Stethoscopes

[afarru]

Hey Girls and Guys,

I'm fairly new to nursing and I'm getting ready to buy a new stethoscope. I'm willing to spend $100. I know Littman is good, but are there any other types that anyone would suggest?

[Pepperpants]

Hi there j_tay!

Always nice to read your posts, very informative.

Please provide me some help! I have a Littman Classic but I don't wanna bring it on the road and practice (EMT student I am) as I am afraid it would grow legs..

I might need a very similar, equally good scope and I am thinking about buying an MDF 777 med One - you have one as I know..

Could you please provide me some info, about how accurate it is for bloodpressure and basic auscultation?

I am thinking about these:

Prestige Clinical One

MDF 777

ADC 603...

which one to get? please give me some suggestions, pros and contras for each as you have experience with them...

I am mostly interested in how loud are these or which one might be close to the Classic II SE.

So many scopes I have tried and honestly lots of the cheap ones are cheap for a reason.... hard to hear breath sounds and faint S1/S2 with them, not to mention the extra beats - they are simply inaudible with cheapos...

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Thank you.

Pepper

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

I have two Littmanns - the Classic II S.E. (which is a great stethoscope for students!) and then I upgraded to the Cardiology III as an early graduation gift. both are great, the Cardio III is better, but it is also heavier around the neck and more expensive.

For price reference, I paid roughly $75 for the Classic II S.E. and around $150 for the Cardiology III.

[Pepperpants]

Hey there,

Thanks for the reply. Well in terms of the cardiology model, I am not planning to spend that much. Might sound silly but I would like to switch to something cheaper but still very close to the classic II SE.

I have a Littmann Classic II SE, great scope, was a very lucky purchase from ebay, don't even want to say how much I payed for it... that would **** some people off I guess. :)

(Was a good deal, came from a lady doc who switched to the infant model as she was working with kids)

BUT in prehospital situations I might need a cheaper but still good alternative... Something which is similar to the Littmann but would not make me feel that sad if accidently I have to leave it behind meanwhile escaping from a burning house for example...

Well, some dudes say good things about the classic II knockoff: the adc 603. Some say that the MDF 777 (md one) is a keeper, and right now I have found this 747XP MDF model, identical to the 777 but lighter and cheaper.

Not to mention how great these two models look in that totally black edition... (but that's not that important right now)..

So any experience out there with the MDF 747XP model? Or shall I just look for the ADC603 or spend a bit more on the MDF 777? (but then still we are at the 50 USD price-range and here we go again, nearly Littmann price...)

So this is the dillema here.

Thank you all for helping anyway!