We know your type, the one who shirks warm tropical dive destinations or the normal summer dive season. You refer to diving in a pair of swim trunks as simply “swimming”, you have a beard and kill grizzly bears while riding a tiger and drinking beer from a iron cast stein. Yeah, you like cold water and ice diving. To the connoisseur of the dropping mercury we here at DRIS salute you! Of course, being tough is great but you still need a reliable regulator to breathe from under all of that ice right? With that in mind, fill up that triumphant stein one more time and let’s talk about cold water and ice diving regulators shall we?
Let’s take a close look at what type of regulator function is needed for a regulator to maintain it’s dependability in cold water. Of course the regulator should be a diaphragm type that is inherently less prone to “freezing up” in the open position allowing the regulator to free flow uncontrollably. Next the regulator should feature an environmental seal that keeps the inner workings of the regulator protected from the elements.
Here at DRIS, we feature a number of solid regulator set ups that include these features. New on the market is the HOG D3 Regulator Set. This regulator features better performance than the D1 in a smaller size and utilizes several of the suggestions users made on how to make the D1 even better. With the hose routing of a Piston regulator, but the durability and coldwater benefits of a diaphragm reg, the D3 is a true industry innovation!
Up next we feature the tried and true Apeks XTX50/DS4 Regulator Set. With this regulator as the diver descends the demand for air increases. To maintain the supply, the intermediate pressure increases relative to the water depth. In this dry sealed system hydrostatic pressure, acting on the outer sealing diaphragm, is transmitted to the primary diaphragm via the load transmitter. This first stage utilizes a unique over-tracking (over-balanced) diaphragm design, where the intermediate pressure supplied to the second stage increases more than traditional balanced models, as the diver descends to greater depths. The result is superior breathing performance regardless of depth.
Last but not least is the Hollis DC1-212 Regulator Set. This balanced, environmentally sealed, diaphragm regulator features unparallelled gas flow and free service kits for life! Even better this high performance over-balanced first stage provides progressively greater intermediate pressure as depth and gas density increases for superior gas delivery under the most extreme conditions. Coupled with the 212 pneumatically balanced 2nd stage, this is a set that can’t be beat!
So, if you’re that diver whose equipment list includes a chainsaw and fire pit be sure to take a close look at the regulators featured above. Also remember that the crew here at DRIS are always available to answer your cold hard questions about all equipment for ice and diving in general. Heck, we may even be inclined to join you on the lake for some chilly goodness…with or without the manly beard!