Hi Guys,
The original thread has somewhat lost, but the discussion has been interesting to a lurker. I guess I have to weigh in, and thats a lot of weight.
It seems to me that many of the more recent comments have focused on issues from specific types of diving and system comparisons. I personally think that the first article did a great job....
Many of you guys dive deep, dive long, dive under conditions I no longer consider exceptable. You are looking at it from a narrow view....and your points properly reflect that view...
IMHO shallow dives to 25 feet or less with a pure oxygen rebreather...no meters except a simple depth gauge is safer than any OC....Note the qualifiers in my statement. Thus, I have to respectfully disagree with the notion that OC...which I dive about 70% of the time is safer. No moving parts, light weight, no decompression...and availability of lots of great diving on shallow reefs around the world. Over the years I have had more mechanical problems with OC...
So my thesis is that we must consider why we want to use a rebreather....My view is based upon my usage.
Most of my dives are less than 140 feet....
Nothing but water overhead or a short stretch of shipwreck....
And I bet if you surveyed the group you might find that a high percentage dive under similar conditions.
I dive ccr mixed gas during the week to get close...really close to critters...I love to have them climb up on my arm to clean the hairs off. It makes video a dream and stills too.
I like a 90 minute dive without having a dry mouth or to get as cold.
My fully loaded rig for two hours does not even weigh 30 pounds....
On the day before I fly out, I only dive a rebreather....stay less than 40 feet and decompress faster than the guys in the bar overall....with my long time in the shallows at the end of the dive....
On the day I fly out, I sometimes get in as much as two hours on pure O2 in the shallows while other people are waiting to get home....a quick change of clothes...dump the scrubber....throw everything wet into a bag in the box...and away we go.
And in addition to that light weight rebreather, I carry a spare air. I am comfortable that I can claw my self back to the surface safely.
So I too look at it from a narrow view of my diving practices
I guess I am saying while there seems to be some disagreement, it is based on how you dive....
Regardless, the article is fantastic for getting you starting on the right road for yourselves. This thread has been great.
