New KISS 2nd stage

sadave

Mate, its all about the marketing, in differing markets...

Here in oz, till not that long ago (5 years, give or take???) Apeks had a shit reputation here in oz, till they were taken over by a major distributor here, there was a massive marketing push, then wadya know, all of a sudden, within 6 months, these regs we'd never heard of, or for those of us that had heard of them, knew SFA about, we're the bees knees, the ducks guts, the latest and greatest... you get the picture....

Its all about marketing...

Mares have been around for ever, have consistently brought out reliable, mid-range to top-end regulators, and, to my knowledge, have never had any serious flaws in their products...

Any change from the paragon is a good thing, and just coz its not apeks, doesn't make it shit...

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Genesis

Well I like Apeks because I know them, breathe them OC and have for quite some time, and for me they've been dead-nuts reliable performers.

I like the old SP G250s even better in the performance department, but 1) they're discontinued, and 2) they eat poppets for breakfast. I take "not fiddly and great performer" over "fiddly and a bit better performer" any day.

The only time I've breathed off a Mares I thought it was a darn nice reg. I've stuck myself on the list from Jetsam for one - they say they do not have them in stock but did offer to notify me when they had one for sale.

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"A venturesome minority will always be eager to get off on their own, and no obstacles should be placed in their path; let them take risks for Godsake, let them get lost, sunburnt, stranded, drowned, eaten by bears, buried alive under avalanches - that is the right and privilege of any free American."
http://www.denninger.net
http://www.diversunion.org/liability.htm - Fix the Diving Cert racket

Ben Field

I said it "may not be the case" seems like the case may be that Mares marketing sucks

Everyone has a different idea of what makes something good- My girlfriend just bought some Oceanic regs which I don't rate or see anything specail about. I suspect she was sold on the free-servicing for life deal, which is necessary because I can't work out how to take the sodding things apart!
(Whereas I can strip the Apex with my bare hands in a few seconds)

If I know Jetsam its a good choice, fingers crossed...

BEN

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www.hugsac.org.uk

gibbogeo

At the moment they don't have any ready for shipment.

JimG

My Mares with the adapter arrived from Jetsam a couple of days after I posted the beginning of this thread. It went on nicely and seems to breath well but I haven't dived it yet.

Jim G

KISS classic 115
Tampa

Scubascooby

Mares are still a bit of a fringe player here although they are more well know than they were perhaps 10 years ago. Back then you may have had problems getting one serviced.

I've never owned one and don'r recall every knowing anyone who did. I'm not saying they make bad stuff but they always seemed to lag behind the competition. However making metal regs when everyone else had swtitched to plastic wasn't necessarily bad.

I've always like my Spiros. Pity they don't make them anymore. Too big for the BOV though.

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"dove" is NOT the past tense of "dive"

Better off OUT of the EU !

www.hugsac.org.uk

Dutchy

The only time I don't like my OC regs (MR22 Abyss) is when I fly. Although excelent units they are probably twice the weight of my DS4 and TX40...
They are decent things that can be used to knock down a building if you need to...

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Paul T

I've just had my Kiss Classic No 263 Delivered and it has the Proton XL reg Fitted.

Looks really neat and compact

Not assembled the unit yet, but hope to do the build up this weekend

Will be fitting a Narced at 90 stand at the same time

Dutchy

I still can't find any reference to it on the jetsam site. I'd love to convert my BOV as it breaths poorly. I excercised SCR mode and it was very poor breathing. Now imagine you have to do it under stress and at depth. I mean either it blows for no apparant reason (breathing still not to good) or it breaths badly. That and changing the batteries with un unwilling o-ring are prolly the worst downsides on an otherwise marvelous piece of equipment...

Soooooooo anyone knows whether I can order just the parts that I need to convert a locally bought Mares reg to work with the old DSV? If so what does it cost? If not what about the complete thing?

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chunter

I have been diving my Mares Proton BOV for about a month now, and I have to say I'm still getting small bubbles. I have checked the IP on my reg and have even tuned the breathing down. It seems to work for a while without bubbles, then they reappear!

I decided not to trust either the Paragon nor the Proton. I ordered a quick disconnect fitting from the Neptune NIRA FFM people so that I can disconnect it if it begins to leak too quickly. This is a major failure point. I would opt for a larger reliable 2nd stage if given the option. Does anyone know if there is another regulator that will fit in place of the Mares or the Paragon???

Aloha,
Charlie