Who does not like their Hog regs?

[tbone1004]

the science is actually the exact same way Apeks has been saying you have to put the HP seats in for years and years. If you follow the DST manual to the T it is never an issue on the install, the problem then becomes when you actually use it after a few dives they can start to give.

I should mention that they do breathe quite well and I am generally happy with them, replaced the mouthpieces with Comfobites, because that is probably the best thing the Aqualung group ever invented, and the fact that they have a lifetime warranty on the metal parts that has no requirement of services means that they really do believe in their product and they do stand behind it. That for me means that some of these quirks that we have all been having are more likely growing pains and manufacturer issues rather than those with the product itself. I can get over that relatively easily, and as a tech diver the QAQC issues are less of an issue for me since I don't have to pay to have them serviced.

I am 100% with Garth though, if the HP seats were available separately, then I would be 100% on board with them and while I'd probably keep my Poseidon second stages, I'd pop an OPV on the firsts and dive them because while the Mk3 from Poseidon is quite possibly the best first stage ever invented, the environmental sealing on the Apeks style first stages is that good and that means a lot to me since my regs see lots of sand and grit in the caves.

 

[Canadave]

I`ve had problems with my HOG D1 Cold water regs and went on the board recently asking if anyone had the same issue. To restate what I said in that post, I bought them 2 years ago from Ocean Quest Dive Center in Burnaby, BC, Canada. I too was pumped after reading the excellent Scubaboard reviews and the price was excellent.

I didn't have issues with how they breathe but when I took them to the shop for servicing, the manager already had an "oh no" expression when he saw what I had brought in for service. I was told that they stopped carrying HOG after noticing other customers having issues with extreme corrosion. I was told they would service them but that I should not be surprised if they were in a similar condition to other HOGs they have serviced. After they were taken apart the manager showed me the corroded orifice. He advised me there was no way they should be in this condition after that period of time and he pointed to possible inferior quality components.

Now for those wondering, this shop has been around for a long time and they also carry other brands such as Scubapro and Apeks and they didn't say they get these complaints from them. Additionally, I was not the only one to have this issue, so I doubt one can point to them being inexperienced in selling or servicing regs or that I mistreated my equipment. I previously dove a Sherwood Brut reg set for a couple of years before selling them and I had no issues when I had them serviced.

The owner of the shop even called me after learning from the shop manager/reg tech and realizing I had bought the regs from the shop and not on line. He assured me that he would try and make up for selling an inferior product and get me into something more reliable at a decent price.

I discussed with him the problem his shop had with HOG and he offered at least one small reason that some love their HOGs and maybe have seen no corrosion issues; perhaps these people primarily dive fresh water or since they are a newer brand many so called happy customers might not yet have had them serviced.

It was suggested by some posters to contact HOG or one of the online dive sites and send the regs off to get another opinion but I don't want to bother with that additional expense with an uncertain outcome. I think the fact that this shop no longer carries HOG is statement enough for me and if HOG has anything to say in their defence it might be to explain why this shop no longer carries their line. I also don't believe any shop in the Vancouver area carries HOGs.

For me, I am going to invest in something that will cost me more money but hopefully last more than two years. Its an age old lesson that I am forced to learn yet again.

 

[Garth]

I think it's obsurd that you won't even call Chris from HOG. He will talk to you about your issue and at least answer some of your concerns and may in fact tell you something you don't know about the shop your working with...


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[tbone1004]

Jack not Chris now, but they do have lifetime warranties and if it is deemed a metal problem, they will send you a new one.....

The thing I have found with the Hogs as I think many shops have, is that when you get a new one, bench test it first, make sure it is assembled properly and that everything is squared away. Part of the cost savings has shown up to some to be improper assembly from the factory. Fix it right the first time and no worries. No idea how you can corrode the orifice if you are servicing them regularly and cleaning them properly when they come out. There are a lot of us that have had these regs for a long time, 2009 for me, and on the inside they look just as good as they did when I bought them...

 

[Scubatude]

I`ve had problems with my HOG D1 Cold water regs and went on the board recently asking if anyone had the same issue. To restate what I said in that post, I bought them 2 years ago from Ocean Quest Dive Center in Burnaby, BC, Canada. I too was pumped after reading the excellent Scubaboard reviews and the price was excellent.

I didn't have issues with how they breathe but when I took them to the shop for servicing, the manager already had an "oh no" expression when he saw what I had brought in for service. I was told that they stopped carrying HOG after noticing other customers having issues with extreme corrosion. I was told they would service them but that I should not be surprised if they were in a similar condition to other HOGs they have serviced. After they were taken apart the manager showed me the corroded orifice. He advised me there was no way they should be in this condition after that period of time and he pointed to possible inferior quality components.

Now for those wondering, this shop has been around for a long time and they also carry other brands such as Scubapro and Apeks and they didn't say they get these complaints from them. Additionally, I was not the only one to have this issue, so I doubt one can point to them being inexperienced in selling or servicing regs or that I mistreated my equipment. I previously dove a Sherwood Brut reg set for a couple of years before selling them and I had no issues when I had them serviced.

The owner of the shop even called me after learning from the shop manager/reg tech and realizing I had bought the regs from the shop and not on line. He assured me that he would try and make up for selling an inferior product and get me into something more reliable at a decent price.

I discussed with him the problem his shop had with HOG and he offered at least one small reason that some love their HOGs and maybe have seen no corrosion issues; perhaps these people primarily dive fresh water or since they are a newer brand many so called happy customers might not yet have had them serviced.

It was suggested by some posters to contact HOG or one of the online dive sites and send the regs off to get another opinion but I don't want to bother with that additional expense with an uncertain outcome. I think the fact that this shop no longer carries HOG is statement enough for me and if HOG has anything to say in their defence it might be to explain why this shop no longer carries their line. I also don't believe any shop in the Vancouver area carries HOGs.

For me, I am going to invest in something that will cost me more money but hopefully last more than two years. Its an age old lesson that I am forced to learn yet again.

I have been selling and servicing HOG regulators for a long time, and teach the HOG Regulator Service Course. I have never seen a problem like this. I do know that MANY HOG dealers are being stripped of their dealership by HOG and that those dealers are not being honest about the reason they no longer carry the product. The fact the your dealer told you this would happen, then it did, then he offered to sell you more gear, and you won't even bother to contact the manufacturer who offers a product warranty just smells fishy. "The owner of the shop even called me after learning from the shop manager/reg tech and realizing I had bought the regs from the shop and not on line." That sounds like every other shop owner who says if you bought it on-line it sucks...then "OH, you bought it here???? Umm.. Ohh... errrr.... Here, buy this now." If you have a question for HOG, ask them. Pick up the phone. They will be happy to talk to you.

No regulator ever leaves my shop without being tested. No regulator has ever come back looking like that.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Same here. As I stated in the thread that canadadave is talking about IF the regs are properly cared for it is unlikely you will see anything like this. In that thread I defined what I consider to be meticulous care of any reg used in saltwater and he admitted that he did not meet those recommendations. Also appeared if I read it correctly that he waited two years before even having them looked at. Any responsible shop will tell you, and it says in the owners manual that heavy use may require more frequent servicing. I even asked what they said when he took them in for the recommended annual inspection about their condition and got no answer to that question. I have to assume that they were not looked at in order to be that bad. While a rebuild may not be necessary, a good cleaning by someone who knows what they are doing most likely would have seen an issue and resulted in better care recommendations. Salt loves metal. Fine salt loves to get into every crevice. Soaking and rinsing the way many divers are shown in their ow class is woefully inadequate. What they then consider meticulous care is actually no more than barely adequate. I have seen some grungy regs. Some orifices boogered up pretty good. But never to the point of not being able to be cleaned up. If the orifice was that bad that it could not be removed due to corrosion that's an indication of less than optimal care when you have hundreds, if not thousands of others that are not experiencing this problem that are being used in the same and even more extreme conditions.

 

[kelemvor]

My only problem with HOG is that they blatantly plagiarized Apek's manuals:

http://www.edge-gear.com/Assets/file/EDGE HOG REGULATOR OWNERS MANUAL 12262013.pdf

http://www.apeks.co.uk/images/downloads/owners_manuals/Apeks_USA_Manual.pdf

Regulators have instruction manuals? I may have to go read one to find out why.

 

[djtimmy77]

Canadave is obviously a troll and probably works for the shop he is talking about. Either that or he flooded his reg and let it sit for a couple years.

I don't have any HOG regs yet, but I have some of the Apeks regs they are copied from and they are great, and I have a Dive Rite branded clone which works just fine as well.

 

[lemke]

Wow... any dive shop that didn't want to work on my regs because they were a little "dirty" would NEVER see me again. I beat the crap out of my stuff.

 

[redacted]

....I do know that MANY HOG dealers are being stripped of their dealership by HOG and that those dealers are not being honest about the reason they no longer carry the product....

Interesting comment. Do you care to explain?

It is fairly obvious that most dive shops do not like HOG/Edge. The typical dive shop business model tries to maximize the "harvest" every time a new diver takes out his wallet. So, when they can sell someone a $1000 kit and profit the better part of $500 or sell someone a $400 kit and make much less profit, what do you thing they want to do? Add to that the idea that HOG/Edge supports diver performing their own service which may take another $100 per years away from the shop and it is not hard to understand the typical shop attitude. Couple that with the known propensity of many shops to be entirely open and truthful about competitor's products (sarcasm) and you should expect many interesting stories about HOG/Edge products. There are a few, usually larger shops, that recognize that it is often better to make less profit and gain a loyal customer than to maximize that harvest when given the opportunity because the customer will probably eventually take his business elsewhere or just drop out of scuba anyway; but they are the minority.

I don't own any HOG/Edge gear. But I do admire their business model. Basically, all regulators will safely get you through a dive. Some may do it slightly better than others or have features which may make them more or less desirable than others. But they all work pretty well. So, about the biggest difference between regulators is cost and support. The HOG/Edge business model offers the diver savings in both those areas and that is counter to the business model of many retailers.