If you are struggling to breath on a reg, regardless of the bells and whistles it has, it is most likely that the last person to service your regs was asleep when it came time to setting the IP and cracking effort. Take it back to the service centre and ask them to put it on a Magnehelic and demonstrate the cracking effort to you. A well tuned second stage will open with < 1inch of effort. I agree changing hoses, bite blocks and adding a swivel will help but the fundamentals don't change, and reg will have a good mouth feel if the cracking effort is tuned correctly.
I agree. The reg wasn't designed by the manufacturer to breathe hard. Many today are adjustable so you can fine tune yours to your comfort level. Dive shop service centers are instructed by the manufacturers to service the regulator to factory specs. Unless you want something customer tuned that is the way it will be returned to you. Thanks for watching. Freddy
The mouthpiece you showed that was difficult to see the feature was a "Comfo bite" type. It has a piece of silicon strip, or rubber, across the upper area and acts like a retainer would. You could literally not bit down hard and have the reg stay in your mouth. I've used them for 30 years and won't use anything else because they are best, in my opinion, at not causing jaw fatigue.
I would agree for many but there is a large percentage of people that cannot use them as they initiate the gag reflex. I personally think the moldable is the way to go but I know it costs more. That way it is a custom fit for your mouth and teeth. No effort to hold them in as they almost suck to your teeth. Thanks for adding another perspective for something that does work well. Freddy
@@LeviathanScuba, Interesting. I never heard anyone say the Comfo-bite caused their Gag reflex to happen. I don't think a Comfo-bite goes that far back in the mouth and into the throat area to cause a Gag reflex reaction. But again, to each their own.
Careful with the statement that almost all mouthpieces fit universally. Two of the major manufacturers: ScubaPro and Aqualung/Apeks, have different sizes and are not interchangeable.
If you are struggling to breath on a reg, regardless of the bells and whistles it has, it is most likely that the last person to service your regs was asleep when it came time to setting the IP and cracking effort. Take it back to the service centre and ask them to put it on a Magnehelic and demonstrate the cracking effort to you. A well tuned second stage will open with < 1inch of effort. I agree changing hoses, bite blocks and adding a swivel will help but the fundamentals don't change, and reg will have a good mouth feel if the cracking effort is tuned correctly.
I agree. The reg wasn't designed by the manufacturer to breathe hard. Many today are adjustable so you can fine tune yours to your comfort level. Dive shop service centers are instructed by the manufacturers to service the regulator to factory specs. Unless you want something customer tuned that is the way it will be returned to you. Thanks for watching. Freddy
Thanks for the tip about the moldable mouthpiece! 😊
Yep yep yep. They can be a game changer. Especially if our dental work changes. Thanks for watching. More to come soon. Freddy
The mouthpiece you showed that was difficult to see the feature was a "Comfo bite" type. It has a piece of silicon strip, or rubber, across the upper area and acts like a retainer would. You could literally not bit down hard and have the reg stay in your mouth. I've used them for 30 years and won't use anything else because they are best, in my opinion, at not causing jaw fatigue.
I would agree for many but there is a large percentage of people that cannot use them as they initiate the gag reflex. I personally think the moldable is the way to go but I know it costs more. That way it is a custom fit for your mouth and teeth. No effort to hold them in as they almost suck to your teeth. Thanks for adding another perspective for something that does work well. Freddy
@@LeviathanScuba,
Interesting. I never heard anyone say the Comfo-bite caused their Gag reflex to happen. I don't think a Comfo-bite goes that far back in the mouth and into the throat area to cause a Gag reflex reaction.
But again, to each their own.
Great tips. thanks!
Glad to help, thanks for watching. Freddy
Careful with the statement that almost all mouthpieces fit universally.
Two of the major manufacturers: ScubaPro and Aqualung/Apeks, have different sizes and are not interchangeable.
I believe I mentioned them. Their BC hoses are proprietary as well. Thanks for watching, more to come soon. Freddy