This weekend I made my 1st dive with the RAM I purchased recently from Brian. I also took along a new mistral from my LDS. The store owner asked if I’d like to try it since I was interested in double hose regs. I said sure I’d try it but I wasn’t interested in buying it. He said that was fine.
My buddy & I drove up to Mermet Springs in Southern IL. It was my 1st trip there, and I thought it would be a good place to test my new reg.
I made the 1st dive of the trip using the new mistral. We descended to a platform at 15ft. I immediately noticed that the breathing was more labored than my Snark. I thought that I must not have turned on my air all the way, even though I was sure that it was. I had my buddy check (twice), and he indicated it was on all the way. I couldn’t believe how difficult it was to breath. I assumed it was the orientation on my tank. All the gear on this dive was modern, and my tank was higher than ideal. Even though it was hard to breath, we proceeded with the dive. Several times I turned my head a certain way, and received a mouth full of water when I inhaled. I constantly had to clear the reg. Needless to say, it was not my best dive experience. Anyway, after a short 25-minute dive (it seemed much longer), I’d had enough, and we came up. I put up the mistral for the rest of the trip.
I later dove the RAM. It was absolutely fabulous compared to the modern mistral. It was much easier to breath, and was completely dry throughout the dive. The tank orientation was the same as when I dove the mistral, so the difference was only in the regulators. I can’t wait to put a nozzle on the RAM.
So in conclusion I would give the following ratings:
RAM a 9 (it will be a 10 when I get a nozzle
modern mistral a 2 (1 for each hose).