| Re: The dreaded 'recreational rebreather' question!
I'd definitely skip sCCR's, too close in complexity and hassle to CCR's without most of the benefits. If you are OK with the limits and hassle of diving nitrox on doubles or simply adding a 40 cf pony to your single 80CF you can probably get a lot of what you are after.
The hassle and cost to CCR diving is considerable, don't kid yourself on that. A sport KISS just might be the way to go, but for an additional 2 grand you could get the Classic, which would give you more options down the line. Once you are in the 6K arena though you should also consider the Pelagian , rEVO and Copis meg. All are decent manual systems, and manual injection is plenty adequate for what you are talking about doing (heck, mCCR's are being used for just about any kind of diving).
What you will get for the hassle and expense that doubles and or a pony can't give you is incredible freedom, silence and warmth. You will enjoy vastly improved no decompression limits, vastly reduced narcosis at equivalent depths and a whole lot more gas duration than you are used to. I used to average between 35 mins and 60 mins to a dive. now 90 to 120 is common. The ability to stay in what I call the sweet spot of the dive has increased significantly. I used to rush to the max depth and then gradually work my way up. Now I take my time getting to the max depth and can stay there a lot longer.
If extra time is a high priority, whether deeper or shallow, then it can be worth it. I believe that with proper training and with adequate vigilance, manual rebreather diving within recreational limits may actually be "safer" than open circuit recreational diving.
if you have an opportunity to dive a lot and would really like having more time and choices, it just might be worth it for you even within recreational limits, it sure has been for me!
__________________ Gill Envy
...Because I wasn't born with gills! 
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