Apeks have announced the release of their new extreme cold water regulators, the MTX-R range, which have been designed in accordance with the United States Navy Experimental Dive Unit (NEDU) extreme cold water test.
Apeks has been working with and designing regulators for military use for years so it is not surprising that they have taken advantage of all that research and development time to create a new cold water regulator for all divers.
The range includes the MTX-R Regulator and an Octopus which are also available as a Stage 3 Set. Every piece of the regulators have been designed for extreme cold water use. In fact the test requires the regulators to perform in near freezing water at a depth of 60m without problems.
The MTX range has also been updated to include the MTX-RC model which has all the features and specifications of the MTX-R but has been upgraded with diver adjustable venturi and inhalation controls (hence the addition of the 'C').
What does Extreme Cold Water mean?
The test that cold water regulators must pass is the EN250a which requires the regulator to descend to 50m in water temperatures of 2 to 4 degrees C for five minutes. The NEDU extreme cold water test goes well beyond this, requiring the regulator to descend to over 60m at 10m per minute in fresh water at a temperature of 0.5 degrees C (chilly!). It is then sat at 60m for 30 minutes at a constant breathing rate of 62.5 litres per minute with inspections for freeflow every 10 minutes before ascending at 18m per minute with a final freeflow inspection on the surface. A little more rigorous than EN250a!
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The Apeks MTX-R First Stage just screams cold water performance with an environmentally sealed over-balanced diaphragm and a thorough covering of heat exchanging fins to help dissipate the cold temperatures created within the body. There are four low pressure ports on the side of a parallel port turret and a fifth underneath the protective cap on the end. Two high pressure ports are situated on the main body at an optimal angle for hose routing. |
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The MTX-R second stage is factory modified and adjusted for optimal performance and to minimise the risk of freeflows. As a result there are no diver adjustment controls fitted to the second stage. A large heat exchanger is fitted over the hose inlet to the pneumatically balanced valve to help draw out the cold generated in the metal valve and pull in the warmth from the surrounding water. |
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The MTX-R octopus uses the same design and delivers the same performance of the second stage but is finished with a high visibility yellow hose, front cover and trim for better identification in an emergency. |
The Apeks MTX-R regulator range is not just a extreme cold water marvel. The rugged design, materials and construction means that they are capable of taking the knocks and bumps that are expected on any expedition, let along for your average dive.
