91 replies to this topic

[PRC]

As for the milex and braided hoses..I have been a little sceptical about these. I do a far amount of work with subsea hydraulics, where braided hoses are used. These are the guys that always blow, as they make maintenance work harder, simply cause you can t see what is going on underneath the hose.

Not sure if the same applies to braided hose, but would like to see them on the market for a bit longer before I jump...
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Seen a couple of the high pressure version of this hose let go - no warning just a bang - the ones I saw go were the thin bootlace ones - would stay clear of the HP ones myself.

FWIW they are Miflex rater than milex. Link.

Paul C

Edited by PRC, 20 October 2010 - 11:12 AM.

[kkgodiving]

Scubapro MK25 + S600

[seadweller]

Scubapro MK25 + S600

i use an aqualung legend for traveling. i love it. for tech diving i use scuba pro mk17 a700 in din.

[Steve Douglas]

When I owned a dive shop I was able to use many of the more common brands including Mares, Posiden, Oceanic, Scuba Pro and a bunch of others. I thought that the Posiden and Oceanic regs that I used were 2nd rate and okay for shallow diving but no where near the class of the Scuba Pro or Atomic. Through the years it has always come down to either the Atomic or the Scuba Pros. They are top notch regs and, at depth, I really can't tell the difference between them. The Mares Abyss was pretty good when I was using it in the mid 90s but heavy for travel. Now I use either one of my Scuba Pros or the Atomic. It doesn't make a difference to me which I am set up on.
Steve

[liquidguru]

Lightweight and easy to maintain has always been what I've needed as a full-time tropics diver.

I had a Dacor Viper for 10 years, I liked the side exhaust. Never had any problems, went to 90m+ and extremely simple to take apart the 1st and 2nd stages to change the high and low pressure seats.

Unfortunately, eventually, the plastic second stage broke when someone stepped on it, but it had done over 5000 dives by them.

Moved onto the Aqualung Mikron. Tiny, fully adjustable 2nd stage, simple to maintain and a great breather. Very light both for travel and in your mouth. I've been very impressed with it so far.

Edited by liquidguru, 21 November 2010 - 07:17 PM.

[RedSeaDiver]

Been using Apeks since the early 90's - sealed first stage seemed like an advantage when you are a dive guide on a safari boat in the Red Sea and your gear hardly ever sees fresh water. Currently using a XTX200 with a long/under arm hose and thinking of switching to Milflex hoses so the comment about long hoses being floaty is handy to know.

[acuevas]

Been using Apeks since the early 90's - sealed first stage seemed like an advantage when you are a dive guide on a safari boat in the Red Sea and your gear hardly ever sees fresh water. Currently using a XTX200 with a long/under arm hose and thinking of switching to Milflex hoses so the comment about long hoses being floaty is handy to know.

I also use Apeks with sealed first stage (DST, ATX200, ATX100, DS4), when you are diving in a place where the sand and dirt can be a problem, with a sealed first stage all the particles are left out of the equipment, I've see first stages with a lot of sand and rust in the inside.

My favorite regulator is the Apeks DS4 1st satege with a XTX50 2nd stage. All the Apeks sealed first stages has the same performance and the DS4 has a really good price, I think that in US the DS4 is not available, if you cannot get the DS4 then go for the DST. As for the second stage, the XTX50 is exactly the same as the XTX200 but has a better price, only cosmetic differences.

I use Miflex hoses, I use a technical configuration with a long 7" hose. For me works great and I don't have problems with the buoyancy of the hoses. But that is not for everybody.

[Undertow]

scubapro mk25 s600

i also still have a couple old US Divers/Aqualung Micras (not sure exactly if that's teh name of the 1st stage too) which my gf dives and still work brilliantly.

i did a little searching at one point and it seems like most cave divers use either top of the line scubapro or apex regs. that says a lot. sounds like a lot of folks on here use one of those too.

[Marjo]

Atomic B2. Wish I could afford a T2 but the B2 is a great performer, just with out the cool-factor of the T2. Breathes effortlessly in any position and at depth and servicing at least is my area is a breeze. I like the Scubapro too but it seems getting parts for Scubapro always takes a long time.

The only thing I would change if I could have one improvement would be to have a longer "exhail" air piece for the Atomic. I already have the optional atomic "extended" piece but I find that it is still too short for directing bubbles completely away from my face. Years ago I had a Sherwood Oasis with the Sheerwood extended piece. It wasn't a great regulator in other respects, but I really liked - and grew accustomed to - not having bubbles in my face, and I miss that.

[Searcaigh]

Mares Abyss, still have my old Mares MR12 MkIII though as a back up (purchased in 1986)

[Bent C]

Apex flight with Miflex hoses. I was on my first trip last week with this reg, and I am amazed at the way it worked given the extremely low weight. It felt better than my Mares Abbys, which from now will be retired to back up reg or used whenever someone without equipment dives with me.

Edited by Bent C, 01 December 2010 - 09:33 AM.

[tangler]

I use Apex XTX50 primary and XTX40 occy. Had them down rather deep on a few occasions and they performed beautifully. I'm very happy and have no plans to change any time soon. Great regs.

[Stoo]

So here's a variation on this question...

My model/wife, who is 98 pounds soaking wet (which she typically is when we're diving...) uses a Scubapro with a G250 second stage. Great reg, but it hides most of her tiny face... We finally found a nice looking mask that didn't look like a Mk. V on her, so were getting there!

Who knows of a great reg, that's also small and kinds purdy?

I use Apeks and they are certainly smaller, so the obvious solution is to swap with her, but other thoughts appreciated!

Edited by Stoo, 02 February 2011 - 10:31 AM.

[londonsean69]

So here's a variation on this question...

My model/wife, who is 98 pounds soaking wet (which she typically is when we're diving...) uses a Scubapro with a G250 second stage. Great reg, but it hides most of her tiny face... We finally found a nice looking mask that didn't look like a Mk. V on her, so were getting there!

Who knows of a great reg, that's also small and kinds purdy?

I use Apeks and they are certainly smaller, so the obvious solution is to swap with her, but other thoughts appreciated!

Mares proton Ice is pretty small, look at the hose thickness compared to the faceplate
So is the Cressi ellipse

(not my images)

Proton Ice


Ellipse

[Narkedat90]

Answering the OP;
A pair of Apeks UST first stages......... at the bottom of my closed circuit rebreather..!

[r4e]

Eight Poseidon Cyklons: 3 black, 2 yellow, 1 green (for 50% O2), 2 blue (for 100% O2). Very difficult to find the green and blue ones. Officially the Cyklon is not anymore certified to more than 40% O2 or 50 meters. For me, it makes sense having all the same model, because I have been able to swap mouth pieces etc when damaged due to rough use.

I will need to have all of them serviced soon. I have been collecting the special repair tools and plan to attend the service session as a course to DIY. Just found out that all parts can be purchased as long as you know the right service part numbers.

[TomR1]

Atomics Titanium-2. Sort of Scubapro on steroids.

[fotofish]

In the old days I used Dacor regs, then several different Oceanics. Now I use the Sherwood Maximus.

[Packhorse]

Apeks DS rEvo's!!

[markdebarra]

Scubapro MK25 A700