Quote: (Originally Posted by kpalas)
Just looking for some opinions here...what do you think.
Do you think investing in a rebreather and the training required would be a waste if you only were going to be diving above 130 ft., and not doing deep/deco/trimix type diving?
Well I guess in the end it would be a question of interest. If rebreathers interest you then that alone can motivate some of the added hassel.
Sure OC is alot less complicated, at least for dives that can be done safely on a singel tank.
I only use OC when doing dives with students, even if OC would be less complicated in many cases if prefer to dive my Rebreather as much as possible.
Even if you are only going to dive to max 130ft and use nitrox to get better bottomtimes a CCR still has some advantages. As long as is works properly gas consumption is no longer a concern. A CCR also lets you do alot of diving without having to get to a compressor.
Even if I don't need to dive a CCR for me getting away with all the handling of my heavy twinsets and gasmixing is worth alot. And on OC if you want to optimize your gas you are vulnerable to weatherchanges forcing you to dive other sites. That is no big deal with a CCR.
If you happen to dive near some marine life a rebreather is also nicer.
But on the other hand, if you happen to have a sensor problem or something and you are already at a dive site...well then you can certainly wish that you had OC gear with you. Unless you have enough spares or Rebreather-buddies with you to work it out.