What regs do you use for tech diving and why?

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What is the difference in the MR-12 Navy and the one I own??
I don't know what you own. MR-12 was the designation that Voit/SwimMaster gave the regulator that they were selling back in the late 1960s. It was a great regulator. MR-12 Navy was the designation that MARES gave the regulator that they were selling back about 15 year ago. I believe that the MR-12 first stage is still in the line, coupled with a first stage that is similar to the one used in the MR-12 Navy (as the MR-12 R-2 Rebel or the MR-12 Axis, both are bargains at under $200), or with the new Proton first stage for about $100 more.
 
I've got Apeks, Zeagle, Diverite and sherwood.
 
Santa came a little early this year & brought me a set of the Apexs Tek 3 regs. These will be my new backgas regs, my XTX 200's will move to stages. Before that, Dive Rite RG2500's & Atomic which are going to be used as spares & passed down to my wife.
 
Santa came a little early this year & brought me a set of the Apexs Tek 3 regs. These will be my new backgas regs, my XTX 200's will move to stages. Before that, Dive Rite RG2500's & Atomic which are going to be used as spares & passed down to my wife.

My, my ... you've obviously been a VERY good boy this year!
 
Santa came a little early this year & brought me a set of the Apexs Tek 3 regs. These will be my new backgas regs, my XTX 200's will move to stages. Before that, Dive Rite RG2500's & Atomic which are going to be used as spares & passed down to my wife.

You got them? You lucky bastard, I can't wait to drool on them at LNQ :)
 
Apeks DS4 and DST first stages, with TX and ATX 40 and 50 second stages. My primary buddy and I already had Apeks regs in common when we started collecting regulators so we stuck with them. We have come to appreciate having only one brand, and models that share nearly all common parts. It makes keeping them in repair much easier, if you're DIY.

With an increased number of regulators comes the increased chance that one may not be functioning correctly. It can save a dive if you're able to swap them into any role in your system. So, we don't down grade our deco or O2 regs. DS4's are rock solid, can be used at any depth that we'll ever see, and don't cost a mint. The DST's made their way into our program because they were available second hand at very reasonable cost. The swivel makes it ever so slightly easy to route deco/stage hoses but can pose an additional o-ring failure point. How significant is this? For years I've never thought twice about it. Until, this summer when we had a turret bolt somehow work loose enough to allow the o-ring to extrude during predive checks. It subsequently leaked do to the damge it suffered, and required an otherwise already overdue servicing. But, then again, all the swivel equiped regs(atomic, SP, DR) share this potential failure point.
 
Back gas: Mk 17 with a G250, G250V S600 or X650 (with the Mk 17 G250 being preferred).

Deco gas: Mk 2, Mk 3 or Mk 200 with a G250 or G250V (20 and 70 ft bottles) Mk 5, Mk 10, Mk 15 or Mk 20/25 with a G250 (120 bottle)
...
Stage bottle: MK 17 or Mk 25 with a G250


Honestly, way too confusing for me -- I'd never keep it straight. The only reason I have more than one kind (excluding argon reg) is that I just hated the Apeks on back gas (although tons of people swear by them)

Any of my regs can and will be used for any duties without me having to wonder what's going to happen if I put a 20 foot O2 reg on my bottom stage.

I'd never get all the above right!
 
Doubles:
Mares MR12 first stages and Mares Akros second stages

Singles: (All using 7' long hose primary, and bungeed back-up)
Mares V42 Proton Metal (my favorite)
Mares V16 Proton
Mares MR16 (spare first stage for field back-up)
Apeks DS4/TX50

Deco/Stage:
Mares MR12 first stages with various second stages

Vintage diving:
Voit 50 Fathom double hose (chromed version), Voit 50 Fathom double hose (painted version), Voit Navy double hose, Voit Polaris 50 double hose, US Divers DA Aquamaster, US Divers Mistral, and several Voit single hose models. I have rebuilt each one, and enjoy many dives using them and other vintage gear.

None of my Mares first stages are fitted with cold water kits, and I have never experienced a single free flow with any of them. This is pretty impressive consdering that many dives have been made in water colder than 45 degrees. Even more impressive, I have never had a reg failure on a dive in more than 32 years of diving.

Greg Barlow
Former Science Editor for Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine
 
Had Apeks for the last year, but had lots of issues with hose routing. Still use them for deco bottles but talked to AG and bought two atomics for back gas regs. Love the hose routing and they breath very nice. Scubapro would be the same. Almost just a toss in the air between scubapro and atomic but I have had excellent experiences with previous atomics. Would definitely stick with that type of regulator now from strictly a hose routing perspective. 99% of all currently produced middle and upper regs are excellent but like a previous poster said, think about hose routing............
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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