from the primary or the octo which is xs as well. The LDS sells mainly scuba-pro and they pretty much tell you that everything else is cheap junk, unless its a cheap aqua-lung, which they also sell and describe as a good regulator for the money. I realize that the LDS wants to sell its equipment, but I hope that they would not call something dangerous just to make a sale. My next reg probably will be a scuba pro because you do not have to pay for parts when you have it serviced. However I would probably buy it online as that would save two to three hundred dollars.
Everything I have read on this board describes the XS as a great regulator and that has been my experience with it as well. I was wondering if anyone else has heard that it was dangerous or had any bad experiences with it at depth. Does anyone know why it would perform poorly on the bench test? I dont think that the tech would have made that up and I saw a copy of the test results.
