Time to Test

On a sun-splashed Southern California morning last April the ScubaLab test team, aboard Body Glove’s dive boat Disappearance, skirted the eastern coastline of Santa Monica Bay, headed for the rocky cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Skipper Bob Meistrell eased his 64-foot vessel into a quiet spot on the edge of a massive kelp bed and dropped anchor on a sandy bottom in 40 feet of green water. The test team, comprised of six divers and one test coordinator, got ready to hit the water with this year’s new crop of regulators. There were 14 in all, running the gamut from economy to money’s-no-object. This was judgment day — the final of three test stages — and we couldn’t have asked for a better one. When all was said and done, we found what we were looking for — the year’s best breathers.

Cressi Ellipse Ti/MC-9

Features

This is the second-lightest reg in this year’s shootout. Its mini first stage allows for an increase of the intermediate pressure at maximum depth and/or minimum tank pressure. The second stage sports an elliptical shape and is made of technopolymers and titanium parts. This reg showed its best stuff on the breathing machine at the RMV/depth level representing recreational diving. Getting past that was more challenging, and it didn’t reach the final test level. In the ocean, it breathed smoothly in the swimming position and stayed dry, but otherwise performance was average. Divers also found the dive/predive switch offered less control in free-flows.

Specifications

Bottom Line

With the exception of a stiff purge, this really is a nice system for recreational divers — compact, durable and light for travel.