Regulator buyer guide

Regulator Buyers Guide
Buying a regulator is an important decision when buying your kit - it is your life support underwater and can last for 10 years or more. In this buyers guide we will explain the major decisions you have to make when buying regs, and give a fair comparison of all of the regulators we sell.

A-Clamp or DIN
The most obvious decision once you have chosen your reg is whether to go for A-Clamp (also called Yoke clamp) or DIN - generally speaking A-Clamp is more common (particularly in the USA, UK and holiday destinations) while DIN is more common around Europe. Both types can usually be converted to the other; DIN can be converted to A-Clamp by using a Yoke Clamp to DIN Adapter and A-Clamp to DIN by using a DIN kit. Each manufacturer has their own DIN kit, and a DIN kit usually costs around twice as much as a Yoke to DIN.

Number of HP/LP Ports
High Pressure Ports are used for your pressure gauge, and deliver air to the gauge at the same pressure as in the tank - this is how your gauge works. Some top of the range first stages come with 2 HP ports - this is to allow you to put your gauge on either the right or left side configuration.

Low Pressure Ports are used for your second stage, octopus, low pressure inflator and possibly dry suit inflator. For this reason you may wish to buy a regulator with 4 LP ports if you plan on diving in the UK (for your drysuit) but if you have no plans to drysuit dive then you can just buy a regulator with 3 LP ports.

When looking through our table you will notice some regulators have 1/2" and 3/8" LP ports - the 1/2" port delivers more air than a 3/8" port which gives better breathability.

Cold Water Safe
When a regulator is described as cold water safe this generally means that they can be used in water down to 10 degrees celcius - although most are tested to 6 degrees, the guarantee is 10. Some regulators are suitable for even colder water diving (and ice diving) but these tend to be obvious - for example the Mares V32 Proton Ice Extreme regulator is approved down to below minus 1 degrees.

Piston and Diaphragm Regulators
The difference between piston and diaphragm first stages is that piston regs have a higher flow rate - this is good for deep diving or in an emergency when a budy may need to breathe off your regulator. Piston regulators are also 100% failsafe and will freeflow on failure whereas a diapragm may not - this is however a very rare event, most regulators will never fail and most divers will never need to deal with an out of air situation or dive very deep.

Regulator Weight
The weight of your first stage isn`t really very important - the differences are minor and for the sake of a couple of hundred grams isn`t really worth considering for "baggage weight" reasons. The weight of the second stage is quite important as if it is heavier then it can tend to be a slight hindrance/annoyance when diving. For this reason it is recommended to get a reasonably small second stage that is comfortable in your mouth.

Warranty
When buying you regulators you should keep in mind that no matter how much you spend, things can break - so if you are planning on diving exclusively in (for example) Egypt, then it is worth making sure there is an authorized dealer for your brand of regulator fairly locally. Otherwise it can mean you are unable to use your regs until you get them serviced in the UK or costly postage bills to a UK dealer. Most regulators come with a first owner lifetime warranty - this means that if you buy it from an authorized dealer then you have a lifetime warranty. If you buy it off another person then you effectively have no warranty and cannot return the item in case of a problem.

Adjustable Regulators
There are generally three types of second stage - those that do NOT adjust at all, those which have a dive/predive switch and those with continuous adjustment. If your regulator has a dive/predive switch (called a VIVA - Venturi Initiated Vacuum Assist - switch) then it will be unable to free-flow, which can happen when it hits cold UK water! The third type, which has a continuous air control will allow you to adjust breathing effort to a level that is suitable for you. By contrast every other regulator has its level set at a "most common" level, which suits most people.

Balanced Regulators
Understanding a balanced regulator is easier when you consider "unbalanced" - if you are using an unbalanced regulator it gets harder to breathe from the less air is in the tank. For this reason it is always better to go for a balanced regulator!