JustinW
Contributor
toodive4:Atomic is the most overpriced piece of "expletive" on the market. While I'll agree that it is marginally better than a sherwood... it is at the bottom of a long list of others. Taking Atomic to 100+ feet may be dangerous and hazardous. It is made with inferior plastic materials and does not breathe adequately in certain positions.
This has been discussed widely here in other threads.
Top of the Line Regulators are made by:
Scubapro
Apeks
Poseidon
Aqualung
Midrange Regulators are made by:
Cressi-sub
Zeagle
Dive Rite
Atomic
Low End Regulators are made by:
Mares
Dacor
Sherwoood
Oceanic
IST
Aeris
Genesis
Tusa
Lets just be frank... a $200 Scubapro MK2 R190 outperforms the Atomic T1, M1, B2, Z1 etc... etc... everyday of the week. I dive some 270 days a year for work... and I wouldn't wear anything that says Atomic on it. I worked in a shop that sold it... the funny thing is that the shop owners pushed Atomic on their customers then snuck out the back door to dive their Scubapro. All of our Instructors refused to use the Atomics because they constantly free flowed, breathed with difficulty etc... We were constantly diving in front of students with SP and Apeks... not a single Instructor out of the 5 of us used Atomic. That ought to say something.
Ken
And remember, "Deep Down, you want the best." I love my SP regs and gear, when my buddies x brand gear fails, he can always watch me and my SP gear during his now signifigantly lengthened surface interval until his garbage gear is being fixed.