Scubapro have recently relaunched the G250 with a rebadged V version to take over from the G250Hp. Many divers had stated that they preferred the metal barrel inside the original G250 rather than the plastic Hp version- hence the reason why Scubapro haven chosen to relaunch this model.
Having recently acquired the G250V I though that it would be a good idea to test it. Following a brief try out in the pool, I took it on an easy dive to 42m at Chepstow and it performed really well and no problems were encountered. The G250v is quite light in the mouth and is fitted with a quality mouthpiece that prevents jaw ache. After a 30min dive I felt no discomfort and would happily of carried on further with the dive. On my deco stop then swapping over from 28/25 trimix to 50% then I couldn’t really detect much difference between the G250v and the Hp, the actual design difference between the two is that slight.
I having been diving with the Hp for quite a while and use it on several of my stage bottles, so have probably grown used to it. The one advantage that the V seems to have it that one does not suffer the dryness of mouth that is sometimes found on the Hp. Whether the G250v is actually any better than the Hp is open to debate- the components and design are very similar. The revised styling looks very good and certainly it seems a substantial regulator.
So in summary the new G250V is an impressive regulator, as one would expect from Scubapro and it seems to be well built and able to supply gas comfortably over a range of depths. The controls are slick and the regulator sits nicely in the mouth with the new scubapro mouthpiece being a standard fitting.
I use mine on my twinset with the G250v on the primary long hose and an R190 as backup, some divers will argue that you should have two high performance reg’s on your backgas set up, however this can lead to problems of sensitivity and freeflows, in strong currents or when in cold water and whilst high performance balanced regs can be detuned in my view it is better to stick with a non-balanced backup such as the R190 as it has proven to be totally reliable over the years. G250Hp’s are on my stage bottles as I like to switch over to a high performance regulator when switching over to deco gas. All my first stages are MK25’s, with the exception of my pool reg that is a Mk2. I have tried other regulators but few regulators can match the design and hose routing of the MK25 for both single cylinders and twinsets.
When coupled with a MK25 then the G250V would make an excellent choice as a primary regulator for both the recreational and technical diver.