Posted by Northcoast_diver on December 12, 2004 at 15:31:05:
In Reply to: It's time to talk about regs again posted by Eric S on December 11, 2004 at 21:12:13:
The latest issue with ScubaPro regs is that some of the replacement parts kits have been coming out of Italy, and they are faulty. The dive stores are aware of the problems.
Other than that, the Mk25 is an upgrade of the Mk20, and the 20s are no longer available. So if you do not already have a 20, you missed your chance. If you do have one (I have 4), they should outlast your lifespan, as is usual with ScubaPro. Nothing has changed about that.
At most you only would need 3 Mk 20s or else Mk25s. You can use them for your deep mix in your twin tanks and your first deco mix of TMX 30/30. For everything else in the range of 70 to 0 feet, the unbalanced ScubaPro Mk2's are good enough.
For second stages, I would go with nothing besides the S-600's. I have 6 of those, and love every one of them. The S600 is still the best of the 2nd's. 6 is the most you would ever need, for twin tanks and 4 deco bottles.
I now test my ScubaPro regs shallow when I get them back from the shop, before taking them on any deco diving, due to the uncertainty of the replacement kits coming out of Italy.
My 50 cents worth.