Frequently Answered Questions - FAQ

It is difficult to give you a meaningful answer regarding breathing performance of ANY of the primary regulators we sell, including our own DGX Gears brand, in relation to other specific brands or models we don't sell. However, perhaps we can put the performance issue in perspective: In reality, any modern balanced general purpose scuba regulator, designed to perform to EN 250 standards and properly maintained, is capable of delivering gas more than adequate for the needs of two sport divers (primary plus an octo). That's not to say there aren't poorly performing sport regulators in the market, but you can't buy them at Dive Gear Express.

There is no perfect regulator; they all have strengths and weaknesses that make each uniquely more or less suited to your needs. Keep in mind that a big brand name and high price are factors that rarely equate to better performance or better value. When choosing regulators at Dive Gear Express, make your decisions based on considerations that are less about "performance" and more about matching the regulator to the diving application. For example, an extreme exposure (i.e. deep and cold) technical diving regulator is a poor choice for shallow tropical sport diving. Beyond the features of the regulator itself, you should consider the supplier along with how the model was designed and has been supported. As an independent servicing dealer, we stock complete regulator packages, components and parts with online ordering and same day shipping.

With one exception, all the diaphragm regulators we sell are environmentally sealed, including the DGX Gears D6, Dive Rite XT1, Mares 28XR, and Apeks XTX series (DS4, TEK3, DST, FSR) first stages. The Poseidon Xstream is a unique balanced rolling diaphragm ball valve design that is not environmentally sealed because it relies upon a built in thermo-dynamic anti-freeze system to remain ice free.

Piston regulators are not typically described as environmentally sealed in the conventional sense because the internals are protected by other methods inherent in their design. The DGX Gears XTRA & FIRST, Dive Rite RG5400, and Mares R2XR are piston first stages.

The need for sealing a first stage is not relevant to most types of diving, for more information read our TekTip titled Environmentally Sealing SCUBA Regulators.

Today, almost all SCUBA products are an amalgamation of materials and labor from places all around the world. The potentially misleading "Made in ..." statements often only indicate the country of final assembly or sometimes just where it was packaged. For a retail merchant like Dive Gear Express, it's essentially impossible to have a complete understanding of where most of our goods were actually made. The short answer is that many but not all of our generic and DGX Gears branded SCUBA products are imported from Asia, typically Taiwan. Even that answer is dynamic as recent geo-political concerns and supply chain logistics issues have been causing changes in our selection of vendors and their upstream suppliers.

The longer answer is that, as a result of globalized supply chains and industrial clustering, very little diving equipment is entirely made in the United States. Consider something as ordinary as a rubber regulator hose: The raw hose stock itself is manufactured in Ohio with "Made in the USA" proudly imprinted along the length of the hose, but the rubber jacket on the hose came from the Southeast-Asia region and the thermoplastic liner came from the Asia-Pacific region. The chromed brass fittings and oxygen compatible O-rings were manufactured in mainland China. The coil of raw hose was exported to Taiwan, where it was cut to length and the fittings were swaged on and then the finished hose exported to Italy. The hose was then assembled with a SCUBA regulator containing a variety of parts from all over Europe, where the product also received quality control testing and packaging. The finished regulator package is finally exported to a California warehouse to later be sold on to divers under the famous brand of a publicly owned US headquartered multi-national outdoor products company. Yet, holding the regulator in your hand all you might see is a brand logo on the stages and "Made in the USA" on the hose.

Regardless, part of the Dive Gear Express mission is to provide premium quality scuba diving equipment with favorable prices and we are constantly adjusting our global supply chain to deliver on that mission.

The DGX Gears XTRA is not manufactured or supplied by ScubaPro. The DGX Gears D6 is not manufactured or supplied by Apeks. Although their designs may appear similar, the DGX Gears regulator periodic service parts kits are not compatible with ScubaPro or Apeks.

The DGX Gears regulators appeal to the same target demographic of the diver looking for a top-shelf performance regulator. Like the ScubaPro, the DGX Gears XTRA has a balanced piston type first stage with a balanced diaphragm downstream type second stage. Like the Apeks, the DGX Gears D6 has a balanced diaphragm type first stage with a balanced diaphragm downstream type second stage. The DGX Gears regulators are priced a third less than comparable top-shelf regulators making them an excellent value.

Further, Dive Gear Express believes the consumer has the "right-to-repair" and our policy is to make all DGX Gears regulator service parts and kits individually available for purchase without restriction, along with the complete service manuals plus educational maintenance videos published on our website.

The short answer is "yes". The FIRST regulator is a classic downstream balanced piston design 1st stage that is popular for reliability and minimal maintenance in dive shop rental fleets. This inexpensive first stage provides good performance for its design class and we have no concerns using the FIRST regulator for recreational sport SCUBA diving depth applications. However, we do not recommend the FIRST for breathing use in extended range depths or in very cold waters.

Any competent service tech will have no issues with service of the DGX Gears regulator models. Our suggested service interval for all DGX Gears regulators is every two years or one hundred dives. There is nothing unique about DGX Gears regulators in terms of service requirements and needs no special equipment beyond that found on the typical regulator technician bench. We believe our customers also have the right-to-repair, so we publish detailed service manuals and we sell without restriction all service parts and periodic service kits for the DGX Gears brand regulators. See Product Attachments tab for service manuals and service parts kit schematic diagrams in the links below as well as the appropriate YouTube videos for do-it-yourself. ​

DGX Gears XTRA Service Parts Kits
DGX Gears D6 Service Parts Kits
DGX Gears FIRST Service Parts Kit
DGX Gears BCI Service Parts Kit

If you prefer, you may also send your DGX Gears brand regulators in for service or repair at our DGX Service Department located on the east coast in Florida or Pacific Scuba Repair located on the west coast in California. Dive Gear Express only services brands and models we sell: Apeks, DGX Gears, Dive Rite, Mares XR, and Poseidon. If you have other brands you would like serviced at the same time then Pacific Scuba Repair also services our brands plus many other brands such as Apeks (full line), Aqualung, HOG, Hollis, Mares (full line), Oceanic, OMS, and ScubaPro.

Dive Gear Express has no requirement for DGX Gears specific certification because any professional technician will have no issues with service of the DGX Gears regulators. We publish freely available DGX Gears regulator service manuals and videos produced for use by all competent individuals who understand the concepts of SCUBA maintenance and repair. We sell without restriction all service parts and periodic service kits for the DGX Gears brand regulators.

Dive Gear Express recommends that non-qualified individuals seek professional training/mentoring before attempting repairs or servicing on any diving equipment. Some independent instructors who are familiar with servicing DGX Gears brand regulators and who periodically offer regulator service educational seminars are Robert Singler, and Glynn Palmer.

YES! Dive Gear Express offers regulator service on all models we currently sell. Dive Gear Express is an authorized service center for Apeks, Dive Rite, Mares XR, and Poseidon regulators. We of course also provide service for our house brand DGX Gears regulators. For all the details visit SCUBA Regulator Maintenance Service at Dive Gear Express.

For regulator brands that we are not certified to service, we recommend using a factory authorized service center nearest you. Three long established U.S. based companies that specialize in factory authorized regulator service for most brands are Airtech in North Carolina, RegTech in Wisconsin, and Pacific Scuba Repair in California.

The only difference between our unbranded SPG "brass & glass" models and similar branded SPG models is the logo and price; any SPG will work on any regulator regardless of brand and they are all manufactured by Termo Industra of Italy with equal quality construction. Our unbranded generic SPG models have a lower retail price as a result of being sourced directly from the manufacturer. Our long experience with the unbranded and branded "brass & glass" SPG models has been they all have similar reliability and durability in the field. Regardless of brand, every product we sell is backed by Dive Gear Express 5-star quality customer service. For more information see our TekTips titled SPG Depth Ratings and Inside Submersible Pressure Gauges.

The DGX and Dive Rite inflation regulators are both compact ultra-reliable piston designs but differ significantly in performance and size of their first stages. The Dive Rite inflation package has an exceptionally compact unbalanced first stage, but only two LP ports. The DGX inflation package has a balanced first stage with a value price and three LP ports, featuring better performance that makes it appropriate for breathing applications as well as inflation. The Dive Rite package includes a {30 in | 76 cm} long rubber drysuit hose and the DGX package includes a braided flex hose in a choice of length that features our EZ-ON quick disconnect. The DGX package also includes a small pressure gauge.

The only significant difference is the branding and price; any DIN-to-Yoke adapter will reliably work on any DIN regulator regardless of brand. The designs differ a little but they are all of equal quality chromed brass construction. The generic value priced DGX adapters are available in your choice of black or silver color, and features a nice sized handwheel which makes it easy-grip to install and remove from the valve.