In Reply to: Octo as main replacement? posted by johnny sixpack on November 14, 2006 at 16:23:17:

I bought 3 Conshelf 21 set-ups a couple of years back as my beach regs - got an OK deal on one and a great deal on the other 2 (new East Coast divers who gave up diving after a few dives - regs and consoles were like new).

I went the other way and replaced my cheesy Aqualung "flipable" octo with a spare Conshelf 21 first stage so it will breathe well in case I or my buddy have to use it. Octos are typically hard breathers so they won't freeflow; in my opinion I would spend the few extra $'s and get something I'd be happy with - this is too important a piece of gear to go cheap on, but a good deal can be a good deal. Make sure you take any used equipment to a good shop to have it checked out - West Coast Divers in Van Nuys is the shop I use.