2023 Regulator Staff Picks and One Top Choice

Bob looks at the Regulator Staff picks for 2023 and what the staff rates as the one top choice for all around valve. www.divers-supply.com/scuba-g...
At 4:09 I should have said the AQL Legend.
Call: 800-999-3483
Apeks
www.divers-supply.com/scuba-g...
Aqua Lung
www.divers-supply.com/scuba-g...
Scuba Pro Mk19/G260
www.divers-supply.com/scubapr...
HOG
www.divers-supply.com/scuba-g...
or call

[@M.M.M.M.M890]

Excellent video!

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Thank you very much! M's Regards Bob C

[@gokhanfilms1238]

thanks for video

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Most welcome and thanks you for your comment. Regards Bob C

[@johnwilliamsscuba6487]

I have a Sherwood SR2 and i love it.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

The SR2's are very nice Regs ! Thanks Bob C

[@dariuszmichalski5432]

For single cylinder i use scubapro mk25evo +A700 for twinset apeks mtx-r and I am in love with both sets

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Good choices ! The MTX-r are awesome Regs, I love their look. Regards Bob C

[@UNgineering]

Can confirm, I tried about 5-6 different regs before settling on XTX50. Never had an issue, breathes amazing even at 100ft+.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Yes I must agree. it's a tired and true great breathing Reg ! Regards Bob C

[@sammoyers905]

Thanks for the video, Bob. I want to throw in two regulators in the $800.00 plus range. Both are designed for EVERY diving application from shallow, to extreme depth (one, to 200 M), to mud, to ice. Both work either to the right or to the left. Work at high pressure (300 Bar), and breath as easily at depth as they do on the surface. I of course refer to the Poseidon Cyklon 3000 regulator. And the Poseidon X Stream. I have been using Poseidon regulators since 1978 and cannot see myself using anything else. They work EVERYWHERE in all conditions. I have tried many other regulators, but nothing breaths like a Poseidon regulator. Always breaths easy, without extra knobs and gimmicks. I know several divers who own several different regulators for different jobs. I own one set, that works for everything. Thanks again for the video Bob, and of course the ability to toast my favorite regulator company. 😊

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Hey Sam, We see them often when they do come in for service ( service centers can be a little hard to find) and they have a great reputation within the diving realm. Service parts are on the higher cost range and their distribution chain has had some challenges over the years. If I were to chose one it'd likely be the Cyklon too. Thanks again Sam for your "toast". Regards Bob C

[@sammoyers905]

@@DiversSupplyYT True, the ONLY DOWNSIDE of running a Poseidon Regulator is getting them serviced. I do have a shop I have gone to for years. But yes, servicing is a little more expensive. 🙂

[@gbsailing9436]

They are prohibitively expensive in Australia to service - my mate did own one. People are moving to other regs for that very reason, or when considering the cost - just making the jump to rebreathers. @@sammoyers905

[@nickadkins5679]

You know Apeks is doing something right when 3 of their regs make a best reg list!

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Pretty good gear Nick ! Bob C

[@kathrynhonggg]

when you said that the tubing smelled like vanilla, i laughed so hard! 😂 are all of these regs compatible with cold water diving as well? thanks for the video, Bob!

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Hi Kat, Yes, I have a new comedy series starting soon, "Bad Jokes Divers Tell".... just kidding, but the hoses do smell like vanilla ! Yes, all of these are good cold, dirty and salt water reg sets. Regards Bob C

[@zackclevenger8577]

Same! I literally laughed out loud! Love it!11

[@whaleshark2625]

Nice to see my XTX50 winning best buy!

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Yes sir they are super popular... Bob C

[@spartanthe300ththermopylae4]

I have DST, which is the same regulator. It's awesome.

[@jssmoby]

Hi Bob. Thanks to your video, I learned a lot and is grateful to you for that. Four days ago, I made an order for equipment on your website, which I chose for a long time, paid for the order, and after I received a message by e -mail with a request to confirm my order. Having done this, I began to wait for my parcel. To my surprise after four days in spam, I found a message that states that my order will be canceled if I do not call the office. I’m diving in Mexico on vacation but calling the office, the girl told me that she would cancel my order, and offered to make it again and pay through PayPal. My question is why they didn’t call me from the office to confirm the information and why I should again spend my evening on vacation to make an order. Why employees cannot do this because I already paid for the order. Thank you. Best regards. Aleksandr

[@theartdary]

I have talked with customer support and had a very bad experience as well ☹️ they were very rude

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Thanks for the note JSS, Hate to hear you had issues. I'm passing along your and the note below to the Customer Support folks in a minute or two. This is out of my area but will put your issue in the right hands. Bob C

[@MysticalDragon73]

nice video. it would have been nice to have links to each of them.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

The links are in the description... Call: 800-999-3483 Apeks www.divers-supply.com/scuba-g... Aqua Lung www.divers-supply.com/scuba-g... Scuba Pro Mk19/G260 www.divers-supply.com/scubapr... HOG www.divers-supply.com/scuba-g...

[@caflet2009]

I dive a long hose set up, and I have the older Glacia regs. When I had my local dive shop swap the hose out for a 7ft, I lost one heat exchanger, because it was part of the hose assembly, not the reg. It still doesn't freeze or anything, but is this still a design issue, or is that ribbed heat exchanger part of the regulator now? To be clear, I mean the one one the second stage not the first. If you remove that hose, does the ribbed portion go with it?

[@fridericogatti1213]

Comparing the Aqualung Legend 3 Elite with the MK25/A700 is a genuine challenge. Perhaps a dedicated review by Bob can provide the answer

[@DiversSupplyYT]

If I can get my hands on a DEMO unit of each I'd be happy to do that.. Thanks for the suggestion.. Bob C

[@cliffh8486]

Aqualung did well in this competition, be it apeks or aqualung same company. I dive the mikron I really like it.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Hi Cliff, Yes sir the AQL/Apeks Group is well represented in this video. They have a very strong and wide range of Regs. The new Helix is a nice piece too.. Regards Bob C

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

I love the design of that SB G260. Also love the Mares 22 Abyss, that's one glorious looking reg. I have the Apeks MTX myself.

[@AndrewR74]

I have 7 xtx50s in my rotation.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Sweet, 7 is a lucky number ! Regards Bob C

[@fridericogatti1213]

I can share my personal experience with both the Legend and MK25 first stages, along with several second stages. The MK25 provides an amazing breathing experience that's incomparable to the Legend. I've paired the MK25 with the G260, S620ti, and A700. The A700 with the MK25 stands in a league of its own, offering smooth breathing and lower air consumption (based on Eon Core tank pod data). The S620ti is very similar, albeit with a more metallic sound that can be bothersome. The G260 performs well but is heavier. On the other hand, the Legend set with the Elite disappointed me. During stressful situations, the regulator struggled to deliver air, and overall, the air consumption was consistently 10 to 15% higher, compared to any scubapronsecond stage with the MK25. I only dive in warm water at temperatures of 25 to 30 degrees Celsius. My current primary is A700 with Mk25 and the S620ti as octos.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Thanks for your comments, always appreciated. Bob C

[@peanutbutter6365]

Thanks for the awesome video Bob! I found an offer for the xtx50 at a cheaper price than the xtx200, however the first stage for the xtx50 is din instead of yoke. I do most of my dive in asia where they use Yoke. Should I just get the xtx50 and get a separate converter (din to yoke) or should I just get the xtx200 (but not with the turreted first stage). What do you think? Thanks in advance!

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Think I'd save the $$ and go XTX50. Bob C

[@scubartistqnolsy]

how much is the xtx50?

[@DiversSupplyYT]

@@scubartistqnolsy www.divers-supply.com/apeks-xtx50-din-regulator.html

[@jeffconley6366]

I will say a Scubapro regulator can last a lifetime. I own Scubapro Mark 2 and Mark 5 regulators. Both, models originally came out in the 1960's. And I can still get service parts for them. You can't say that about many regulators. I am concerned about the financial issues Aqualung is currently having. Bob can you address that?

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Hey Jeff, Thanks for your ScubaPro comment, that company runs a fairly tight ship. As far as AQL goes, I believe I'll leave comments to those who speak for AQL... Regards Bob C

[@puckalakealake5597]

Seems like your best bet is to go to the store and really spend time on your setup for your brand of diving. Out of the box hoses may not work for your BCD. What about mouth piece. If the one on the out of the box set is uncomfortable that is going to be a $85 issue right? If you want to dive deep wrecks then you may need to immediately get an adapter to so you can hook up DIN reg to a yoke tank. All of these variations can cost a lot of wasted time if you don't get expert advice. And that's probably going to be an experienced person...

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Hey Puckal ! I (we) have a lot of travelers stop in the stores to get advice/suggestions from our shop folks, all who are divers. I get phone calls and visits here in the Jax store from folks who watch the channel from all over the world. Just last week I met a man at the coffee counter in the MESA VERDE gift shop who watches the channel. Just talked to a couple at the Regulator display about the very thing you mentioned. Remember, if a salesperson is not asking what type of diving you doing and plan on doing FIRST before making gear suggestions you may be in the wrong place to spend your hard earned money. Thanks for your comments ! Bob C

[@sprokkel30]

I wanted an xtx50 and ended up buying an atomic st1

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Both very good regs...

[@patryka11]

I love new Mares Atlas 62X. I think it beats all in terms of breathing quality.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

For many regulators today, the difference in breathability must be measured by a machine. Thanks Bob C

[@patryka11]

@@DiversSupplyYT I am sure you know better because you test a lot. My personal feeling is different though. Aqualung Legend is just great. Top Mares is great! Apeks has lots features for technical diving but reg quality of breath is one step down to Mares or AQ Legend.

[@dre64]

@@patryka11 I don't know if there is a lot of differences but I still like my 82x Epic a lot... 🙂

[@patryka11]

@@dre64 I do not want to argue with Bob but I have totally different experience that you have noticeable difference with regulator. Rental you feel it right away. With high models the difference is very subtile but still it is there. In my opinion Mares is top top one. Aqualung also top. There are horse for courses and Apeks may be great for technical scuba with extra features and when talking only about recreational Apekt is like 4stars Scuba is like 4,5stars and Mares Epic and Aqualung Legend is 5stars. Others I do not know.

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

@@patryka11 I have the Apeks MTX. The breathe isn't as smooth, and a little stiffer because it doesn't have a Venturi lever (or cracking resistance control), but it more than makes up for that in terms of ruggedness and being pretty much bulletproof in pretty much any condition. I don't mind a little roughness around the edges on the breathe, I know this reg won't let me down.

[@brooksm3552]

Where is the Atomic?

[@ProNailsSchool]

The expensives are not the best, in my experience, the best and really long lasting are Sherwood, those last forever.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Thanks for your note PNS ! Bob C

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

Time to get with the times though. All except one still have a yoke connector, and all of these can be purchased in both yoke and DIN configs. DIN is far superior to yoke. It's safer, lighter, easier, and can handle higher pressures. Why anyone would still go with a yoke is beyond me.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

I believe you're mistaken that these choices are all Yoke, these examples just happened to majority Yoke... by the way Yoke still out sells DIN by far in the US. Thanks for the comment ! Bob C

[@DarR1299]

@@DiversSupplyYT Great video as usual Bob. As a follow-up to BM's comment, I bought three DIN regulators fairly recently for versatility (w/ Yoke Adapter), HP and enclosed O-Ring. I can't quantify this in ratios but my LDS now sells more DIN than Yokes here in Canada. I would tend to believe that this is the trend going forward. I just suspect that most US tank rental stock are mostly Yoke but that will change in time with the popularity of Pro-Valves and Higher Pressure availability.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

@@DarR1299I can easily believe that outside the US, especially Canada (our colder water folks) that yes, DIN would be stronger. SO, I picked one of the REGs in the test and checked US sales for '21, 22' and '23 between DIN and Yoke. These are nation wide sales, not just regional and it shows DIN sales numbers are almost exactly half, what Yoke sales are.

[@DiversSupplyYT]

And I'll add that DIN/Yoke adaptors tend to extend the 1st stages out from the valve closer to a diver's head. I too like the versitility of the PRO style valves seen today of the newer tanks. Bob C

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

@@DiversSupplyYT I can believe Yoke outsells DIN in the US. Americans in general are averse to any standardization that originates from outside the US. Whether it be the metric system, ECE testing standards, or DIN. Even when these new standards are proving superior time and time again, the US just loves to cling to freedom units, DOT standards, and outdated failure prone connectors.

[@asmith5488]

wow the only reg which is not serviceable is the BEST pick... any Deep Six? or Dive Rite? guessed not.. only OCEANIC brands

[@DiversSupplyYT]

Hummm Scuba Pro and Hog are not OCEANIC brands.. neither is AQL / Apeks.. All Regs are serviceable, if you mean Self-Service, you are correct.

[@Mikesworld777]

I guess atomic and dive rite are junk?