Gear Review: Poseidon X-Stream RegulatorEvery once in a while a product hits the market that sets the bar, I mean something really profound. Like when Motorola came out with the “flip phone” replacing the giant square block 2 lb cell phone, or when fuel injection came out on cars. That’s a great example to parody the X-Stream regulators impact on diving because after breathing off the newest Poseidon you may not want to go back to your carburetor. While taking my Poseidon technician course I learned some interesting facts about this regulator: facts bolstered by other manufacturers (we’ll come back to that one). At the time of that course in January of 2005 there were only two regulators on the market that were certified by EN (Europe Nationale) to dive beyond 250 feet, in fact most regulators are only tested to 198 feet. Those two regulators are the Poseidon X-Stream and the Scuba Pro D400, but the later has not been in production since 2003. Scuba Pro was rumored to be building another “A” class reg to compete but since Scuba Pro will not be appearing at the DEMA trade show again this year I won’t be able to ask them about it. There are several different classes of regulators and several different intermediate pressure setting configurations. These include balanced, unbalanced, overbalanced… and then there’s the X-Stream. As tank pressure drops, the unbalanced regulator will become harder to breath from, the balanced regulator will continue to breathe nicely for most of the dive until pressure drops below about 1500 PSI. The over balanced regulators Intermediate pressure will actually go up during the mid section of the dive, while there is one reg out there that continues to breathe perfectly from start to finish (or about 12 psi). Steve Blume from TUSA Tabata was doing his reg seminar at last years DEMA when he showed this example, and while I knew which reg he was talking about I raised my hand and asked him to tell us, with a smirk he said “the X-Stream”. There is a reason that many technical divers these days are diving the Poseidon. Even if you don’t plan on tri-mix diving to beyond X-Stream’s 665 foot test limit it’s nice to know it has been through the most intense testing; period. This leads me to my next point: manufacturing. The regulator is over manufactured like everything else Poseidon makes: the stuff is quality. Here’s an example: the adjustment pin inside the servo operated second stage has a set screw that tightens down on the pin shaft to stop it from falling out of adjustment. Now that would leave minute scratches on the pin shaft, scratches that would do nothing really except look bad, and the only person to ever see them including the owner would be the repair tech. Now if you’re a adjustment pin builder on the X-Stream assembly line your not going to let some swine in the set screw part of the factory (clearly a lesser position ) ruin your perfectly shiny pin. So they add a 2 mm diameter disc of wax under each set screw. Here’s an even better one: also on the second stage assembly are 78 holes on the servo base that the air comes through from the first stage at every breath. Any 2 of those holes added together have exactly the diameter of most “B” class second stage orifice’s (Zeagle, Scuba Pro, Aqualung, Atomic, Oceanic ect). Now consider how smooth and easy the air enters the second stage when its allowed to enter through 78 equal holes around that base. The second stage even has its own air filter and will still breathe effortlessly when your lying on your back looking up from the depths, when most conventional regs fill your mouth with water. Why would you do that? Ask your self again when your in the Galapagos under a school of 200 hammerheads. The X-Stream comes in four configurations: Dive (grey): Duration (nitrox green), Deep (black), and Deco (white), all with o-rings and lubricants to suit each one’s purpose. The Deco model has viton, the Duration has EPDM (ethenyl propelyn deine monomer)… and I’m pretty sure I spelled at least one of those words wrong. X-Stream retails at $1095.99 and is not cheap but a bargain if you consider some of the regulators posing as competition. Take Atomic titanium for example. At nearly $1700, I don’t care if the sales man says he can throw it in the ocean for tens years, recover it and boast zero corrosion. He can go ahead and do that, not me I’m going diving. And besides, responsible divers have their regs cleaned and serviced every year anyway right!! And if I have not given you enough reason to try one, consider the fact that Poseidon has the very coolest logo and various outdoor clothing including toques and bomber jackets to match. “Breathe Continuously” Dan Sidney Dive n Surf
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