XTX 20 vs XTX 40

[Wern Yi]

Hi,
Really need some advice from you folks. I live in Malaysia and i intend to do a lot more diving in the South East Asian region, i.e. Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. I will be doing mainly recreational diving up to maybe 30m max and i hope to take up UW photography or videography later. I have no intention of doing any cold water diving. Having read up on the Apeks website, I am thinking XTX20/US4 vs XTX40/DS4. Apart from the price wouldn't a DS first stage be an overkill anyway?
Appreciate any thoughts on that. Thanks.

 

[Fishpie]

It is really, although it is nice having that extra seal keeping everything dry around the spring.
The end cap on the unsealed 1st stages is a bit of a water trap when cleaning.

 

[Xaryo]

you can'T go wrong with the xtx40/DS4. It is good for cold water and being sealed, the first stage will not accumulate debris and thingy from the water. All my first stages are DS4 and I dive in all conditions. Never had a problem with them.

 

[j2s]

Although I've switched to HOG gear from Apeks, I agree w/the others, the DS4 is a good solid 1st stage [unless you want the swivel ]..Keep in mind it only has 1 HP port...I used them hard for cave/tech diving and never had a problem...You'll have to send/give them to an authorized dealer for routine maintenance because they won't sell parts to divers.......But an XTX40/DS4 would be a good choice [the XTX50 would even be better if you're going to be diving regularly and for many years........

 

[Wern Yi]

Thanks Fish/Xaryo/j2s,
Greatly appreciate all your feed-backs. Helps with the decision making process.

---------- Post added April 12th, 2012 at 11:01 AM ----------

Thanks j2s, your reminder leads me to this question for the manufacturer;
Dear Apeks person-in-charge-of-questions,
Do you have an authorised dealer that handles maintenance in Malaysia/Singapore? If not, how does one in this region seek service for their equipment?
Thanks.

 

[tphillipp]

Yes, Apeks service and parts are available in Malaysia / Singapore.
If you would like to private message me with your email address, i will have our SE Asia agent contat you with specific locations.

 

[Wern Yi]

Thanks for the reply Tom. Will do that.