Regulator Suggestions: Atomic Z2, DGX/Deep 6, Deep 6 Signature
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Scuba Cobra
Contributor
I'm another vote for the Deep6 Signature series. I have used all three regs, and now own 3 signatures and 1 DGX deep 6 reg and I couldn't be any happier with the signature series. I have a little over 150 dives on them, with around 60 on the DGX version. To me the Value to cost ratio favors the signature series. 2 1st stages, 2 second stages, 4 service kits, and a free service all cost me $580 on sale from deep 6. They come standard with a 5 port swivel 1st stage which was nice (same for the DGX version)
Absolutely would recommend. I have yet to see somebody who has actually dove them more than a handful of times actually dislike them.
Absolutely would recommend. I have yet to see somebody who has actually dove them more than a handful of times actually dislike them.
ams511
Contributor
ams511
Contributor
@DBPacific
First, Zeagle Tech 50Ds may not be Zeagles at all. The older Tech 50Ds were made by Apeks in the UK and resold by Zeagle here in the US. If these are the older version they can be serviced at an Aqualung dealer. In fact, I don't think a Zeagle dealer would have the parts to do the rebuild.
Second, I am not sure where your diving career takes you but if you are going to remote areas then you have some additional concerns. Your best bet is to become a certified tech with either Deep6 or Hog and purchase their regulators. Then if you are in some remote area of Indonesia and your reg craps out then you can fix it.
If your university requires an authorized dealer to do field repairs then you are better off with an Aqualung or Scubapro regulator as they have the largest worldwide dealer network. Even with Oceanic, Atomic, and Zeagle being owned by the same company, I don't think their dealer network is as large as the big 2.
First, Zeagle Tech 50Ds may not be Zeagles at all. The older Tech 50Ds were made by Apeks in the UK and resold by Zeagle here in the US. If these are the older version they can be serviced at an Aqualung dealer. In fact, I don't think a Zeagle dealer would have the parts to do the rebuild.
Second, I am not sure where your diving career takes you but if you are going to remote areas then you have some additional concerns. Your best bet is to become a certified tech with either Deep6 or Hog and purchase their regulators. Then if you are in some remote area of Indonesia and your reg craps out then you can fix it.
If your university requires an authorized dealer to do field repairs then you are better off with an Aqualung or Scubapro regulator as they have the largest worldwide dealer network. Even with Oceanic, Atomic, and Zeagle being owned by the same company, I don't think their dealer network is as large as the big 2.
I thought that the PADI website was the worst website ever until I had to use Scubapro. Equally bad design and a magnificent job at hiding everything. Yes, the Parts for Life program is still valid but your dealer has to tell you about it.
BTW the Dealer Login part of the Scubapro website makes the customer portal look brilliant. It is pathetic
OP
DBPacific
Contributor
I got in contact with Zeagle about it and they said they don't have the parts because that model was made by Apeks, so it is an older version. My guess for diving is more remote research locations, so you're right@DBPacific
First, Zeagle Tech 50Ds may not be Zeagles at all. The older Tech 50Ds were made by Apeks in the UK and resold by Zeagle here in the US. If these are the older version they can be serviced at an Aqualung dealer. In fact, I don't think a Zeagle dealer would have the parts to do the rebuild.
Second, I am not sure where your diving career takes you but if you are going to remote areas then you have some additional concerns. Your best bet is to become a certified tech with either Deep6 or Hog and purchase their regulators. Then if you are in some remote area of Indonesia and your reg craps out then you can fix it.
If your university requires an authorized dealer to do field repairs then you are better off with an Aqualung or Scubapro regulator as they have the largest worldwide dealer network. Even with Oceanic, Atomic, and Zeagle being owned by the same company, I don't think their dealer network is as large as the big 2.
I'm a big fan of both Deep6 and Atomic. I don't think the OP can really go wrong with either. It does sound like the Deep6 Signature regs might be the best choice for her, given her plan to get certified to work on them herself.
However, I do have a couple of thoughts about it all and want to clear up what I do think is a slight bit of misinformation.
- The Atomic Z2 regs will be just fine in 40 degree water. There is no real reason I can see for the OP to spend extra for M1 regs. 40 degrees is not that cold when it comes to regulator performance. At least, not when you're talking about quality regs like Deep6 and Atomic.
- If you want a swivel on a 2nd stage reg, I would highly recommend the 360 degree swivel that Cave Adventurers sells for $25 over an Omni-swivel or the Atomic Comfort Swivel. Those latter are just way over-priced - in MY opinion, anyway. I have the CA swivel on all my regs, including my Atomic Z2 set.
- The idea of self-servicing regs may be a bit over-hyped. I am a certified ScubaPro Pro Regulator Tech. I have some ScubaPro regs among my collection. I have never serviced them myself and probably will not. There are two main reasons for that. One, to be able to service them myself would require investment in tools that cost more than I really want to spend. And, two, I would only be servicing them every couple of years at the most. And, at that point, I would not want to depend on my own memory to do the service correctly. If I was working on regs somewhat regularly and often, then yes, I would service my own. But, for something I will only ever do every 2 (or longer, most likely) years, I will pay a professional who has all the right tools and does it every day.
So, you say you will get certified to work on your own, but will you really do that? Only you can decide that for yourself. For me, I will keep my regs properly maintained, so that I am extremely unlikely to actually have a problem in the field. And, instead of buying all the tools required, I will just take an extra 1st and 2nd stage with me on trips, so that if I do have a problem, I can just swap a reg out and then have the problematic one serviced when I get home.
- The Atomic Z2 regs are only a little bit more expensive than the Deep6 Signature regs. The price is close enough that I would not expect the difference to be the determining factor in the purchase. What should be noted and considered is that the Deep6 regs have a bottom port and swivel turret. The Z2 regs also have a bottom port but the turret is not a swivel. However, to ME, a swivel turret has no use in a single tank setup (but a bottom port IS, or can be anyway, useful, even in single tank). Thus why I have a Z2 setup for my single tank reg set. However, for regs for backmount doubles or sidemount or deco/stage/pony bottles, I DO want a swivel turret. So, what to buy would depend on what you think you might want to do in the future. Personally, I have found that switching a reg set back and forth between single tank and doubles and sidemount is a pain, so I have a dedicated set for doubles and a dedicated set for single tank. And other regs dedicated for deco bottle use. The concept of buying only regs that would work for all those scenarios sounded good to me, on paper. But, in reality, saving some money and getting Z2 regs for single tank meant not having a swivel turret - and that's just fine for me. I didn't spend extra for a feature that I have learned I will never need or use.
However, I do have a couple of thoughts about it all and want to clear up what I do think is a slight bit of misinformation.
- The Atomic Z2 regs will be just fine in 40 degree water. There is no real reason I can see for the OP to spend extra for M1 regs. 40 degrees is not that cold when it comes to regulator performance. At least, not when you're talking about quality regs like Deep6 and Atomic.
- If you want a swivel on a 2nd stage reg, I would highly recommend the 360 degree swivel that Cave Adventurers sells for $25 over an Omni-swivel or the Atomic Comfort Swivel. Those latter are just way over-priced - in MY opinion, anyway. I have the CA swivel on all my regs, including my Atomic Z2 set.
- The idea of self-servicing regs may be a bit over-hyped. I am a certified ScubaPro Pro Regulator Tech. I have some ScubaPro regs among my collection. I have never serviced them myself and probably will not. There are two main reasons for that. One, to be able to service them myself would require investment in tools that cost more than I really want to spend. And, two, I would only be servicing them every couple of years at the most. And, at that point, I would not want to depend on my own memory to do the service correctly. If I was working on regs somewhat regularly and often, then yes, I would service my own. But, for something I will only ever do every 2 (or longer, most likely) years, I will pay a professional who has all the right tools and does it every day.
So, you say you will get certified to work on your own, but will you really do that? Only you can decide that for yourself. For me, I will keep my regs properly maintained, so that I am extremely unlikely to actually have a problem in the field. And, instead of buying all the tools required, I will just take an extra 1st and 2nd stage with me on trips, so that if I do have a problem, I can just swap a reg out and then have the problematic one serviced when I get home.
- The Atomic Z2 regs are only a little bit more expensive than the Deep6 Signature regs. The price is close enough that I would not expect the difference to be the determining factor in the purchase. What should be noted and considered is that the Deep6 regs have a bottom port and swivel turret. The Z2 regs also have a bottom port but the turret is not a swivel. However, to ME, a swivel turret has no use in a single tank setup (but a bottom port IS, or can be anyway, useful, even in single tank). Thus why I have a Z2 setup for my single tank reg set. However, for regs for backmount doubles or sidemount or deco/stage/pony bottles, I DO want a swivel turret. So, what to buy would depend on what you think you might want to do in the future. Personally, I have found that switching a reg set back and forth between single tank and doubles and sidemount is a pain, so I have a dedicated set for doubles and a dedicated set for single tank. And other regs dedicated for deco bottle use. The concept of buying only regs that would work for all those scenarios sounded good to me, on paper. But, in reality, saving some money and getting Z2 regs for single tank meant not having a swivel turret - and that's just fine for me. I didn't spend extra for a feature that I have learned I will never need or use.
ams511
Contributor
Apeks was purchased by Aqualung and quickly severed ties with Zeagle. So Zeagle could no longer service the Apeks regulators and offered a trade-in program for a number of years. Apeks are good regulators, I own several. An Aqualung dealer should be able to service them. The Zeagle Tech-50D are the same as an Apeks TX50 second stage with a DST first stage.
My advice is always to bring extra gear if possible. Especially if diving in remote locations. While the diving industry and some divers advocate "save-a-dive" kits, the reality is that it is difficult if not impossible to service dive gear on a rocking boat. If your regulator starts free flowing you are probably going to miss the dive anyway unless you can swap out the regulators with a working set.
ams511
Contributor
I have to disagree with you on this one. When servicing Apeks and their derivatives, Deep6, Hog, Dive Rite, etc. You really don't need to spend a lot on tools. Also many tools are nice to have rather than necessary. As far as working from memory, that is what the manual is for.
Scubapro is probably the worst for self-service because they require specialized tools and like to make things difficult for DIY. Also the Scubapro product line is more varied than most manufacturers. For example they sell 2 types of piston first stages and one type of diaphragm first stages. Apeks, Hog, Dive Rite, etc. only sell diaphragm first stages. For second stages Apeks (excluding the flight) Deep6, Hog, Dive Rite, etc. only sell one type. Scubapro sells 4 types, the S-series, G-series, R-series, and C-series, which require different procedures to service. When the "usual suspects" talk about self-service with Scubapro they primarily service the older models, which are usually easier to service. For example a G-250 with a MK-10 or a BA with a Mk-5.
The OP mentioned that universities require regulators to be serviced yearly. At a rate of $120-$150 plus parts per service. DIY pays for itself very fast. Especially if she has multiple sets.
When going into DIY, the first step is to find a regulator that is simple to service and doesn't require many specialized tools and then stick to that model. I really like reading your posts because you use almost every type of gear on the market. You are always looking for the best. However, that makes you a poor candidate for self-service because you have several different brands of regulators each requiring some specialized tools and different procedures.
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