When I started my Pro-Diving Career, I was not very savvy about the pros and cons of different regulators. So I took the advice of my mentor and what I got was the much praised SR1 from Sherwood Scuba. I love it and I still dive it today, 7 years later… Since then, I’ve done my research and I’ve tested out numerous regulators and I keep coming back to my SR1. A lightweight, easy breathing regulator, it has been very good to me, even when I haven’t been real good to it. But after seven years, I should keep up with the latest and greatest.
So, I am now thinking of a replacement, and thankfully Sherwood hasn’t just sat back enjoying the success of the SR1 but has kept up the momentum and produced a successor, the aptly named SR2.
I took the regulator with me on a diving trip to Grand Bahamas, going from shallow reefs to deep wrecks. The SR2 has a work of breathing performance of 0.5 joules/liter at 165 fsw with an RMV of 62.5. (These figures could be written in Latin as far as I’m concerned, because, bottom-line, all I’m interested in is how this regulator performs under proper diving conditions.)
After initially playing with the BRA control and very quickly finding the optimal setting for my own breathing style, this regulator provided one of, if not, the smoothest and easiest breathing experiences I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying under water.
The purge was both easy use and easy to locate and depress. It gave a really progressive delivery of gas, clearing any unwanted sea water from the mouthpiece with ease and it did it without giving me the chipmunk cheeks or rattling my tonsils. The mouthpiece is small and combined with the lightweight first stage, caused not strain at all on my jaw muscles. This added to the already impressive comfort level. The exhaust ports are fixes and narrow but sent the bubbles away from my face.
If you are looking for a regulator that will take you anywhere…. you found it. The SR2 is the first recommendation I give any customer who wants quality and comfort!
I received my new Vision Computer a month ago and have logged 17 dives. 13 of those divers were on vacations in the Caribbean with Scuba St. Lucia.
"User Friendly" is an understatement whether instructing students or enjoying fun dives with this computer. Underwater it was east to bring up time, depth, temperature, air/dive time remaining information with the touch of a button.
I was especially impressed with the safety stop function counting down not only the minutes but the seconds. I got a kick out of seeing the reaction on my dive buddies's face when I showed off the Vision's safety stop display. It was awesome! The Vision is so compact and easy to read underwater.
I love my Seco boots. I did a pond dive this weekend and the water from my wetsuit had flowed right into my boots. I didn't have to worry about draining the boots of the extra water being poured into as, I knew the holes in the boot would drain it out. When I picked my boots up to place them into my dive bag, I didn't have to flip them over to drain them, as they were already drained. One less thing to worry about when packing up after diving.
The Maximus has returned to the Sherwood line up with a whole new look. Those who knew it before will recognize the under arm hose that keeps entanglement to a minimum, helps eliminate jaw fatigue at permits air to be shared in a face to face position. What is new is the look of the regulator. It has a cool “muscle car” look with the exposed grill and cutouts in the diaphragm cover corners. The venturi and flow adjustments are done with one knob on the left side so the diver can “dial in” their preference and the larger diaphragm area provides easy breathing effort. Inside the second stage, the valve assembly is one that has been used one the SR2 and provide lots of air and low inhalation effort.
To read the full review in Scuba Diving Magazine click here.
Pennekamp Dive Shop is a medium-sized dive shop located in Key Largo, Florida within John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We run two dive trips every day and serve just under 5,000 divers each year.
Pennekamp Dive Shop is a Sherwood shop, using all Sherwood Brut regulators in our rental fleet which totals about 50 regulator sets. We have been using the Sherwood Brut exclusively for quite some time now and could not be any happier with it. The system is rugged, easy to service, and stands up well to the daily beating that rental equipment sometimes takes. Most importantly, our guest divers are happy with the equipment that we rent to them. They know that they are using new, well-maintained, state-of-the-art, and reliable scuba regulators. Pennekamp Dive Shop will continue to use this terrific regulator for as long as I can forecast.