Best Reg on the cheap

Ben Wilson

New member
I plan on buying my wife and myself a set of bc's and regs later this month. I have been looking on scubatoys.com and they have some great deals on Oceanic but I don't want to buy crap, its just our lives Im going cheap on.

I will only dive in temps of 70 degrees fahrenheit and want something that will be reliable without costing a fortune. I have two local dive shops, one sucks and deals in Oceanic, one is great and refuses to. I just am wondering if it has to do with the brand or the preference of the tech.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Ben
 
i've never dove an oceanic that i liked.
they all breathed funny, and every single one was a nightmare to keep in service. they constantly freeflowed and broke down.

on the other hand, i've been diving my Sherwood Oasis for 10yrs...2000+ dives...some approaching 200ft...and i've never had it in for service!!

the 2nd stage has just started to bubble a little air when not being used...i'm sure thats just due to corrosion and use.

i dive ScubaPro MK25 with a G250 2nd stage for work and am very happy with it. my previous SP MK5 lasted YEARS and was a great regulator.

not sure how they are for price...but i'd highly consider buying one of those brands. if money were a little higher i might look into Zeagle. they make GREAT gear as well.
 
Take a very serious look at HOG regs. They are incredibly inexpensive, DIN, and designed to last!

http://www.diverightinscuba.com/catalog/cold-water-regulator-p-2595.html <-- best prices

http://www.edge-gear.com/category_s/132.htm <-- manufacturers' website




hogcoldpkg.jpg
 
Scubapro all the way! You can find replacement parts all over the world. I ended up getting a replacement yoke screw on a tiny island out in the middle of nowhere in Thailand. Don't ask how I lost the yokescrew, bonehead move....
 
So I guess Ive narrowed it down to the Tusa RS-530, the Aeris AT400 Ion DVT, or the Scubapro MK11 S555. Im not sure about the Hog reg just because my LDS doesnt work on them as far as I know and I would like someplace local to service it, Ill check into that one on Monday.

Any thoughts or opinions on the regs I am thinking of?
 
Btw... I guess Hog regs only use DIN valves, most everywhere Ive been they use Yoke unless its some type of technical diving. IMO kind of a drawback to Hog, but not out of the running if I could get it changed out inexpensively.
 
re: Hog -- You can very easily add either a $40 Yoke/Din adapter or even just buy a Yoke first stage that is dessigned to work with it. Because I'll be diving in the Caribbean next month, I just got an Edge Epic 1st stage in Yoke to use in place of the HOG Din 1st stage for this trip. Edge-HOG are different divisions of the same company.

If you're dead set on the list that you provided, then the ScubaPro is the only one that would make the cut if it was me doing the buying. Keep in mind however that "local service" is often highy overrated and many times your LDS will actually send them out to a large service center. You can do the same thing during the off season.

I see that you're in the Quad Cities (I used to live in Quincy), and want to point out that "Dive Right In Scuba" in Plainfield (Chicago area) is actually one of HOG's larger dealer/distributors, so that's actually pretty local all things considered.

-Tim
 
+1 on everything that Tim just said. :) I'd go for the Scubapro, too, but that's not saying much.

The HOG regs seem like the hot ticket today... High-end, priced right, and very sharp...

Since you gave a very specific environment that you'll be diving in (which clearly isn't your local water), are these for vacation diving?

What's wrong with just renting regs when you get there? Aside from having to pack and travel with regs of your own, you'd also have to clean them, store them and service them... Which would run around $100-$150 per year each set.

...Since you probably don't spend $300 a year renting regs, why spend the money?

In my experience, rental regs are always in better condition than a set of regs that get dove once or twice a year. :)
 
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