Scubapro

Scubapro MK25 EVO / G260 (DIN 300)

A flow-through piston workhorse built for cold water and hard use, the reg most tech instructors still default to.

Scubapro MK25 EVO / G260 (DIN 300)
3.6Comparison Score
$1049
Buy on AmazonBuy on Scuba.com
Released2015
First stagepiston
BalancedYes
Environmentally sealedNo
Cold-water ratedYes
ConnectionDIN
Max pressure300 bar
HP / LP ports2 / 5
Adjustable 2nd stageYes
Weight1270g
Nitrox-ready (EAN40)Yes
Octo includedNo

"HP / LP ports" is the number of high-pressure and low-pressure ports on the first stage, which caps how many accessories (transmitter, SPG, inflator, second second-stage) you can run at once.

Pros
  • Air-balanced flow-through piston keeps breathing effort constant regardless of depth or tank pressure
  • XTIS thermal insulation gives it a strong reputation in genuinely cold water
  • Reversible left/right hose routing on the G260 makes it a common pick for technical and sidemount setups
Cons
  • Heavier than diaphragm-first-stage competitors, noticeable on long surface swims
  • Also sold in an INT/yoke version, so double-check the listing matches the DIN 300 spec here
  • No octopus included in the base set, budget for a second second-stage separately
Diver community sentiment
Mostly positive

Divers on Scubaboard consistently describe the MK25 EVO first stage as extremely durable ("built like a tank"), easy to service with widely available parts, and reliable across warm and cold water when properly maintained. The G260 second stage is frequently praised for easy, low-effort breathing in any orientation, and several long-term owners report a decade or more of trouble-free use across muddy, salt, fresh, tropical, and freezing conditions. A minority find other Scubapro second stages breathe marginally better or are lighter for travel, and some report cold-water freeflow tied to leaving rigs on a below-freezing surface between dives rather than the regulator itself.

Scubaboard: MK25/G260 reliability and value discussionScubaboard: G260 breathing performance reviewsScubaboard: cold-water freeflow complaint thread

Summarized from public forum discussion (Scubaboard, Reddit, and similar), not a survey we ran ourselves. See the linked threads for the original conversations.

The MK25 EVO/G260 is Scubapro’s flagship piston-based system, the reg a lot of dive shops hand new techs as a “you’ll outgrow the fancy stuff before you outgrow this” default. The G260 second stage is one of the most widely copied second-stage designs in the industry.