1st Stage Turrets - Why? - Extreme Sports

Jumping back in history

Looking back in time at Scubapro’s 59 years in the scuba industry, there have been many innovative breakthroughs. In 1963 Scubapro released the MK2 first stage regulator; at this time, their main focus was to create a regulator with simple mechanics that was reliable. Well, the MK2 worked and it is still manufactured today – it set Scubapro’s reputation for the rest of time. The MK5 first stage was the next revolutionary regulator; released in 1965, the MK5 was the first regulator offering a swiveling turret. Today, nearly every scuba regulator manufacturer makes at least one regulator with a swivel.

Those are just a couple of the revolutionary innovations Scubapro has stamped on its name. Today, we’re focusing on the turret. Currently, Scubapro offers two regulators with a turret, the MK25 Evo and the MK19 Evo.

What is a turret?

The easiest explanation of a turret is by looking at the illustration below. The whole bottom portion of the regulator is the low-pressure side (140psi ish). While the regulator is pressured, a diver is still able to spin the turret on a 360 degree axis. This widens the opportunities of hose routing.

When turrets were first released, people were unsure about the reliability. However the MK25 and MK25 Evo alone have dominated the market in sales and they’re one of the most reliable regulators on the market. Adding a turret just adds one more dynamic oring and is secured by fastener with proper torque procedures during the regulator service.

*The images throughout this article contain the Scubapro MK25 Evo regulator*

Why do regulators need a swivel?

Place yourself in a position of diving in a dry suit or maybe a full face mask. When these additional hoses are added to a first-stage regulator without a turret, a longer hose is usually needed because the hose can only stick out in one direction (it’s in a fixed position).

When a hose is configured on a first stage with a turret, the hose length can be shortened and the turret can be positioned to the proper angle for streamlining. Remember, the more we can streamline our configuration, the more we can eliminate drag and the possibilities of entanglement. Eliminating long hoses from sticking out can make our dive more efficient.

Other features

First-stage regulators can also be oriented at a different angle on the cylinder valve allowing the turret to be positioned differently for separate applications. For example, recreational divers would set up an MK25 in the upright position while sidemount divers position them sideways and tech divers with doubles set them at a 45-degree angle.

My opinion

For someone who spends half of their time diving in a sidemount configuration, I prefer to have a regulator with a swivel any day. The simplicity of long hose streamlining couldn’t be any easier. The illustration below shows what happens to the turret on my regulator on the right cylinder (the long hose side) when it is pulled. Hoses are commonly pulled and stowed during a single sidemount dive and having anyway to help perfectly streamline a 6-7ft hose is a plus.

On my recreational setup I still prefer to have a regulator with a turret because it personally reduces jaw fatigue.