u/Dread-Pirate-E

Hey everyone,
I’m currently putting together my sidemount regulator setup and I’ve narrowed it down to two options: the Apeks MTX-R series and the Dive Rite XT1/XT4 regs.

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actual long-term experience with either — or ideally both.

A few things I’m trying to understand:

Reliability over time
Ease of servicing/travel servicing
Hose routing and sidemount friendliness
Breathing performance under workload/depth
Overall build quality and durability

I’m also trying to understand the price difference with Apeks.

Is the premium mostly coming from the UK manufacturing/brand positioning, or is there a genuine performance and engineering difference that justifies the higher cost compared to Dive Rite?

Would love honest opinions from people who’ve actually put serious dives on these regs.

Hey everyone,

Looking for some advice from people with more experience on backmount setups.

For context — I just finished my Divemaster and went pretty much zero-to-hero over the last couple of months (~140 dives). I’ve really fallen in love with diving (didn’t expect it to hit this hard), and I’m now at the point where I want to invest in my own gear, but do it right and avoid buying unnecessary stuff.

I’ve already decided on my sidemount setup, but I’m still figuring out my backmount configuration.

I’m planning to run a Hogarthian setup, which is why I’m specifically looking at a stainless steel backplate + simple harness. I’m not too concerned about regs or other components right now just focusing on the plate itself.
Specifically, I’m trying to understand if there’s any real difference between stainless steel backplates from brands like Dive Rite, Apeks, HOG, Xdeep, etc.

From what I can tell, they all seem pretty similar:

Same general shape
Same material (stainless steel)
Same purpose

So my question is:

Are there actual technical differences that justify the price gaps? Or is it mostly branding, finish, and small ergonomic preferences?

Things I’m wondering about:

Plate thickness / weight differences
Edge finishing / comfort
Hole placement / compatibility
Durability / corrosion resistance
Any differences that actually matter in the water

I’ll be using it for single tank for now, but want something that can grow into doubles later.

Would really appreciate any insights — especially from people who’ve used multiple brands or dive a Hogarthian/DIR-style setup.