My brother is looking for dive gear and could use a bit of advice. I'm too bias to be fair. I like my Apex.
Who owns a Proton 42 (metal or otherwise) and what do you think about it as a blue water reg for a new diver? What about cold and deep?
What about the Mares products in general? Are they good value?
I've owned a Mares Abyss for a couple years now and it's been solid. One thing I like is that the inhalation effort remains very consistant throughout various position, depths and temps. My only complaint was some jaw fatigue (it's a bit heavier than other regs I've used) but changing to a custom mouthpiece fixed that. If I remember right the Proton was a bit easier to fine tune for breathing effort and is setup a little better for cold water and ice dives. (I've had no problems with the Abyss with either) Hope this helps!
I dont have personal experience with the reg..i have a friend that has been pretty happy with it. He doesnt do a ton of really cold water diving, so it hasnt been tested in 35deg temps, but he has not had freeflow issues. I have heard that they breathe well.
We were not a dealer of Mares, but did happen to pick one up when we closed down the store down south....its a V32 Proton Metal....i dont have a box for it but do have the mares display for it.. ;D...if there is interest, i could sell if for a heck of a price...listed at 575.00..PM me if intersted