Kirby Morgan Superflow second stage- should I ?

[Akimbo]

They are had to beat and have a huge range of adjustment

The purpose of the Dial-a-Breath is explained here: Bev Morgan, Diving Industry Pioneer, Post #3, The Dial-a-Breath

That wide adjustment range is of little practical value to a Scuba diver unless they also use the second stage on a surface supplied umbilical.

 

[buddhasummer]

I really want you to buy one and post back. I too have had my eyes on then for a few years. I've made purchasing enquiries in the past but at over $700 for two I've never had the courage, or money, to pull the trigger.

 

[ams511]

I often wondered what is so great about these. Looking at the parts diagram it reminds me of the internals of an Oceanic Delta or the old ScubaPro Polar (M-50). Granted the OP likes the metal version but I see people go crazy over the plastic version also. What is so special about these second stages?

 

[Akimbo]

I often wondered what is so great about these. Looking at the parts diagram it reminds me of the internals of an Oceanic Delta or the old ScubaPro Polar (M-50).

The US Divers Conshelf/Calypso second stage was chosen because the hose entered the housing parallel to the diaphragm. Pre Dial-a-Breathe masks used Scubapro second stages. Bob Kirby describes the evolution in detail in his book Hard Hat Divers Wear Dresses.

Keep in mind that the Band Mask was licensed to US Divers in the late 1960s but the diving industry was not satisfied with the support. Bev started Diving Systems International and purchased and modified the US Divers second stages until USD cut them off. Bob Kirby came up with the neck/yoke design concept for the Superlite hats about this time. They had to scramble to get the components made so they could make their own second stages, essentially having machine shops duplicate the parts.

The regulator slowly evolved and optimized but many of the parts are still interchangeable with the metal-body Aqua Lung second stages made for the military.

 

[ams511]

Thanks for the history lesson, but I am still intrigued what makes these better for the average scuba diver? Is it that much better than a G-250, XTX-50, or even the lowly Oceanic Delta that gets no love on SB.

 

[buddhasummer]

Other than hard to break, I don't think they are better in any other respect. Subjective, they look cool as ****.

 

[reefrat]

No so much “better” as different to the average regulator offerings on the market.
The military version of the Conshelf is the only other full size classic metal second stage available AFAIK and its good but I think the KB version is probably better. The main diferences between the Conshelf and Superflow are the user adjustable cracking effort and the demand lever roller, other than that the quality is probably similar although the Superflow might have the edge due to it being designed and marketed for professional use in a discerning market.
There are so many good to excellent regs on th market today that the only way I can justify buying one of these is to satisfy a personal preference- as long as the Superflow does the job well and without issues because I want it for diving- not hanging on a wall!

 

[Akimbo]

Thanks for the history lesson, but I am still intrigued what makes these better for the average scuba diver?

The functional practical answer is nothing... unless you happen to be in 500M/1600'. However, the same question can be asked of virtually every regulator on the market. There are no inadequate regulators sold in the last 30 years for the average Scuba diver. It is not especially expensive compared to several regulators on the market and data shows it outperforms them all in depths well beyond recreational depths. Any money spent on a regulator above $200-300 is more justified because it is an object of desire than a practical tool.

 

[ams511]

@Akimbo Thanks again. The only time I will be at 1,600 feet is if a giant squid grabs me and pulls me down, so I should be OK with what I currently own.

 

[reefrat]

Exactly why I always carry a sperm whale on deeper dives!
I don’t see anything in the design of the 350 that would make it so superior to the average reg on extreme deep dives? I guess it was just the ability to turn up the Dial-a-breath with surface supplied gas to the point it was basically flowing through!