MARES regs?

Question:I'm getting ready to purchase my scuba gear, and on one hand I have a friend with over 20 years dive experience telling me that Mares makes one of the best regs, yet the gentleman at the local dive shop who has 5 years experience tells me that Mares regs suck.
What about the rest of you divers?
Thanks for your input.

Answers:

Who makes autrey surfboards?

Actually, not all gear is created equal. I too have heard the rumblings about Mares this year. ( I dive Apeks now), but have owned mares and Scuba Pro up until I started Tech diving. The Mares just didn't cut it, especially in my cold water environment and ice diving was out of the question, which is the reason I switched to Scuba Pro environmentals. Mares at the time didn't have a product that could compare at the price I wanted to spend.
I agree that the dive shop will be pushing their own brand that they have the rights to, that's why it's important to shop around. Your buddy with the 20 years experience may still be diving an old set and his dives all warm water and not at all demanding.
Here's a couple links with reviews from both professional divers and feedback from people who have purchsed regs. These aren't brand specific and will give you a better overall idea of the competition out there and make an informed choice based on your own diving habits and expectations. A warm water open cert'd weekend warrior is going to have different needs than a technical ice diver.
http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/gear...
http://www.scubadiving.com/gear/regulato...
http://www.scubadiving.com/gear/regulato...

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What do you think of Rowing/Crew?

I know the dive shop here pushes oceanic gear only so the dive shop you went to maybe just tryig to sell their equipment. Get your friend to let you use his and see what you think about it.

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