If you dive in tropical waters and travel a lot, it makes no sense to buy dive gear that’s heavy or designed for more challenging, harsh environmental conditions.

Lightweight regulators are a favorite of scuba divers because they’re not only easy to pack, they’re easy on the jaw.

When you walk into the dive store, ready to buy your first or new scuba reg, it’s important to be educated about this crucial piece of life-support equipment. Here are our best tips for getting the best reg in your budget range:

What to Look For

High performance. The best regulators can deliver a high volume of air at depth, under heavy exertion even at low tank pressures.

Ease of use. Is the purge button stiff or easy to depress? Is the Venturi lever easy to adjust and operate? Is the breathing adjustment knob easy to operate? On the first stage, are there enough ports to offer flexible hose-routing options?

Comfort. Look for a comfortable mouthpiece and have your local dive store select hoses of the right length for you.

Real-world experience. If possible, try as many regulators as you can in real-world diving situations. Breathing on a regulator in a dive store tells you nothing about how it will perform underwater. For example, you’ll want to check its ease of breathing in all swimming positions and ease of clearing using the blowing method and the purge button.

A reg like Cressi’s AC10V / Master Cromo will turn heads with its smart, sleek styling, but dig a little deeper into its design to discover why it’s the perfect travel reg for warm-water diving.

It has all the features you should look for in purchasing a comfortable, travel-friendly regulator: On the Master Cromo second stage, a trim, eliiptical design profile, a large, soft, easy-touch purge cover, a Venturi switch that’s well marked and located where it’s easy to reach and operate, and a mouthpiece that causes no discomfort or jaw strain. The AC10V first stage provides consistent air delivery, multiple hose-routing options and a well-made, durable design that protects the internal parts. And the AC10V / Master Cromo offers all this at an incredibly light weight — the second stage (without the hose) weighs only 7.3 oz (207 gr) and the first stage weighs just over 32 oz (914.3 gr).

The AC10V / Master Cromo meets the requirements of the latest European regulation EN 250:2014 and is certified for use in warm water.

For more info: Visit Cressi's website to discover the difference. Get the best. Get Cressi.