£369.95
With the cold-water issue addressed, Mares has turned its attention to reducing the weight of its mainstream regulator, the Abyss, and has launched the Abyss 42.
Both first and second stages have been put on strict diets, resulting in one of the smallest demands on the market: it even rivals titanium valves for lightness.
Mares has used its patented Tri-material technology - a combination of brass, soft polyurethane and heavy-duty polyurethane - thus using the minimum of materials rather than over-designing it.
The new first stage also uses Mares' Dynamic Flow Control (DFC) system, which is geared to minimise the intermediate pressure drop during inhalation so that the regulator remains easy to breathe through in a stressed situation at depth. Mares says that this also makes it possible to use simpler and more reliable second stages. Thus, its regulators - the Abyss 42's second stage included - do not have any type of manual adjustment.
The body of the second stage is made entirely from anti-corrosion nickel and chrome-plated brass - a make-up that is designed to limit the drop in air temperature as it expands when used
in cold water, which can lead to the formation of ice crystals and small air leaks, resulting in free-flow. The metal construction allows the water to heat the air inside the second stage - whether warm or cold, the water is still warmer than the air expanding inside the second stage. According to Mares, it also means that your mouth doesn't get quite so dry, as the condensation on the inner walls of the metal second stage moisturises your breath.
After a couple of months' diving with the Abyss 42, I can't vouch for this latter feature - but I can report that it's a delight
to use. The breathing effort required is minimal, and the Abyss excelled when I needed more gas than normal. One criticism
of small second stages can be that the purge button is not large enough, but this one is easy to get to, even when wearing 5mm gloves. I opted to have the Jax mouldable mouthpiece fitted, which meant that even after several days of use in the water,
I had no hint of jaw-ache.
Approaching a price of £400, the Abyss 42 is a touch on
the expensive side - but given what you get for your money,
it's pretty good value.
DIVE says…
Pricey but advanced regulator
Value 8
Performance 9
Contact
Mares • 01539 724740 • www.mares.com
