Picking a Regulator

[Kimusubi]

Hi,

I was looking around different regulators, and as you guys all know there are a ton of different regulators to choose from. As my life depends on it, I want to purchase a top quality regulator. I was wondering if anyone could give me a top five list of the regulators that they think is best, and a reason on why they believe so. Price isn't really an issue for me at the moment, and I want to look around at all my options. Any help is appreciate it. Thank you.

- Ali

[OH-JJ]

Originally Posted by Kimusubi

Hi,

I was looking around different regulators, and as you guys all know there are a ton of different regulators to choose from. As my life depends on it, I want to purchase a top quality regulator. I was wondering if anyone could give me a top five list of the regulators that they think is best, and a reason on why they believe so. Price isn't really an issue for me at the moment, and I want to look around at all my options. Any help is appreciate it. Thank you.

- Ali

Well what kind of diving will you be doing?

[Kimusubi]

I will be mostly doing ocean dives in the pacific. In the future I want to do a bit of cave diving and ice diving so I'm not sure if I should plan ahead or not. For time being, however, I will be mainly doing basic day dives, with occasional night dives.

[bubbletrubble]

If you fill out more of your dive profile info on your account, then we might be more helpful.

If you have enough dives to know that you will be diving a lot in the future, then we'd be more willing to recommend high-end (more expensive) regs. If you've just been newly certified, then our recommendations might change.

I would find out what brands of regulators your LDS can service. Sometimes all your reg needs is a little adjustment, and a LDS reg repair tech can do it for free in just a couple of minutes.

Scubapro and Aqualung lines seem to have pretty good reg repair support worldwide, but I think that most well known manufacturers make solid regs.

Another idea: join a local dive club to get in-person advice about what reg is best for your local conditions. Someone might be willing to allow you to dive their reg setup so that you can see if you like it. Some people might recommend that you rent different brands of regs at local shops, but I find that rental regs aren't always properly maintained/adjusted. YMMV.

Good luck.

[dannybot]

They have an Aeris Atmos Pro Aeris Atmos Pro Regulator reviews and discounts, Aeris . I really like it, got one for my wife. Easy breathing, adjustable, and the first stage swivel helps with hose tug and routing. I have had a Sherwood Brut, it breathes hard at depth. I also have an Oceanic GT3/CDX5 Oceanic GT3 DVT Regulator reviews and discounts, Oceanic breathes well, adjustable, but doesn't seem to get as fine a tune as the Aeris, and the first stage seems a laid out a little funny, I can't really get happy with the hose routing, but with a Miflex hose Miflex Regulator Hose reviews and discounts, XS Scuba, it is well improved.

[SynCitizen]

If you have time and money you should see if you can rent/borrow as many different regs and feel for yourself how well they breath, fit, and suit your diving style and needs.

I just ordered an AquaLung Legend LX ACD. I tried out a friends on a couple dives and absolutely love this reg.

[in_cavediver]

Here is my horribly biased opinions. This is based on my expierence and the desire to have user serviceable regs. (we own 9 regs)

1) Dive Rite - 2500/3000 (my primary), We own 3 of these. Dive Rite 3500 (my wifes primary), We own 1 of these
2) Zeagles - Flathead 6 - My secondary, DS4 my wifes secondard and 2 envoys (stage regs)
3) Posiedon Odin - its a side breather. Dive Rite has a rebranded reg with standard hose which will likely be my next reg.

There are salvo regs as well which get good reviews. They are supposed to be very similar to the Dive Rites but I can't confirm that.

I stay far away from the proprietary regs. They may be good, but I don't want to deal with reg makers who are picky about dealers, parts and service manuals. I expect openess and the ability to service/repair my regs wherever I am. These brands include Atomic, Aqualung, Scubapro and Apeks. Some are great performers but I can do as well with other regs so why deal with the BS. I have 9 regs and I ain't paying $50+ per reg per year.

Other brands such as Sherwood and Genesis are decent regs but have one major downside. The dry air bleed on sherwoods and the D.A.D. valve on the genesis. I like to have the regs NOT bleed air so I can shutoff a charged reg and have it remain charged. (useful for stage regs) Otherwise, they'd be a good choice.

Simple and good doesn't mean expensive. Dive Rites are a good value as are some of the zeagles.

If you dive cold water - you ought to get environmentally sealed regs.

Some of these points seem minor and useless for a rec diver but you mentioned the tec path so you might think about this now. I didn't and have a sherwood blizzard first as a backup/argon reg as a result.

[Kimusubi]

I have heard a lot about the Aeris and the Aqualung regs from different people. The thing is I live in Arizona and am a full time student, and there aren't a whole lot of "scenic" dive sites around here, so I have to go down to California for any sort of diving. A family member owns a place 5 mins away from the beach in Carlsbad, so that isn't too bad. With his house I'll probably be diving about 5-10 weekends a year. My main points of concern are maximum ease of breathing and extreme reliability. I don't want to spend all my money by buying a $2000 reg because I want to buy other gear too; however, I firmly believe that a regulator is the most important equipment on you, so I don't mind investing on something of higher than normal quality. Afterall it's my life I'm investing in.

[Splitlip]

For around 1500 bucks you can get one of the best regs in the world with warranty, parts for life and huge service network and your other gear.

SCUBAPRO LAUNCHES $ZERO PRIME FREE COMPUTER OFFER - Sportdiver.com

[in_cavediver]

Originally Posted by Kimusubi

I have heard a lot about the Aeris and the Aqualung regs from different people. The thing is I live in Arizona and am a full time student, and there aren't a whole lot of "scenic" dive sites around here, so I have to go down to California for any sort of diving. A family member owns a place 5 mins away from the beach in Carlsbad, so that isn't too bad. With his house I'll probably be diving about 5-10 weekends a year. My main points of concern are maximum ease of breathing and extreme reliability. I don't want to spend all my money by buying a $2000 reg because I want to buy other gear too; however, I firmly believe that a regulator is the most important equipment on you, so I don't mind investing on something of higher than normal quality. Afterall it's my life I'm investing in.

I've said it above but I don't believe you can get maximun ease of breathing and maximum reliability at the same time. They are somewhat competing interests. Ease of breathing tends toward free-flows which negates that reliability thing.

Good news - there is a great number of choices in the $500-$600 range that are top notch performers. Take a look at the Zeagle Flathead reg. It likely will fit your desires.

The last point is more philosophical. Regs to me are tools. My life depends on my training and how I can deal with failures with the tools I use. The best tools in the world can't help me if I panic. To me, the most important investment is in training/competence - not gear.