The most durable regulator?

[Sharky1973]

If your life depended on reliability, and for warm weather diving - which regulator would you recommend?

[Red sea shark]

MARES Abyss,this is IMHO the most bulletproof regulator out there. You have your choice of first stages, either the tried and true MR22 or the newer lighter (yet just as rugged) MR42.

These have been a cornerstone of the Mares line for years. Because they are diaphragm regulators they don't allow water into the 1st stage for IP adjustment. Therefore, they can go much longer in between servicing. While you will need a few more tools to rebuild it it is a workhorse! Parts are extremely easy to find as unlike a few of the above these are still in production.

[Helena1982]

1) Aqua Master...I have seen some 40 year old, that has never been serviced working as good as new...and they were not clean either.

2) Royal Aqua Master

For single hose:

1) Conshelf

2) Scubapro Mk-5 with 109

Sherwood's seem fairly rugged , but we will really know 30 to 40 years from now. I know the regulators mentioned above will be around in another 30+ years, some will be re-chromed...you can't do that with plastic.

[Pirate1987]

I would take the original Mistral over the Aqua Master as there is just about nothing to fail (4 moving parts and one O-ring and it is not even presurized), but it is a 50 year old two hose design, so it may not be for everyone.
The most durable single hose regs seem to the US Divers/Aqua Lung Conshelf series and Conshelf XIV can be got on ebay for only a few dollars and the internal parts are still used in most of the new or modern Aqua Lung designs. Look for one with a metal second stage, get it tuned correctly and it holds it own with all the new regs and you will still be able to dive it in 20 years.

[Dragonfire]

Any of the metal second stages with down stream valves are almost indestructible as long as you treat them with a little care. Most of the parts are interchangeable and the LP seats can be home made. The diaphragms are the part that may give you problems in the distant future.
The Sherwood regs have a couple of flaws that can be somewhat of a pain. The air bleed in the first stages can clog up requiring the piston to be replaced. It will not prevent the reg from working; it just stops the airbleed dry system from working which means you will have to clean the reg more often. The plastic seconds had a cracking problem around the inlet hose connection.
For first stages I think would add the Scubapro MK-2 to the list. Simple, very few parts and easy to repair.
The only parts "difficult" to find in either the MK-2 and the Sherwoods are the HP seats and these can be turned over and reused (once ) the rest of the parts are common Orings. Often times the LP seats can be turned over as well.
So if it were me, a MK-2 or SW first stage and a couple of metal seconds with a spare parts kit of Orings, HP seats (the most important part), some second LP seats and a diaphragm or 2. Both of these first stages can be serviced with a large adjustable wrench and a Oring pick....oh and a 2 inch finishing nail.

[Red sea shark]

Aqualung Conshelf,
Scuba pro Mk11/R395,
Sherwood Oasis,
Aqualung titan.
All of these regs are top notch easy on the wallet Regs.

[John deep]

The only difference between the Aqua Master and the Royal Aqua Master is that the Royal has a balanced first stage. The first stage can be replace and convert one into the other. The new Phoenix first stage converts either into a Royal Aqua Master with the addition of LP and HP pressure ports.

[BigBen]

If you are interested on diving it with a pressure gauge, BC inflator, and octopus, I would recommend getting an Aqua Master and converting it to a Phoenix Royal Aqua Master. The Aqua Master’s go for a lot less money that the Royals and if you are going to replace the firsts stage anyway, it doesn’t make any sense to spend the extra money.

As a DIY, I truly believe that you would have fun playing and diving a double hose. They are easy and fun to service and diving them is also a great experience. Now that we have plenty of parts for them, I have a hard time going back to using one of my many single hose regulators.

All the internal parts for the Royal Aqua Master are the same as in most Aqua Lung regulators (Conshelf, Titan, and even the newest Mikron), so parts availability will not be an issue long after most newer regulator will be recycled into plastic soda bottles.

The reproduction silicon hoses, diaphragms, mouthpiece valves, and duckbill exhaust valves will also last several decades without deterioration with minimal care (don’t let your cat chew on your new silicon hoses)… not that the old ones didn’t do well for 4 decades…only the duckbills used to be a real issue in the past.

[Mako]

The choice of brand is always a personal thing and you will find fanatics for every brand and also negative remaks for most of them.
Mako

[Mako]

My choice for the most durable regulator would be definitely Sherwood. For warm watter definitely the Oasis, it's the first and simplest regulator designed to reduce dry mouth and throat. The Oasis features two special second-stage moisture-retention fins to keep your mouth cool and comfortable throughout your dive.
I base this choice not only on comfort!
This regulator is really durable I use one since many years and even some years I did not service it and never had a single problem. Of course always service it!! Now that I learned how to service it and also others I realize how easy it is to service it in comparison to other regulators.
The most durable regulator ? It's possible if I see what my Sherwood had to endure in the last 3000 dives I did with it
Mako