Which Regulators For Uk Diving ?

[Northern Man]

Hi, I've recently started training with BSAC and I'm looking at purchasing a set of regs (and octopus) and was wondering whether anyone could offer any advice ? I've been looking at Cyklon 5000s and Scubapro 390 among others - I've been reading a load of online test reports but I'm still unsure as to which to plump for. Most of my diving will be in the UK and I anticipate using them in inshore sites during the winter months so cold water perfomance is important so any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Many thanks,
Mike.

[pomme]

will you be going deep eg under 30 meters, if so i would recommend getting a set that is balanced.

what sort of price are you looking to spend?

[marc h]

i would recommend a scubapro set
i use a mk14 1st stage and Mk5 polar 2nd stage with R190 Octopus
ive hade mine 5 years, its never been serviced and been around the world with me diving abroad and in the Uk

hope this helps
cheers marc

ps. might be worth waiting till the next dive show at Birminhams NEC or the dive show in london for a bargain :thumbsup:

[bobkat]

Originally posted by marc h@May 3 2004, 00:29
ive hade mine 5 years, its never been serviced and been around the world with me diving abroad and in the Uk

cheers marc


Marc, Is that wise? You only have one life.
Bob

[Northern Man]

With regards to price I'm prepared to pay up to £500 but obviously it would be nice to make a saving on that if possible. Pomme, I would be planning to dive at depths greater than 30M eventually - you refer to a balanced set for this, can you explain how these sets differ and the benefits they have ? The only reference to balanced I can find is with regard to the first stage design.

Thanks,
Mike.

[marc h]

yeh i should really get it done :(
have'nt dived this year, so prob get it done in a month or so, ready for the summer :thumbsup:

[ahoy]

If you're prepared to spend £500, then you'll get whatever you want. You can get a new Poseidon Cyklon and Octo for less than £400 and these regs are used the world over by professional and recreational diver alike. The only downside to Poseidon regs is the cost of servicing (and that's why I sold mine)... You could also get a top of the range set of Apeks regs a bit cheaper than this (maybe £20 or so) and these seem to be very popular with UK divers.

I have Oceanic regs, the entry level models being very much towards the cheaper end of the market: however, they have excellent reviews and I have had no problems at all with them. Their more expensive regs with the DX4 1st stage are fantastic.

If you want any ideas on where to find the best prices, PM me- I don't have anything to do with these places, i'm just an avid bargain hunter....

S.

[spottydog]

I use Apex TX100 & ATX200 on twin independent 7's and love them. The only silght problem with Apex is that they can breathe sklightly wet upside down (Al spends most of his time upside down with his head under corals in the Red Sea!). Both these regs performed very well in the Clyde this weekend (water was about 8C, wrecks in the 30 to 35m range) and the TX1000 was good in Iceland a couple of months ago (water about 4C). Apex regs are also about the cheapest I've found to service.

Poseidon are supposed to be excellent at depth but can breathe more heavily in shallow waters.

For a comparison of regs go to Divernet (http://www.divernet.com) and search for their reg tests mas they have done quite a few comparisons and they are very useful.

Probably the main thing for diving in the UK is to make sure they are designed for cold water.

HTH

Anne

[pomme]

mike, if you have 500 to spend then you can get wat you want basically. ive gone a bit rusty on my old terms and things over the winter and with being at uni, but if i am thinking correctly i think that balanced is either.

that the reg will provide the same breathing pressure whilst at depth
or that the reg will not be affected by cold water.

i know its one of the two but would need to look it up and dont have my books here.

okay just thought about it and there are three advantages of a balanced first-stage. breath easier at lower deoths, even with less air pressure. provie greater air flow. better able to supply a seond diver using the octopus.

i used to have a set of scubapros and thought they were okay when i started but since improving my iving realised they didnt do what i wanted, as they wernt balanced, and i didnt feel comfortable taking students to 35m with a unbalanced first stage. so have now gone on to the apeks atx 200 and love it, but as anne said they do breath wet when inverted/upside down, but covering your throught with mouth makes this fine (like when you put the reg back in your mouth undrwater, you should always place your tongue to the top of your mouth).

so i would say if youve got the money to blow then get the apex. a bam good reg, at any model as i have done alot of testing on them to see which one i liked best, all all top notch.

hth
andrew

[Northern Man]

Many thanks for all the replies :)

Ahoy, I had jeard that Cyklons were more expensive to service but I was told that they had a 2 year service interval versus the normal 1 year. PM sent regarding places to buy from :)

Anne - thanks for the site tip - some good stuff on there.

Pomme - PM sent

I've found a place called scubastore which are in Spain that seem to be doing some good deals. The mk25/390, 290 octopus and a twin gauge console works out at just under £300 :) . The first stage is balanced but I just wasn't sure about cold water performance compared to the likes of the Cyklons and I can't find any comparative reviews.

Are there any other cold water regs that anyone would suggest and the best places to buy ?

Many thanks
Mike.

[Frogfone]

Hi Mike

Scubastore is where i got my Aqualung Titan LX supremes from Only had them on four UK dives but i'm about to take them to the red sea for a week so i will let you know in a couple of weeks. One of those dives was fresh and only 5oC and they where flawless.

I went for the Titans after reading the rodale regs test. If you have not seen it here is a link.

http://www.scubadiving.com/article/0,7424,...-57-381,00.html (http://www.scubadiving.com/article/0,7424,2-35-57-381,00.html)

The Titans where the cheapest regs to get 5 out of five at all depths. One warning however Aqualung do a lifetime warrenty on parts but not if you purchase over the net. However a parts kit is about £15-18 i believe an its about £30-35 to have them serviced so not a big concern.

Aqualung own apeks and the Titans and legend series where designed by the same guy so there just as good but a lot better inverted than the apeks. If you really want to buy a top end set of regs then go for the Legend lx supremes. I though about it but the only differeance is the BRA and a second HP port and the legend is an overbalenced design!. The titans are balanced however.

I was using Scubapro MK18/S550's before and there every bit as good. the only complaint i have with them is the purge is unbeliavibly fierce. The lipguard is also the best thing since sliced bread. Really appreciated it on the 5oC dive.

HTH

Roddy

[Northern Man]

Thanks for the information Roddy - I had considered the Legend but I'll give the Titan a look too.

All the best,
Mike.

[Frogfone]

Just got back from Marsa Shagra. 19 dives in 6 days and the only problems where blowing a HP seal and having to change 1 main O ring. Other than that they where 1st class.

Roddy

[Northern Man]

Hi Roddy, glad to see the dives went well. Made a purchase, got myself the MK25 with a G250HP and a 190 octopus for just over £200 from seastar.at. They also did me a very, very good deal on a Glide 2000 BC :)

Many thanks to all,
Mike.