SeaJayInSC
New member
Sweet... You'll have to give a full review...
Edge/HOG regulators...???
- Thread starter tgreene
- Start date
Hoyden
New member
I have miflex hoses on all of my personal reg set-ups. I really like the weight and flex of the shorter hoses and love the tiny flexible hp hoses. I have over a hundred dives on some of the hoses and they show no real wear, but I am pretty careful of my gear. The only miflex that I don't like is my 7' hose - it is a little "floaty" for me. I seem to have less trouble with 5'er on my singles rig so it may be that the 7' one is a little long for me and wouldn't bother taller folks (I am 5'5").
Jackie
tgreene
Reefer
Hoyden: My existing Cressi setup has a standard 6' hose, but it just seemed too short according to SeaJay. I am aware that the MiFlex hoses are known to be a tad bit "floaty", but I don't see it as an issue at all.
SeaJay: Being that the 1st stage is dry, I decided to go ahead and try it even though it's the turret design that you don't like. I was really impressed with the numbers that these tested at, and the price is phenomenal, so I figured I would give them a whirl... Besides, they match my lovely red tanks & fins. Yes, yes, I realize that Jets and paint stripper are in the very near future, but please allow me the opportunity to bask under "Rule-6" for as long as I can get away with it!
-Tim
SeaJay: Being that the 1st stage is dry, I decided to go ahead and try it even though it's the turret design that you don't like. I was really impressed with the numbers that these tested at, and the price is phenomenal, so I figured I would give them a whirl... Besides, they match my lovely red tanks & fins. Yes, yes, I realize that Jets and paint stripper are in the very near future, but please allow me the opportunity to bask under "Rule-6" for as long as I can get away with it!
-Tim
SeaJayInSC
New member
Heh - as I read it, I was thinking, "Enjoy your red tanks while they last..." (They are, after all, VERY pretty!) And I know you love your fins... I did, too, when I was diving the then-brand-new Cressi Avanti Quattros.
Funny that you KNEW what I was thinking already.
I believe that over time you'll come to have a desire for a fin that's a lot stiffer and wider. That it's made with no plastic is also a boon, as they can be made "new" again with a squirt of Armor-All. Jets are also very heavy, which is to say that with them, your attitude in the water - your trim - can be elected "on the fly" by bending your knees at different angles. Of course a requirement for doing this is a balanced and trimmed rig in the first place, which you'll nail over the next few hundred dives in your new rig.
...But you don't have to take my word for it - *I* am not the guy you've got to please when you dive... YOU are. I just predict that what makes you happy in the near future (after you've nailed your weighting and trim in your new rig) is a set of Jets with Halcyon spring heels. I think you'll find them surprisingly faster, too... But you won't care, 'cause you will place a lot more emphasis on available kick styles, preciseness, and short fins whose fin tips are easily managed in the tight quarters of a cave or wreck.
...But meanwhile, if you like your Slingshots, then by all means, wear them out. Same goes for a turret first stage, which you'll probably end up relegating to stage bottle duty for it's turret later on.
I'm only saying these things because pretty much, anyone that goes down the path that you are, does these same things. I know I did, and I know hundreds of people who also have.
Wait'll you try that O'Neill I sent you...
(They are, after all, VERY pretty!) And I know you love your fins... I did, too, when I was diving the then-brand-new Cressi Avanti Quattros.Funny that you KNEW what I was thinking already.
I believe that over time you'll come to have a desire for a fin that's a lot stiffer and wider. That it's made with no plastic is also a boon, as they can be made "new" again with a squirt of Armor-All.
Jets are also very heavy, which is to say that with them, your attitude in the water - your trim - can be elected "on the fly" by bending your knees at different angles. Of course a requirement for doing this is a balanced and trimmed rig in the first place, which you'll nail over the next few hundred dives in your new rig....But you don't have to take my word for it - *I* am not the guy you've got to please when you dive... YOU are. I just predict that what makes you happy in the near future (after you've nailed your weighting and trim in your new rig) is a set of Jets with Halcyon spring heels.
I think you'll find them surprisingly faster, too... But you won't care, 'cause you will place a lot more emphasis on available kick styles, preciseness, and short fins whose fin tips are easily managed in the tight quarters of a cave or wreck....But meanwhile, if you like your Slingshots, then by all means, wear them out.
Same goes for a turret first stage, which you'll probably end up relegating to stage bottle duty for it's turret later on.I'm only saying these things because pretty much, anyone that goes down the path that you are, does these same things. I know I did, and I know hundreds of people who also have.
Wait'll you try that O'Neill I sent you...
SeaJayInSC
New member
Seriously though, YOU'RE RUINING ME!
Nah, not me.
Okay, you've purchased (in the past couple of days) a fantastic new Halcyon bp/wing, a complete set of regs, a new mask, and are getting a new wetsuit (from me).
STOP BUYING GEAR NOW.
Save for the next couple of months for a Fundies course. Should run you around $400, plus a trip to High Springs (where I'd recommend taking DIR-F from Doug Maudry).
That should set you up nicely to develop the skills that will give you the most from your new gear.
After you pass Fundies (you might not pass your first time out, so why not call Doug today and ask him what to practice so you'll have a heads-up?), THEN consider purchasing more gear.
I am NOT ruining you.
I am trying to keep you from spending too much money... And from focusing too much on GEAR and not enough on SKILLS.
tgreene
Reefer
Your are ruining me, because you sent me to Doug and GUE in the first place... :idea:Nah, not me.
Okay, you've purchased (in the past couple of days) a fantastic new Halcyon bp/wing, a complete set of regs, a new mask, and are getting a new wetsuit (from me).
STOP BUYING GEAR NOW.
Save for the next couple of months for a Fundies course. Should run you around $400, plus a trip to High Springs (where I'd recommend taking DIR-F from Doug Maudry).
That should set you up nicely to develop the skills that will give you the most from your new gear.
After you pass Fundies (you might not pass your first time out, so why not call Doug today and ask him what to practice so you'll have a heads-up?), THEN consider purchasing more gear.
I am NOT ruining you.
SeaJayInSC
New member
Heh.
tgreene
Reefer
Seriously though, I can't wait to be able to get in the water w/ the new setup and begin working on skills that will enable me to be in a better position to take the Fundies class. Swivels be damned, I'm really excited and looking forward to spending a week in High Springs this spring.
-Tim
-Tim
SeaJayInSC
New member
Heh - yeah. They're gorgeous, too.
My personal favorite are the blue clear-looking ones. His are the red clear-looking ones, and just as cool.
For what it's worth, there's a story behind the "clear" paints that Luxfer uses on their tanks... Painted tanks simply sell better, and tank manufacturers know that... Unfortunately, ANY kind of paint scratches, and when they scratch, water gets into the scratch and corrodes the tank a little, seeing that it never really dries out in there. The more you dive, the more you'll scratch tanks, and the more they'll corrode. So Luxfer responded to the market by painting, but decided to use clear paints that allow you to see any problem spots that appear under the paint - even if the scratch is too small to see.
The bottom line is that the paint - which is there to improve appearance and perhaps protect the surface of the tank - does exactly the opposite over time. That's why everyone I know strips their tanks if they didn't buy them "naked" to begin with.
The same applies to tank boots - they're supposed to protect, but in reality do exactly the opposite.
Of course, the above only applies to aluminum tanks - steels must be covered in corrosive-resistant paints (galvanization) to prevent surface rust.
Stripping tanks is much easier than it sounds... I use "Aircraft Remover" (presumably for those pesky aircraft that keep bothering you?). I first remove the tank valve (which should only be on the tank hand tight - they "lock" when you pressurize the tank and therefore require no more than hand tightness) and put an OLD tank valve in, just so I don't get chemicals all over my valves. Then I spray (while standing downwind - the stuff is NASTY) liberally with the remover (available at Auto Zone), wait 20-30 minutes, and simply hose the paint off with a garden hose. I usually follow it up with a "polish," which is simply a 3M paint remover disk attached to a hand drill (WITH the grain of the aluminum)... This makes the tank look shiny n' new.
Rinse liberally, replace the valve and presto... New "naked" tanks. I do this about once a year to keep things pretty (DIR Rule #6 - "Always look cool.")
Of course, my tanks take a beating in commercial service, and see many dives in nasty, silty saltwater every week... Then sit in the open bed of my truck (exposed to the elements) otherwise. I imagine that most people won't need to "polish" as much as I do.
If I were Tim, I'd enjoy the pretty red tanks 'til they got scratched up... Which, based on his diving, should be in about a year.
My personal favorite are the blue clear-looking ones. His are the red clear-looking ones, and just as cool.
For what it's worth, there's a story behind the "clear" paints that Luxfer uses on their tanks... Painted tanks simply sell better, and tank manufacturers know that... Unfortunately, ANY kind of paint scratches, and when they scratch, water gets into the scratch and corrodes the tank a little, seeing that it never really dries out in there. The more you dive, the more you'll scratch tanks, and the more they'll corrode. So Luxfer responded to the market by painting, but decided to use clear paints that allow you to see any problem spots that appear under the paint - even if the scratch is too small to see.
The bottom line is that the paint - which is there to improve appearance and perhaps protect the surface of the tank - does exactly the opposite over time. That's why everyone I know strips their tanks if they didn't buy them "naked" to begin with.
The same applies to tank boots - they're supposed to protect, but in reality do exactly the opposite.
Of course, the above only applies to aluminum tanks - steels must be covered in corrosive-resistant paints (galvanization) to prevent surface rust.
Stripping tanks is much easier than it sounds... I use "Aircraft Remover" (presumably for those pesky aircraft that keep bothering you?). I first remove the tank valve (which should only be on the tank hand tight - they "lock" when you pressurize the tank and therefore require no more than hand tightness) and put an OLD tank valve in, just so I don't get chemicals all over my valves. Then I spray (while standing downwind - the stuff is NASTY) liberally with the remover (available at Auto Zone), wait 20-30 minutes, and simply hose the paint off with a garden hose. I usually follow it up with a "polish," which is simply a 3M paint remover disk attached to a hand drill (WITH the grain of the aluminum)... This makes the tank look shiny n' new.
Rinse liberally, replace the valve and presto... New "naked" tanks. I do this about once a year to keep things pretty (DIR Rule #6 - "Always look cool.")
Of course, my tanks take a beating in commercial service, and see many dives in nasty, silty saltwater every week... Then sit in the open bed of my truck (exposed to the elements) otherwise. I imagine that most people won't need to "polish" as much as I do.
If I were Tim, I'd enjoy the pretty red tanks 'til they got scratched up... Which, based on his diving, should be in about a year.
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SeaJayInSC
New member
When we were at the GA Aquarium, someone asked me if I was DIR - it came as a loaded question (it always is), as this person was pretty much in charge of those who were in charge... The head honcho of head honchos.
So I asked him, "What do you know about DIR?" (Purposely avoiding the question.)
His response was pretty funny... "I know that they all wear black and only black." I was entertained that he defined DIR through the color of gear.
GUE - the agency responsible for DIR - plainly states that color doesn't make a difference. There is no "rule" that says that wetsuits can't be blue, wings can't be orange, or tanks can't be red. In fact, I know a number of people who ARE DIR and purposely want to look different - my girl wears as much pink as possible on her gear, for example, and a number of DIR guys I know elect for blue-accented wetsuits or colored webbing or even colored hoses.
That said, almost every DIR diver I know wears black exclusively - possibly with the exception of accents on their drysuits... So I understood what "head honcho" was saying.
The reason for black isn't because it's what is "DIR" - it's because when black wetsuits or black wings or black webbing fades, it's still black. Blue fades to periwinkle, pink fades to flesh, neon green fades to split pea soup, and yellow fades to baby-poo mustard. And who wants the color of their gear to be periwinkle or flesh or baby poo? Painted tanks scratch and corrode, and plastic on fins chews up and looks horrible over time. Additionally, fabric dyes like blue and red and pink and green and yellow all have bleaching agents in them to make the colors colorfast... Which actually weakens the fabric slightly. So yes, it's true that black wetsuits and black wings DO actually last longer than those that are colored.
The black in Jet fins and hoses is black not because of a dye, but because of carbon - the same black additive that's in car tires. Carbon makes rubber products UV stable - that is, black = lasts longer than non-black when exposed to sunlight.
Interestingly, DUI (drysuit manufacturer favored in the industry) has managed to utilize a coloring process whereby fading is not an issue, even with colors other than black... So it's not uncommon to see divers with brightly accented DUI drysuits, even when they otherwise appear to be loyal to black.
...So is color mandated by DIR? No, not at all. But if you do a lot of diving, which many DIR guys tend to do, you'll probably tend to gravitate toward black, too... Besides, it's easy to match gear if you're always wearing black.
Anyone know why blue jeans are blue? My bet is that it's probably for a very similar reason... I mean, why not green jeans or black jeans or red jeans or purple jeans? Sure, I know, they're out there and available... And black jeans aren't all that uncommon... But any color is unusual as compared to blue jeans - probably because they still look cool when they fade. The other colors get "iffy."
But wouldn't it be odd to be defined as a person or defined as a group based on the color of your jeans? It's a pretty odd thing to be defined as DIR or not DIR based on the prevalence of black in your dive gear...
So I asked him, "What do you know about DIR?" (Purposely avoiding the question.)
His response was pretty funny... "I know that they all wear black and only black."
I was entertained that he defined DIR through the color of gear. GUE - the agency responsible for DIR - plainly states that color doesn't make a difference. There is no "rule" that says that wetsuits can't be blue, wings can't be orange, or tanks can't be red. In fact, I know a number of people who ARE DIR and purposely want to look different - my girl wears as much pink as possible on her gear, for example, and a number of DIR guys I know elect for blue-accented wetsuits or colored webbing or even colored hoses.
That said, almost every DIR diver I know wears black exclusively - possibly with the exception of accents on their drysuits... So I understood what "head honcho" was saying.
The reason for black isn't because it's what is "DIR" - it's because when black wetsuits or black wings or black webbing fades, it's still black. Blue fades to periwinkle, pink fades to flesh, neon green fades to split pea soup, and yellow fades to baby-poo mustard. And who wants the color of their gear to be periwinkle or flesh or baby poo? Painted tanks scratch and corrode, and plastic on fins chews up and looks horrible over time. Additionally, fabric dyes like blue and red and pink and green and yellow all have bleaching agents in them to make the colors colorfast... Which actually weakens the fabric slightly. So yes, it's true that black wetsuits and black wings DO actually last longer than those that are colored.
The black in Jet fins and hoses is black not because of a dye, but because of carbon - the same black additive that's in car tires. Carbon makes rubber products UV stable - that is, black = lasts longer than non-black when exposed to sunlight.
Interestingly, DUI (drysuit manufacturer favored in the industry) has managed to utilize a coloring process whereby fading is not an issue, even with colors other than black... So it's not uncommon to see divers with brightly accented DUI drysuits, even when they otherwise appear to be loyal to black.
...So is color mandated by DIR? No, not at all. But if you do a lot of diving, which many DIR guys tend to do, you'll probably tend to gravitate toward black, too... Besides, it's easy to match gear if you're always wearing black.
Anyone know why blue jeans are blue? My bet is that it's probably for a very similar reason... I mean, why not green jeans or black jeans or red jeans or purple jeans? Sure, I know, they're out there and available... And black jeans aren't all that uncommon... But any color is unusual as compared to blue jeans - probably because they still look cool when they fade. The other colors get "iffy."
But wouldn't it be odd to be defined as a person or defined as a group based on the color of your jeans? It's a pretty odd thing to be defined as DIR or not DIR based on the prevalence of black in your dive gear...
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tgreene
Reefer
My reg set arrived today, and I'm incredibly impressed with the breathing capabilities and even more so by the adjustments.
They are quite a bit heavier than my Cressi Ellipse Titaniums, but when I bought those last year they were rated to be the lightest weight on the market at the time... I believe they are now rated #2. To compare apples to apples however, rather than apples to grapefruits, I would say they are pretty much on par with *most* other regs out there, and certainly with Apex and ScubaPro, which would be HOG's biggest competitors.
The 1st stage almost has the appearance of black chrome, because it's much darker than traditional, and that could well be a result of the special chroming process that Edge/HOG touts in their advertising.
I have already disected a 2nd stage to see how it differs from the Cressi's that I'm accustomed to, and the guts are nearly identical to my instructors AquaLung Legend which we disected in an "Equipment Specialty" class this past Saturday,
with the exception of the venturi adjuster and gas supply port being in a far superior place... The gas is fed into a steel tube, and fed through a hole in the supply tube which is directly in front of your mouth, rathe than at the right edge of the reg with a channel bar directing the gas towards your mouthpiece.
Tomorrow I'l get a full array of pictures, complete w/ weights from my digital postage scale. I'll provide a complete set of pics as well as a few Macro pics of the inside of the 2nd stage.
Also, the SPG is heavy... I'm talking boat anchor heavy, so it's obviously over-designed to be able to take a beating and continue to function to keep you alive... I LIKE THAT!
-Tim
They are quite a bit heavier than my Cressi Ellipse Titaniums, but when I bought those last year they were rated to be the lightest weight on the market at the time... I believe they are now rated #2. To compare apples to apples however, rather than apples to grapefruits, I would say they are pretty much on par with *most* other regs out there, and certainly with Apex and ScubaPro, which would be HOG's biggest competitors.
The 1st stage almost has the appearance of black chrome, because it's much darker than traditional, and that could well be a result of the special chroming process that Edge/HOG touts in their advertising.
I have already disected a 2nd stage to see how it differs from the Cressi's that I'm accustomed to, and the guts are nearly identical to my instructors AquaLung Legend which we disected in an "Equipment Specialty" class this past Saturday,
with the exception of the venturi adjuster and gas supply port being in a far superior place... The gas is fed into a steel tube, and fed through a hole in the supply tube which is directly in front of your mouth, rathe than at the right edge of the reg with a channel bar directing the gas towards your mouthpiece.
Tomorrow I'l get a full array of pictures, complete w/ weights from my digital postage scale. I'll provide a complete set of pics as well as a few Macro pics of the inside of the 2nd stage.
Also, the SPG is heavy... I'm talking boat anchor heavy, so it's obviously over-designed to be able to take a beating and continue to function to keep you alive... I LIKE THAT!
-Tim
SeaJayInSC
New member
Very nice!!
Yeah, virtually identical 2nd stage to any Apeks, which explains the likeness to Aqualung - Aqualung owns Apeks.
Love the black/red motif, especially since it's detailed nicely (not just paint). I've become accustomed to Apeks' Comfo-bite mouthpiece, and think I would miss it now - but I didn't feel that way when I first bought my first Apeks - I'd have chosen the HOG mouthpiece for sure at that time. Today, it would be a noticable difference between the two regs (of course, the Comfo-bite is available aftermarket, so it could be altered) but I don't think it'd really be good or bad either way... Just different.
The rest of the reg looks identical - right down to the "vanes" in the exhaust port.
I like the round buttons better than Apeks' ovals in the XTX series (their latest)... Which Apeks has on their ATX series (which they no longer offer).
In case you're wondering, I don't see any part that wouldn't exchange easily with any Apeks part - which is to say that these HOGs should fit in nicely with what many DIR guys are already diving... In other words, these should fit in nicely with any DIR team... A boon for you (and your buddies), especially when you need a spare part and you're in the field.
Very nice... And my bet is that EDGE isn't selling some kind of battery-operated first stage (I lost my faith in Apeks when I saw that).
Yeah, virtually identical 2nd stage to any Apeks, which explains the likeness to Aqualung - Aqualung owns Apeks.
Love the black/red motif, especially since it's detailed nicely (not just paint). I've become accustomed to Apeks' Comfo-bite mouthpiece, and think I would miss it now - but I didn't feel that way when I first bought my first Apeks - I'd have chosen the HOG mouthpiece for sure at that time. Today, it would be a noticable difference between the two regs (of course, the Comfo-bite is available aftermarket, so it could be altered) but I don't think it'd really be good or bad either way... Just different.
The rest of the reg looks identical - right down to the "vanes" in the exhaust port.
I like the round buttons better than Apeks' ovals in the XTX series (their latest)... Which Apeks has on their ATX series (which they no longer offer).
In case you're wondering, I don't see any part that wouldn't exchange easily with any Apeks part - which is to say that these HOGs should fit in nicely with what many DIR guys are already diving... In other words, these should fit in nicely with any DIR team... A boon for you (and your buddies), especially when you need a spare part and you're in the field.
Very nice... And my bet is that EDGE isn't selling some kind of battery-operated first stage (I lost my faith in Apeks when I saw that).
tgreene
Reefer
I freakin love that feature... My Cressi's are a whore to purge, because they utilize a very heavy plastic polymer (polyethylene perhaps..?) that requires the entire face be pushed in to clear.
At the price they are getting for these, it's kind of a no brainer to keep a spare on hand, just because...
Ummmm, NO! :hmm4:Very nice... And my bet is that EDGE isn't selling some kind of battery-operated first stage (I lost my faith in Apeks when I saw that).
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SeaJayInSC
New member
Lol...
I felt pretty good about the whole EDGE/HOG thing the moment you told me that the company sold parts (yeah, just TRY to get a part from ScubaPro... Or mail-ordering ANYTHING AT ALL from them...) and even better when you told me that EDGE/HOG has some kind of company-sponsored training to teach owners how to tune, maintain, or service their own life support systems. True - not everyone's going to want to be able to do that, but refusing to help those that do is really a disservice to the people they should be most taking care of, IMHO. When a company becomes more concerned about their dealers than the people who are spending the money, something's wrong.
...And yeah, I've heard them all say that they don't teach end-users to maintain their own life support systems because of LAWSUITS, but that's simply not logical - never once in the history of scuba has anyone ever been able to successfully sue a scuba manufacturer for bad servicing at the retailer! Scuba is widely recognized as an "at your own risk" activity - precisely the reason why the manufacturers NEED to be teaching the customers how to take care of their life support equipment. Even if someone DID try to sue someone, wouldn't they sue the person that serviced the regs, not the manufacturer? I mean, if Jiffy Lube forgets to put oil back in your car and the engine blows up, do you sue Chevy? Of course not... And if you change the oil yourself and leave the drain plug out, do you sue Chevy? That just doesn't make sense...
How 'bout this... Imagine if Ford or Chevy or Toyota refused to disclose how to change the oil in your car altogether... Then claimed it was for "legal" reasons! Baloney... It would be a case of just wanting the corner the market on service, that's all.
...Which is exactly what Aqualung and ScubaPro have been trying to pull for years relative to the act of servicing regs. I would like nothing better than to have a progressive, user-friendly company to set the scuba industry on it's butt. Frankly, it's going to happen sooner or later - as it always does, in every industry... I would just love to see it happen now, with a product as good as what EDGE is apparently offering.
That said, I wonder when EDGE is going to make a one-piece first stage? Tell them to duplicate an XTX100 first stage (and call it the DSD100 for "Deep South Divers 100"), and I'm in for a couple of dozen sets.
'Specially if they'll do them in that snazzy red and dark chrome finish. Please, EDGE, never anodize (Dive Rite) or "satin finish" your first stages... They just don't wear as well as chrome, which is what the tank valve is finished in anyway.
What if they offered the regs with your choice of hoses - standard, Hogarthian, Myflex, or any combination thereof? I hate getting stroke hoses with my regs, which I just paid for (and am throwing away) and now need to replace 'cause they weren't what I needed...
Didn't you say that your regs came without hoses altogether? That's really the ultimate right there... Ordering hoses completely separately, and allowing me to save the expense so that I can get only what I need or want...
And EDGE/HOG - if you're listening - please never, ever put a battery in your first stage. Thank you.
By the way, Tim... Where are the photos of the 2" SPG?
If it's the one I'm thinking of (and yes, it's built like a tank), it's the same one that is rebadged Halcyon, DIR Zone, and the like... Actually made by an Italian company called "Termo," they come without any kind of boot, a separate (and removable) little spool so that it can spin freely on a high pressure hose, and a beautifully chromed finish on the body only. For a while, Halcyon had theirs double-chromed (two layers), which was a bit special in the industry. Trying to tell a double-chromed from a single-chromed was pretty tough, though, and the double-chromed had some leaking issues at the high pressure hose do to it's thick chrome plating on the inlet. As far as I know, they're ALL single-plated now, and mirror-like and quite exciting to behold... One of those moments where form and function come together to make something that is more that the sum of it's parts... Like a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Also interesting about the Termo SPG is it's remarkably bright and efficient luminescence on the face... Enough to see other gauges by, it seems.
Take a photo and let's see it.
"Termo" may be the company "Thermo" (perhaps in Italy the "H" is silent?), who is the maker of the convertible valves I like so much.
I felt pretty good about the whole EDGE/HOG thing the moment you told me that the company sold parts (yeah, just TRY to get a part from ScubaPro... Or mail-ordering ANYTHING AT ALL from them...) and even better when you told me that EDGE/HOG has some kind of company-sponsored training to teach owners how to tune, maintain, or service their own life support systems. True - not everyone's going to want to be able to do that, but refusing to help those that do is really a disservice to the people they should be most taking care of, IMHO. When a company becomes more concerned about their dealers than the people who are spending the money, something's wrong.
...And yeah, I've heard them all say that they don't teach end-users to maintain their own life support systems because of LAWSUITS, but that's simply not logical - never once in the history of scuba has anyone ever been able to successfully sue a scuba manufacturer for bad servicing at the retailer! Scuba is widely recognized as an "at your own risk" activity - precisely the reason why the manufacturers NEED to be teaching the customers how to take care of their life support equipment. Even if someone DID try to sue someone, wouldn't they sue the person that serviced the regs, not the manufacturer? I mean, if Jiffy Lube forgets to put oil back in your car and the engine blows up, do you sue Chevy? Of course not... And if you change the oil yourself and leave the drain plug out, do you sue Chevy? That just doesn't make sense...
How 'bout this... Imagine if Ford or Chevy or Toyota refused to disclose how to change the oil in your car altogether... Then claimed it was for "legal" reasons! Baloney... It would be a case of just wanting the corner the market on service, that's all.
...Which is exactly what Aqualung and ScubaPro have been trying to pull for years relative to the act of servicing regs. I would like nothing better than to have a progressive, user-friendly company to set the scuba industry on it's butt.
Frankly, it's going to happen sooner or later - as it always does, in every industry... I would just love to see it happen now, with a product as good as what EDGE is apparently offering.That said, I wonder when EDGE is going to make a one-piece first stage? Tell them to duplicate an XTX100 first stage (and call it the DSD100 for "Deep South Divers 100"
), and I'm in for a couple of dozen sets. 'Specially if they'll do them in that snazzy red and dark chrome finish. Please, EDGE, never anodize (Dive Rite) or "satin finish" your first stages... They just don't wear as well as chrome, which is what the tank valve is finished in anyway.
What if they offered the regs with your choice of hoses - standard, Hogarthian, Myflex, or any combination thereof? I hate getting stroke hoses with my regs, which I just paid for (and am throwing away) and now need to replace 'cause they weren't what I needed...
Didn't you say that your regs came without hoses altogether? That's really the ultimate right there... Ordering hoses completely separately, and allowing me to save the expense so that I can get only what I need or want...
And EDGE/HOG - if you're listening - please never, ever put a battery in your first stage. Thank you.
By the way, Tim... Where are the photos of the 2" SPG?
If it's the one I'm thinking of (and yes, it's built like a tank), it's the same one that is rebadged Halcyon, DIR Zone, and the like... Actually made by an Italian company called "Termo," they come without any kind of boot, a separate (and removable) little spool so that it can spin freely on a high pressure hose, and a beautifully chromed finish on the body only. For a while, Halcyon had theirs double-chromed (two layers), which was a bit special in the industry. Trying to tell a double-chromed from a single-chromed was pretty tough, though, and the double-chromed had some leaking issues at the high pressure hose do to it's thick chrome plating on the inlet. As far as I know, they're ALL single-plated now, and mirror-like and quite exciting to behold... One of those moments where form and function come together to make something that is more that the sum of it's parts... Like a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Also interesting about the Termo SPG is it's remarkably bright and efficient luminescence on the face... Enough to see other gauges by, it seems.
Take a photo and let's see it.
"Termo" may be the company "Thermo" (perhaps in Italy the "H" is silent?), who is the maker of the convertible valves I like so much.
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