Review: MK17 G250V

G250V and MK 17 set:

Pros: Adjustable, Comfortable, Effortless Breathing, Nitrox Compatible to 40%, 02 Kit available

Cons: Short Hose, Odd Mouth Piece, G250V is BIG

Best: Cold Water, Manifolded Doubles, 2 HP port on opposite sides

A balanced diaphragm first stage the MK17 delivers everything I would expect from an environmentally sealed diaphragm design. Set-up properly its is easy breathing and there is no noticeable increase in work of breathing with reduced tank pressure. The DIN fitting is good quality and my only complaint would be the rubber ''dust caps'' that are provided instead of actually din caps. I don't like them but they are not enough of a bother to throw them away. The benefit of a screw-on cap would be the ability to drop the regs in the rinse tank with the rest of my gear. Instead I have to rinse and hang them up to dry.

With all the ports available on the 17 its a great candidate for doubles (my intended purpose). Tech divers route the hoses so that the first stage is horizontal and all the hoses extend from the ''bottom'' of the horizontally oriented 1st stage. I hve tried this and think its a pretty smooth setup whcih allows easy access to the knobs while preforming valve drills.

Another added benefit of the MK 17 is that you can adjust the IP from the outside. This is nice if you use the reg with various second stages (like for instance one for a deco bottle and another for rec diving). Scuba-pro makes it clear on their site that this is intended for ''Official SP Service tec use only'' 

One of the more interesting features is the High flow ports on the regs. Theses are two of the LP ports that have been enlarged to provide for better flow. Its an interesting concept that has been around for several years and is pretty successful. US divers used a similar system on their Cousteau SEA 4's that were sold in the early 90's. 

As for the G250v I am slightly disappointed. Based on its size and long history I expected a better breathing reg. I feel like there is much hype around this classic design and I understand why ScubaPro has pulled it from its lineup. (looked like it was going to SubGear, also a Johnson outdoors company) On the positive side of things I can say that the G250V does benefit from the metal barrel which seems to help with the moisture of the air but this also adds to its bulk which surprising doesn't yield benefits of bubble diffusion. A 2nd stage of this size I would expect performance like that of the Zeagle ZX, with its easy breathing and venting bubbles away from the face. 

Overall I am left with the feeling that these are nice regs. Of the two I bought one needed adjustment out of the box. Not a big deal but ScubaPro shouldn't make these kind of mistakes for the price. Otherwise diving them all winter has been uneventful and no freeze-up. 

Nice high flow reg! www.Scubapro.com