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#238
Best Regulator for the Money
SunkenSailor - 5/29/2015 1:51 PM
Category: Equipment
Replies: 17

I know the old saying about opinions but a good explanation along with your opinion could save a lot of time and $$$

What is the best regulator for the money?
#5828
Agojo - 5/29/2015 2:12 PM
Mares Abyss, 12 years old, been rebuilt 5 or 6 times, never failed in over 500 dives. At every rebuild it really didn’t need it looking at the parts but did it anyway. Designed to capture moisture in your breath when exhaling and put it back in when you inhale, puts down on dry mouth. Breaths extremely easy at any depth. Have had it to 155’ and same as at 5’.
#1600
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lerpy - 5/30/2015 4:51 AM
It depnds as well on the type of diving you will be doing. I use scubapro and apex regs, easily fixed, once you learn a bit about them you can do field fixes if needed. My scubapro is the MK25/s600, good for cold water, which is what I do a lot of, same with my apex, both have enviro seals on them. DiveRight is another reg that I have used and is a good quality reg, I find they are good value for quality. You can get them on divegearexpress.com for a good price as well.
#3720
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tstormdiver - 5/30/2015 5:12 AM
I agree with Lerpy, What kind of diving do you plan to do? Make your decision there. I have 7 ScubaPro MK 25/ S600’s, 2 Apeks Tek3/ ScubaPro S600’s & 3 Hollis regulators (2 on the rebreather). Each has its own functions.
#238
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SunkenSailor - 5/30/2015 5:22 PM
Now those are some respectable, informative comments!! Greatly appreciated! I like this! Thanks
#1600
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lerpy - 5/30/2015 5:36 PM
A final suggestion, don’t buy for the diving you are doing now, but think seriously of the diving you want to do. If you never see yourself going beyond rec limits then buy based on that, but seriously think about it. You don’t want to buy regs now and find in two years you are wanting to up grade. I started diving 4 years ago with idea I would love to go on vacation and dive. 4 years later I am as mentioned diving primarily deep cold water, cave diving, and now into tec/deco diving.
#20387
LatitudeAdjustment - 5/31/2015 4:30 AM
A good reg is going to last you 25-30 years with proper service. My US Divers/Aqualung 1st stage is 45 years old and still serving on my pony. The rest of my regs are Oceanic but you want a reg that can be serviced locally.
If you look for ScubaLab on ScubaDiving.com you can see the regs rated for performance by price but again it needs to be serviced by someone you trust.
Being a photographer I like my side exhaust Oceanic Omega because it keeps the bubbles out of my face but wreck divers don’t because they breath wet when looking left.
#3720
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tstormdiver - 5/31/2015 7:43 AM
I just recently trialed an Oceanic Zeo. Oceanic claimed it breathed as easily as an MK25/ S600. I would have to disagree with that statement a bit. It did have a very smooth initial draw, the overall breath had a drag to it that is not there on the MK25/S600. For an oceanic reg, it did breathe very well.
#12117
Eric_R - 5/31/2015 9:48 AM
I’m still diving on my Mares MR12 3 and MR12 4 I bought in 1987. Cold or warm they preform very well. I’m looking to get new regs this summer and keep these as backup set.
#238
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SunkenSailor - 5/31/2015 1:47 PM
What about Atomic, my local shop speaks very highly of it?
#2635
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John_giu - 5/31/2015 8:07 PM
I’ll throw down for The Mares Abyss also.
I shopped regulators to death and settled on the abyss.
Other than these I’ve only dived with the standard scuba pro rental gear before
investing in my own gear.
Even the low cost Mares MR12 ranger on my pony bottle breaths good.
Bang for the buck they are rugged, reliable, and well built.
I’m sure any of the name brand regulators will serve you just as well.
#20387
LatitudeAdjustment - 6/01/2015 4:22 AM
From EskimoBluDay: Re the Oceanic Omega. Another reason not to like it is the propriatory hose. You can’t change the hose useing a standard generic hose. You are stuck with buying a special hose from Oceanic. I’ll take my Hollis 500SE over the Oceanic anyday. Standard hose and doesn’t breathe wet.

I don’t know who told you that, I put a long hose on my Omega I and when it went in for service the parts needed to fix the 2nd stage were approaching the price of a new one so the shop sold me an Omega III 2nd stage for $200 and transferred the long hose over.

The Omega III doesn’t breath as wet as the I and it’s only a problem when looking left under something. I haven’t tried a Hollis but I would trust Hollis them, they are made by the same people.
#20387
LatitudeAdjustment - 6/01/2015 4:29 AM
From SunkenSailor: What about Atomic, my local shop speaks very highly of it?

Great reg but out of my price range and there used to be an issue with the Ti parts and high % of O2, I don’t know if that’s been fixed.
#28736
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RAWalker - 6/10/2015 2:26 PM
A good reg is one that with normal care and handling will function flawlessly in cold water for 150 dives of approximately 1 hour or more. That said the last non-magazine/Manufacturer sponsored testing with this type of agenda was performed by NOAH and the only reg that had zero failures was the Oceanic Delta IV /FDX10. Oh and it is one of the regs available today that breaths so well it is nearly impossible to distinguish from others at the top of the heap. So my reasoning in diving them is I want a reg which has the lowest chance of failure along with spectacular adjustable breathing characteristics.
#62
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LadyFreedom - 2/18/2016 9:07 AM
very good comments from everyone.
Just to add; I have 15 Tusa RS-460’s on our dive boat. I have never had an issue with any of them in all the dive training we do. The Tusa regulator is made in the same plant as one of the top regulators on the market. As stated in many of the comments; service and taking care of any regulator is the key.
Dive Safe