Which regulator to buy

[Angelo Farina]

Thank you all for the answers! I have more noob questions now. For a single tank why are you all recommending the 5th port? For a better route of some hose? Which one actually and for what?

Is the yellow xtx50 octopus identical to the black xtx50 second stage? I see that yellow octopus is cheaper than black everywhere in web shops.

Googling the xtx40 second stage/octopus only differs from the xtx50 second stage in that it doesn't have breath control, shouldn't they be very similar in performance?

It would cost me much more to get 2 identical 2nd stages.

If the yellow is the same and costs less, I would buy two identical yellow ones.
I like yellow!

 

[RobPNW]

Whatever the brand, I second the recommendation for two identical second stages.
(I am a strict Scubapro fan, mostly for the availability of parts, everywhere and for more than 40 years; and for manuals and tutorial videos).
A lower-performances "secondary air source" can be of a big concern in the rare case you really need it...
I always used two identical second stages, and I swap their usage constantly, even during the same dive.

Plus you only need to have one type of service kit.

 

[Beau Holden]

I'm with tbone. I would not buy Aqualung, Scubapro, Apeks or Mares. I have had Aqualungs and Mares and still have a Mares and Aqualung for filling car tires, blowing dirt and such. Heck, there is dive shop somewhere that still has an Aqualung I took in for servicing. For the last 15 years all I have had is Dive Rite. Got 5 if not 6 sets of them.

Just my opinion and choice. I service them myself when I want to and not by someone else's schedule.

 

[Nemrod]

Hello, new scuba diver here. Can you suggest me regulator set. I need it for the work.

Shallow, max 10m, 1 single 15l tank. Will be 200+ dives in a year. So i understand for my work i only need low entry ones, but I will have deeper dives for my own pleasure when i have a time up to 40m for sure,so i decided to spend a little more money

Helix pro is cheapest one significantly and i think that maybe will be perfect for me? L

Which ones is more reliable,how about parts and diy repairs? Thanks for any advice

Uh, hmmm, you have answered your own question. The Helix Pro with a sealed first stage, ACD and the second stage is air balanced, yeppers, that is the one. The Helix Pro is an evolution of the Core Supreme which is an evolution of the Titan LX Supreme. I have both a Core Supreme DIN and a Titan LX Supreme (sealed) configuration and my wife has a fancy Legend. In any practical way and especially reliability there are few that can beat a Titan LX, Core or now Helix Pro for performance and value and parts and service anywhere. The OP, I think, did not mention doing their own service so owning parts kits is not a priority vs. serviceability world wide.

 

[Karoo]

Uh, hmmm, you have answered your own question. The Helix Pro with a sealed first stage, ACD and the second stage is air balanced, yeppers, that is the one. The Helix Pro is an evolution of the Core Supreme which is an evolution of the Titan LX Supreme. I have both a Core Supreme DIN and a Titan LX Supreme (sealed) configuration and my wife has a fancy Legend. In any practical way and especially reliability there are few that can beat a Titan LX, Core or now Helix Pro for performance and value and parts and service anywhere. The OP, I think, did not mention doing their own service so owning parts kits is not a priority vs. serviceability world wide.

there was no ACD failure on the DIN connection? Do core/titan breathe similarly to legend? In my local shop apeks xtx200 cost 145€ more then helix pro, need to decide till tomorrow . All i know that i need it strictly to the single setup,no need and no interested in any other, that is reliable,and to breathe as easily as possible.

 

[Angelo Farina]

The OP, I think, did not mention doing their own service so owning parts kits is not a priority vs. serviceability world wide.

He explicitly cited "DIY repairs". Which points to brands for which repair kits are easily available.
He is in Europe, so he does not suffer of the strange costraints which affect DIY service in US. He can easily find repair kits for brands such as Scubapro and Apeks here. I would suggest regulators built here in Europe, so there are not additional costs due to custom fees when purchasing online.

 

[Pressurehead]

I agree with Angelo, the OP can acquire parts in Europe.
The OP lives in a great place if you like diving this type of stuff : B-24 – Vis Diving Center – Nautica Croatia
When he is more experienced and trained for that depth, that is.

 

[Nemrod]

He explicitly cited "DIY repairs". Which points to brands for which repair kits are easily available.
He is in Europe, so he does not suffer of the strange costraints which affect DIY service in US. He can easily find repair kits for brands such as Scubapro and Apeks here. I would suggest regulators built here in Europe, so there are not additional costs due to custom fees when purchasing online.

Well then sometimes I forget what everybody said . And though I use them I tend to gloss over acronyms and such, so I missed DIY written as diy . Sorry for that.

Is not AL made in France still or where now. Not that it would change what I said. I have managed to find kits here so I am sure if that is important he can there as well in Europe.

 

[BoltSnap]

Is not AL made in France still or where now.

Somewhere in EU, not necessarily all in France. (According to a high level AL executive in a presentation I attended)

 

[Centrals]

Hello, new scuba diver here. Can you suggest me regulator set. I need it for the work.

Shallow, max 10m, 1 single 15l tank. Will be 200+ dives in a year. So i understand for my work i only need low entry ones, but I will have deeper dives for my own pleasure when i have a time up to 40m for sure,so i decided to spend a little more money

I found in my local store apeks xtx200 xtx40 octo( i read on this forum that fsr is ok for single tanks), xtx50 xtx40 octo(dst not ideal position for the single tank at all??? xtx50 set cost 30$ cheaper then xtx200.

Aqualung leg3nd(with venturi knob) cost 30$ more then xtx200, helix pro is cheapest one significantly and i think that maybe will be perfect for me? L

Which ones is more reliable,how about parts and diy repairs? Thanks for any advice

I am still using the Apeks DS4 with TX50 I first bought back in 1997/98.
You will not get any improvement of the performance from FSR/200 over DST/50. I have both and could not tell the differences under water.
Save the $30.00 for something else.
BTW, Apeks FSR/DST are dead easy to service(DIY) and they all used the same service kit(separated 1st and 2nd).
5th port? I do not see any reason to use it on single tank diving for myself.

DS4 + XTX40 is more than adequate and a lot cheaper as well.