First set of Regs

[Mal Bridgeman]

Originally Posted by mikecsmith

Know anywhere I could get a decent quote on a Halcyon Eclipse full system?

Check out YD advertisers because a number of them are Halcyon dealers e.g. Brian of aquanauts

HTH
Mal

[Fiona]

Originally Posted by mikecsmith

Know anywhere I could get a decent quote on a Halcyon Eclipse full system?

I think most of the Halcyon gear is pretty much the same price where ever you go so basically pick one.

All the GUE instructors are dealers and my LDS Divelife does a decent cuppa, last week I had hardly got through the door with a twinset

[mikecsmith]

Also had someone recommend an Indigo Frog wing which sounds interesting, and cheaper which is always good for a student.

As I'm more than happy to admit I'm a complete newbie when it comes to wings but I'm interested in getting an integrated weight system of some sort in whatever buoyancy device I buy, don't trust standard weight belts had them almost fall off more than once, with the Halcyon Eclipse/Indigo Frog what options do I have for attaching weight systems directly to the harness?

How would a WTX3 + Harness compare next to a Halcyon/Frog too?

Lot of options out there and its quite confusing at first.

Mike

[Druid]

Originally Posted by mikecsmith

Also had someone recommend an Indigo Frog wing which sounds interesting, and cheaper which is always good for a student.

I've got a Frog Midnight wing, the quality is comparable to Halcyon imo

Originally Posted by mikecsmith

As I'm more than happy to admit I'm a complete newbie when it comes to wings but I'm interested in getting an integrated weight system of some sort in whatever buoyancy device I buy, don't trust standard weight belts had them almost fall off more than once, with the Halcyon Eclipse/Indigo Frog what options do I have for attaching weight systems directly to the harness?

You can use weight pockets on the waistbelt, they're expensive for what they are though. There are some Halcyon ACB for sale here.

Originally Posted by mikecsmith

How would a WTX3 + Harness compare next to a Halcyon/Frog too?

Lot of options out there and its quite confusing at first.

Mike

The Apeks WTX3 is not as well made as Frog/Halcyon kit. The material is 840 denier compared to the 1680 denier of the Frog, and it does not have a replaceable bladder. However, I've done over 100 dives in the last year with my WTX3, mostly in the sea, and it looks as good as new. Unlike the Frog or Halcyon it also has slots to allow you to thread cambands through the wing & backplate so you don't need an STA. I use mine with an aluminium OMS backplate because it's lighter and takes less of my luggage allowance, if you're going to do mostly UK diving a steel backplte is probably a better choice.

[shark_girl]

My first set of regs were actually a Oceanic FDX10 with Delta 4 2nd stage - almost identical inside as the Apeks XTX200, but a bit cheaper. Simplyscuba do the Oceanic see: Oceanic Delta 4 FDX10 in Regulators,1st and 2nd stages from Simply Scuba for £212.50, which is the best I could find on the web. I would couple this with an alpha 8 octopus see:Oceanic Alpha 8 Octopus in Regulators,Octopus from Simply Scuba, £59, and a suunto triple console from Apnea online see: https://www.apnea.co.uk/product_info...roducts_id=451, £95 (best deal on Suunto I could find).

The combinsation of these will really last you a few years into your diving life, the regs are cold water rated with a dry chamber, plus if you get them serviced every year, they come with a lifetime warranty.

Alternatively, the best price I got for the XTX200, was again on Apnea see: https://www.apnea.co.uk/product_info...roducts_id=713, for £275, get the XTX40 Octpus for £91.50 https://www.apnea.co.uk/product_info...roducts_id=147, and the suunto gauge...

In my opinion, if you're going to spend £350, the Oceanic option is far better than the XTX40 option you were originally considering, because the regs are a lot better spec. The Oceanic lot I mentioned would cost £366.50 for 1st, 2nd, octopus and triple gauge. If anything, to bring the price down a little, I would change the gauge to a double in line suunto, for only £75 instead of £95 (https://www.apnea.co.uk/product_info...roducts_id=453), which brings total to £346.50. You can always add the compass on afterwards when you need it...