Which Reg Set to buy today?

[Southside]

I am looking to purchase a doubles regulator set and am hoping to take advantage of some Cyber Monday deals, I have a Deep 6 setup for my single tank regulator. I am wondering what the best value would be, I wanna go with deep 6 but there seems to be some other options that have good sales today. A few options I am looking at are:

DRIS Illusion set for $449.25
Illusion Doubles Regulator Package

Hog D3 for $588.75
Hog D3 Doubles Regulator Package

Dive Rite XT for $670.02
Doubles Regulator Package

Deep 6 Signature for $887.72 configured
Deep 6 Configurable Backmount Doubles Package

Are there any other packages that would be a better deal? I am looking to buy something that I can use when I get into tech diving in the next couple years but will only be used for recreational diving for the next year. I know the scribble series are on sale for a great price, would picking up two of those sets for $400 be a good option? Are there any other options that I should consider? Thanks for any input/advice.

 

[tbone1004]

@Southside which Deep6 regs do you have? One of the issues that I see is that you are already committed to one set, and I would highly recommend staying with it for convenience. With service kits and locations being the same, it will help during service, but also with tech diving in general to have the interchangeability if something does go wrong during predive

 

[Southside]

I have a signature yoke first stage, I wish I had gone with DIN but oh well. I do plan on servicing my own regs once they come due but that is a few years out thanks to the free first service and the two year service interval.

 

[Marie13]

The DRIS sets are just fine. I’ve got one on my deco bottle.

 

[Lorenzoid]

@Southside which Deep6 regs do you have? One of the issues that I see is that you are already committed to one set, and I would highly recommend staying with it for convenience. With service kits and locations being the same, it will help during service, but also with tech diving in general to have the interchangeability if something does go wrong during predive

That was my thinking when I complemented my HOG single-tank reg set with a couple of double-tank reg sets for my wife and me. I learned to service them, and the service kits are all the same, so the parts are interchangeable among all my regs. And I can become pretty efficient servicing them. When a diver starts accumulating reg sets, especially doubles, the service costs start to add up.

If I were in the OP's place, owning a Deep6 single-tank set, I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to stick with Deep6 for a doubles set.

 

[tbone1004]

I have a signature yoke first stage, I wish I had gone with DIN but oh well. I do plan on servicing my own regs once they come due but that is a few years out thanks to the free first service and the two year service interval.

If you play to DIY, the Signatures may be the lowest long term cost option. If you take the service course with them, then you get free parts to DIY the service per @cerich so the total cost of ownership will be lower vs the other regs.
Dive Rite for reference does not have a service course available to end-users though they don't restrict parts availability so they would be out for me.
The HOG D3 and Deep6 Signature are nearly identical and can unofficially share parts. If you're going to commit to the long haul, the $300 saved now eats itself up in parts kits in about 3 service cycles. The Signatures do have meaningful improvements though and there will be no concerns about servicing the two different regs.
Illusion are basic and cheap regs, nothing wrong with them and nothing that would stop me from diving them in anything that I do, but long term costs will ultimately be cheaper with the Signatures and again, there have been meaningful improvements in breathing.

I would not worry about getting DIN for a single tank rig. Yoke is far more convenient if you rent tanks anywhere in the world. For local diving it really doesn't matter. Don't get me wrong, all of my tanks and regulators are DIN *over 2 dozen of each*, but if I'm going to be renting tanks for any reason, I have a prototype of what is basically the DRiS Illusion that is setup for single tanks and is what I grab. My Kraken usually stays setup for DIN since I usually use it with my own bottles, but the yoke conversion is in the bag and if I am going to be diving on rented tanks, then it gets converted vs. using an adapter.

 

[Southside]

If you play to DIY, the Signatures may be the lowest long term cost option. If you take the service course with them, then you get free parts to DIY the service per @cerich so the total cost of ownership will be lower vs the other regs.
Dive Rite for reference does not have a service course available to end-users though they don't restrict parts availability so they would be out for me.
The HOG D3 and Deep6 Signature are nearly identical and can unofficially share parts. If you're going to commit to the long haul, the $300 saved now eats itself up in parts kits in about 3 service cycles. The Signatures do have meaningful improvements though and there will be no concerns about servicing the two different regs.
Illusion are basic and cheap regs, nothing wrong with them and nothing that would stop me from diving them in anything that I do, but long term costs will ultimately be cheaper with the Signatures and again, there have been meaningful improvements in breathing.

I would not worry about getting DIN for a single tank rig. Yoke is far more convenient if you rent tanks anywhere in the world. For local diving it really doesn't matter. Don't get me wrong, all of my tanks and regulators are DIN *over 2 dozen of each*, but if I'm going to be renting tanks for any reason, I have a prototype of what is basically the DRiS Illusion that is setup for single tanks and is what I grab. My Kraken usually stays setup for DIN since I usually use it with my own bottles, but the yoke conversion is in the bag and if I am going to be diving on rented tanks, then it gets converted vs. using an adapter.

Thank you for the detailed reply, that helped clarify some things in my head. I spent a good amount of money on Friday so I guess I was looking to save some money here but looking at the long term that doesn't make sense.

 

[scubadada]

I'm not familiar with the DRIS Illusion regs. Who makes them? Are they rebranded from a brand I would recognize?

 

[runsongas]

looks like the ODS (ocean divers supply) RG1012 DIN to me. really similar to the hog d1.

 

[runsongas]

@Southside you could also cobble together the D6 scribbles into a doubles set too, but the DRIS combo is slightly cheaper. the one quibble i have with ODS is their white hp seat needs work. not sure if that has been improved recently.

Deep 6 Scribble 1st + 2nd and Hose