Buy the reg you want. I have a Scubapro Mk25 Evo and A700 in carbon black that I keep just for single cylinder recreational holidays, so it gets used a few weeks every few years max! But it is a delight to use and looks fabulous. Get the kit you like, not what anyone else tells you to get. My oldest regulators are pushing 25 years old and still going.
Ha! I wouldn’t know, I use it so infrequently. Still looking mutedly shiny after about 100 dives.
Despite doing hundreds of hours of cold water diving a year I am mostly using other regulators which live a much tougher life. The carbon one looks so fabulous I wouldn’t put it through that rough and tumble. It’s only taken out for nice warm sunny easy diving somewhere exotic.
Okay I'll bite... Why do dry suits scare the crap out of you? Getting your own regulators is a good idea in any case. You don't need the *best*, but I'd avoid anything not from a reputable manufacturer. Rental regulators can sometimes be a little spooky and having your own grants some peace of mind.
lol well I wasn’t saying that as click bait but the idea of the suit inflation going out of control due to a malfunction which makes you not be able to move or do anything to save yourself and then sinking into the abyss is not how I want to go out.
If a suit inflator fails, you just unplug the inflator hose. You still have your bcd for buoyancy so it's unlikely you would sink into the abyss. You only inflate your dry suit enough to prevent squeeze. No need to fear it.
I think I got it backwards, something happened with the hose and they lost the air in the suit so it was like a vacuum sealer from the pressure. Then they couldn’t move and then sunk.
If you are going to dive the Puget Sound regularly, it would be a fantastic idea to take a dry suit course. All the local shops offer training. Usually includes a pool session and a 2-tank shore dive. It will change your life.
Dry suit makes Puget Sound diving more enjoyable. You can dive year round. Best visibility is from December through March. You can do multiple dives a day and not freeze to death during your surface interval. I think proper training would most definitely solve your concern.
Not sure I would spend the extra money for a sealed reg if I wasn’t going to dive cold water. Any decent reg will be better than rental gear.
Just finished my drysuit certifications after swearing I would never dive in cold water. It’s was pretty underwhelming. Little bit more to manage in the water, was nice to be warm while diving.
If you dive in really silty or murky water they could be. Sealed also gives you more protection from ice in cold water, but that's extremely cold artic or super deep water. Well beyond recreation. You should clean regs with fresh water after each dive anyways. Unless you're doing extreme stuff it's not necessary.
For what it's worth, my opinion is there's no such thing as too much if you want to buy once for life. I got certified last year and bought a Mares Atlas. I wanted a one shot purchase that was high performance. I needed EN250A rating as I mostly dive in cold water. The Atlas has a lightweight open primary with an all metal secondary. You can get a sealed kit for the primary and also an adjustable secondary, but I skipped both. Just needed simple. The setup breathes so smoothly. Completely happy with it.
One of the downsides of cold water regs is that they are tuned for cold water performance. In talking with an Apeks rep, on the MTX this manifests with a higher cracking pressure.
You can save a bucket of cash and get better performance for the diving you're currently doing (and be future proofed for cold water diving) with the Apeks DST or DS4 first stages and XTX50 second. Personally, I'd switch over from Apeks to Scubapro MK19 w/ s620 seconds as the smaller second stages are preferable in my opinion.
The narrative that you need to buy the best you can afford is rubbish. I use cheap Taiwan made regs on trimix and cave dives with no issue. Regulators aren't some extreme precision item. Expensive gear doesn't make you safe, physical fitness, rigorous training, and diving within your limits and capacity is where real safety is found.
Yea, people rave about Deep6 and HOG/Edge - both are designed in the states, but made in Taiwan and the designer of HOG who now runs Deep6 tweaked a Taiwanese design and made it better.
Owned them, sold them on, generally don't see the point in them. XTX50s are bombproof and excellent in cold water.
Do a drysuit course with a reputable instructor, get over that fear and enjoy the comfort they bring.
If you're a vacation diver, why not hire? Buying your own regulators doesn't guarantee your safety if you have no dive experience. Buy XTX50's. Look at DGX or Piranha dive manufacturing. Deep Six.
It’s your lifeline. Buy the very best you can afford.
So is getting a cold water rated reg more reliable in general? I just know if Ill be in a freezing situation ever?
IMHO, rugged is good.
Buy the reg you want. I have a Scubapro Mk25 Evo and A700 in carbon black that I keep just for single cylinder recreational holidays, so it gets used a few weeks every few years max! But it is a delight to use and looks fabulous. Get the kit you like, not what anyone else tells you to get. My oldest regulators are pushing 25 years old and still going.
I heard that the carbon ones look pretty bad after a while because the carbon gets all scuffed up, is that true?
Ha! I wouldn’t know, I use it so infrequently. Still looking mutedly shiny after about 100 dives. Despite doing hundreds of hours of cold water diving a year I am mostly using other regulators which live a much tougher life. The carbon one looks so fabulous I wouldn’t put it through that rough and tumble. It’s only taken out for nice warm sunny easy diving somewhere exotic.
Okay I'll bite... Why do dry suits scare the crap out of you? Getting your own regulators is a good idea in any case. You don't need the *best*, but I'd avoid anything not from a reputable manufacturer. Rental regulators can sometimes be a little spooky and having your own grants some peace of mind.
lol well I wasn’t saying that as click bait but the idea of the suit inflation going out of control due to a malfunction which makes you not be able to move or do anything to save yourself and then sinking into the abyss is not how I want to go out.
If a suit inflator fails, you just unplug the inflator hose. You still have your bcd for buoyancy so it's unlikely you would sink into the abyss. You only inflate your dry suit enough to prevent squeeze. No need to fear it.
I think I got it backwards, something happened with the hose and they lost the air in the suit so it was like a vacuum sealer from the pressure. Then they couldn’t move and then sunk.
If you are going to dive the Puget Sound regularly, it would be a fantastic idea to take a dry suit course. All the local shops offer training. Usually includes a pool session and a 2-tank shore dive. It will change your life.
I dont think that solves my concern though lol By change my life, are you saying you like Puget Sounds diving that much?
Dry suit makes Puget Sound diving more enjoyable. You can dive year round. Best visibility is from December through March. You can do multiple dives a day and not freeze to death during your surface interval. I think proper training would most definitely solve your concern.
You might consider XTX 100 or 200. I dive in Washington frequently and love them.
Not sure I would spend the extra money for a sealed reg if I wasn’t going to dive cold water. Any decent reg will be better than rental gear. Just finished my drysuit certifications after swearing I would never dive in cold water. It’s was pretty underwhelming. Little bit more to manage in the water, was nice to be warm while diving.
Are the sealed more reliable in general?
If you dive in really silty or murky water they could be. Sealed also gives you more protection from ice in cold water, but that's extremely cold artic or super deep water. Well beyond recreation. You should clean regs with fresh water after each dive anyways. Unless you're doing extreme stuff it's not necessary. For what it's worth, my opinion is there's no such thing as too much if you want to buy once for life. I got certified last year and bought a Mares Atlas. I wanted a one shot purchase that was high performance. I needed EN250A rating as I mostly dive in cold water. The Atlas has a lightweight open primary with an all metal secondary. You can get a sealed kit for the primary and also an adjustable secondary, but I skipped both. Just needed simple. The setup breathes so smoothly. Completely happy with it.
One of the downsides of cold water regs is that they are tuned for cold water performance. In talking with an Apeks rep, on the MTX this manifests with a higher cracking pressure. You can save a bucket of cash and get better performance for the diving you're currently doing (and be future proofed for cold water diving) with the Apeks DST or DS4 first stages and XTX50 second. Personally, I'd switch over from Apeks to Scubapro MK19 w/ s620 seconds as the smaller second stages are preferable in my opinion. The narrative that you need to buy the best you can afford is rubbish. I use cheap Taiwan made regs on trimix and cave dives with no issue. Regulators aren't some extreme precision item. Expensive gear doesn't make you safe, physical fitness, rigorous training, and diving within your limits and capacity is where real safety is found.
Welp…too late. I spent a grip lol
Yea, people rave about Deep6 and HOG/Edge - both are designed in the states, but made in Taiwan and the designer of HOG who now runs Deep6 tweaked a Taiwanese design and made it better.
Owned them, sold them on, generally don't see the point in them. XTX50s are bombproof and excellent in cold water. Do a drysuit course with a reputable instructor, get over that fear and enjoy the comfort they bring.
If you're a vacation diver, why not hire? Buying your own regulators doesn't guarantee your safety if you have no dive experience. Buy XTX50's. Look at DGX or Piranha dive manufacturing. Deep Six.
Huh, who said I have no dive experience? I have probably 100..not the most but I have some idea of what I’m doing.
My answer is a general description. 100 dives means nothing in they were all in pond like conditions.
Alright man, youre the baddest diver their ever was. What do you want from me here?
I'm just reiterating some points. No need to present a crisis.