MIKE WARD does the honours as a new Apeks regulator hoves into view – and for the rest, it’s all a matter of shedding light, with new products from Mares and Weefine
APEKS AND REGULATORS ARE SYNONYMOUS as far as many British divers are concerned, a bit like Hoovers and vacuum-cleaners, although wetter. When it comes to technical diving, Apeks almost seems to have made the niche its own.
The instructor on my first technical course loftily informed me that I would be using what he considered to be the finest regs available for technical diving, Apeks, and not the hugely second-rate non-Apeks stuff with which I had arrived. He didn’t actually say that second bit out loud, of course, but it was obvious what he was thinking.
As it turned out, the Apeks regs I used were grand performers and I’d have been quite happy to have owned them, although in all honesty I didn’t think they were any better than my own regs, but then I’m not a test machine, and assessing work of breathing is notoriously difficult without one.
With a reputation like that, the weight of expectation heaped on any new product is enormous, and the brand-spanking-new XL4 has a lot to live up to.
Apeks is not being shy about it, and describes its new regulator as being ideal for cold- or warmwater use, as well as perfect for technical divers intent on keeping the weight of their kit down. That covers pretty much all the bases, as far as I can see.
Apeks sent me its XL4 in Stage 3 kit form for review. This consists of the XL4 DIN fitting first stage plus an XL4 second stage in black and an octopus XL4 second stage in yellow.
You can buy the XL4 with a single second stage or as a Stage 4 kit, which also includes a contents gauge. An A-clamp/yoke fitting version is available.
Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av Diver.
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Denne historien er fra January 2018-utgaven av Diver.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Appointment with Dr Anemone
It seems that marine-life could hold the key to improving many aspects of human health. Which is fine as long as the creatures we dive to see don’t have to be sacrificed in the process, says LISA COLLINS. They might not have to be
The Wreck Of The Zenobia: Disneyland For Divers
The Zenobia is one of those wrecks most divers have heard of, even if they haven’t dived it, but what is that makes some return to Cyprus year after year to revisit the site? DAVID BAKER, Chairman of Richmond Sub Aqua Club, has been asking around
Well And Truly Tested
MIKE WARD does the honours as a new Apeks regulator hoves into view – and for the rest, it’s all a matter of shedding light, with new products from Mares and Weefine
Man Jailed For First- Time Diver's Lake Death
THE OWNER OF A WELSH online company that sold golf balls retrieved from lakes has been jailed for 32 months for manslaughter, following the diving death of an employee.
God's Pocket
This coldwater Pacific classic can create dilemmas for photographers, says MARK B HATTER, torn between tiny rockfish and huge ‘GPOs’ in British Columbia.
In The Glassy Ripples
Tonga is a place of myths and traditions, and until 1978 whales were welcomed there only as food. Now things have taken a very different turn, as JENNY STOCK, only slightly hampered by her wetsuit, relates.
Baby Diver
Father-to-be HENLEY SPIERS decided that he needed a better understanding of diving and pregnancy.
Sumbawa
It’s alway good to feel that you might be ahead of the pack – we often hear about Bali and Lombok on one hand, and Komodo and Flores on the other, but what lies in between? JOHN LIDDIARD finds out.
Nudi GB
When you get your eye in you realise that colourful sea-slugs are not confined to the tropics – southeastern Scotland, for example, can also be a happy hunting-ground for macro enthusiasts. RICHARD ASPINALL drops into the Scottish Nudibranch Festival
Early Learning With Alligators-That's So Sick
The arrival of children can change divers’ lives – you don’t know if they will share your passion as they grow up or – inadvertently – stifle yours. So CHARLIE OLDFIELD went through a range of emotions when son Dylan announced that he wanted to dive…
