XTX FST, MK17 or DS4 for twins

[beachhead]

Okay.. Show and tell time.

Here is a pic of my mk17s.

Not bad at all..............mine is

 

[Jimmy B]

I have switched from DS4 to the MK17. The MK17 breathes better for starters and I didnt have to detune it for cold water use like the Apeks. Another good reason to get the scubapro is the warranty for life program covers parts yearly vice every 2 years for Apeks.

The biggest bonus is well here in Ottawa is the support i get from Scubapro dealers is 10 fold the support I get from the Aqualung dealers, parts kits if needed to be ordered are a day or two at the most vice 2 weeks earliest from Aqualung. A friend of mine is working at a LDS here and has been waiting 2 years for the Aqualung rep to come and conduct a regulator clinic for him and in that time scubapro has certified him as well as decertified him. I feel alot better about my LDS reg tech with scubapro stuff.

 

[MonkSeal]

The MK17 breathes better for starters and I didnt have to detune it for cold water use like the Apeks.

I've never heard anything about need for detuning Apeks for cold water.

Another good reason to get the scubapro is the warranty for life program covers parts yearly vice every 2 years for Apeks.

Obviously, this depends on dealer's relationship with manufacturer and warranty conditions for local market.

The biggest bonus is well here in Ottawa is the support i get from Scubapro dealers is 10 fold the support I get from the Aqualung dealers, parts kits if needed to be ordered are a day or two at the most vice 2 weeks earliest from Aqualung. A friend of mine is working at a LDS here and has been waiting 2 years for the Aqualung rep to come and conduct a regulator clinic for him and in that time scubapro has certified him as well as decertified him. I feel alot better about my LDS reg tech with scubapro stuff.

Personal feelings, relations and support are important but let's not mix it with objective facts on product quality and usability.

 

[lamont]

Personally, I prefer APEX because they simply deal with abuse and keep functioning longer. Having said that, I have had a few apex that were produced a few years ago during the manufacturing shift that leaked/ failed so badly I just threw away the first stages.

Have they gotten better again?

My first regs were DS4s bought a few years ago and they leaked/failed so badly that I swore off apeks... They could barely make it 50 dives between servicings...

 

[RTodd]

Have they gotten better again?

My first regs were DS4s bought a few years ago and they leaked/failed so badly that I swore off apeks... They could barely make it 50 dives between servicings...

I don't know. My last batch of good ones were purchased in 02 and I just overhauled them for the first time after 6 years and a few hundred dives. I purchased some in August 05 that failed within a year and less than 50 dives that sat in a box until recently. One was unsalvageable. These were purchased around the time they went to the plastic handwheel. It is my understanding that this was about the time manufacturing was moved and there were some quality issues. I may buy one or two more to see if they are back up to par since my older ones are so good. Fortunately, I have a large supply of older DS4s so any new ones are just used as my semi-disposable highly abused open water regs anyway.

My dislike of scubapros is they hold up to a high number dives, you can dive them every day for almost a year and they are generally still good, but fail over time regardless of usage. So, a reg that does a few dives over the course of a year will generally need overhauling at the same time as the one that is dived daily. Fine, if you dive locally or are in the industry. A PITA if you have regs that can go 2 years before you do a dive that requires you to need enough stages to even use it.

 

[Jimmy B]

Monkseal I take it you havent been under the ice and 800 feet from the hole with the normal set up for the Apeks, or you would have lowered the IP to make the regulator work with out the freeflows. They do not work out of the box and do not come o2 ready that is extra. Even the parts kits from the dealers state right on the packaging. NOT O2 CLEANED.

The fact is that here in Ontario or at least here in Ottawa Scubapro service and representation is 10 fold the Aqualung service. That in any consumer's goodie bag is the cats butt.

The Scubapro regulators are machined better, look better and are better then Apeks.

 

[rjack321]

Monkseal I take it you havent been under the ice and 800 feet from the hole with the normal set up for the Apeks, or you would have lowered the IP to make the regulator work with out the freeflows. They do not work out of the box and do not come o2 ready that is extra. Even the parts kits from the dealers state right on the packaging. NOT O2 CLEANED.

I thought we were talking about backgas regs? Who cares if they are O2 clean. Its nice but I wouldn't rush out and have it done when you are still buying your basic kit and not even diving high O2 mixes.

So are you lowering the IP? Have you actually had a stage freeze up? Which one?

I'd be stunned if you found that IP changes did anything for preventing freeflows. 10-15psi of IP theoretically makes the 1st stage drop minisculely worse temp wise. And doesn't do anything substantive for the 2nd stage.

 

[fweber]

I've gone as long as 6 years on an Apeks between services. And then, did it because of guilt. It was still working fine, holding IP just fine, locking up without creep.

The every year versus everyother on parts is sort of a RedHerring. If it's just parts and doesn't include labor, the shop is making money off you by getting them in that much more frequently. And, with as many regs as I've ended up owning, longer service intervals are certainly prefered. Additionally, the majority of issues I've seen or heard of, are with regs fresh from servicing.

This is the first I've ever heard of anyone having any quality issues with Apeks regs.
With regard to O2 cleaning, I only have 2 O2 cleaned regs. Those for my rich deco cylinders. I can trade those down the ladder if need be, or switch the leaner of the two onto the O2 bottle. But, you're simply not going to have an instance that I can think of, when a single reg failure would result in trading BG or stage regs onto your O2 cylinder inorder to do a dive.

 

[fweber]

Monkseal I take it you havent been under the ice and 800 feet from the hole with the normal set up for the Apeks, or you would have lowered the IP to make the regulator work with out the freeflows. They do not work out of the box and do not come o2 ready that is extra. Even the parts kits from the dealers state right on the packaging. NOT O2 CLEANED.

The fact is that here in Ontario or at least here in Ottawa Scubapro service and representation is 10 fold the Aqualung service. That in any consumer's goodie bag is the cats butt.

The Scubapro regulators are machined better, look better and are better then Apeks.

Jimmy B,

Did you read the OP or look at his avatar? He's in Singapore! Your concerns about ice are immaterial to him. As are your points about customer support from the Ontario Sales Rep.

 

[MonkSeal]

Monkseal I take it you havent been under the ice and 800 feet from the hole with the normal set up for the Apeks, or you would have lowered the IP to make the regulator work with out the freeflows.

You're right on me and ice However, lowering IP is so simple that I can't consider this as an issue.

They do not work out of the box and do not come o2 ready that is extra. Even the parts kits from the dealers state right on the packaging. NOT O2 CLEANED.

From these sentences I take that you don't service your regs.

The Scubapro regulators are machined better, look better and are better then Apeks.

That's your opinion