Meg or Optima and why?

JAM

Hello folks,

for those of you that have flown both units which one do you prefer and why? I have finally decided to go over to the bubbleless side myself and have narrowed my choices down to these two units. The Optima is really appealing to me except for the scrubber. That seems to be the biggest complaint that I have heard from others also. The cost for micropore filters vs. granular sorb for the duration that you get seems to be lower (from my untrained eye). CD, you are a recent MEG convert, what is your view on this? As of right now I do not dive past 200' but that is going to change in Apr so eventually not too far down the road this would be for deeper dives. I took my time before blowing thru the certification checklist :-) All answers are respected and appreciated! This is also my first post here so if I violated some major rule please let me know!

Thank you,

James
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TordoffR

There is alot of information on here about exactly what you are asking. Take a look through old threads, and judge for yourself. Everyone on here is going to tell you there unit is the best...but what would you expect...no one wants to buy second best! I took a look at most of the units in person, dove a couple and decided on the Meg. I really, really like it.

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Rich
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caver95

I dive a meg, it is a great unit haven't had a problem(yet) Good luck on your quest.

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CharlieT

I dive an Inspiration Vision and it's the best unit out there

Only joking but really it's worth adding to your list as it has onboard nitrox/trimix software and the tempstick is a fantastic tool.

I've got mine rigged with an Agir s/s backplate and a one piece harness so I've removed AP's padding, harness and straps and waist level weightpockets. Much neater and tidier.

All the main rebreather units are good with different pros and cons for each unit.

I've had my Vision for 16 months and it's worked just fine.

Plenty of info on Rebreather World about all the units on the market.

Charlie

Jordan

I would presume you will be happy either way you go.

I will however add a bit: Even though the EAC cartridges are more money, they offer a lower work of breathing (allowing the Optima to use smaller breathing hoses). They also dramatically decrease your chances of getting a caustic cocktail. They also decrease your chances of setting up your scrubber unit incorrectly as they are so simple to use (this is the biggie for me). They also don't eat through metal if spilled on the boat deck and then subjected to salt water.

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ScubaDadMiami

We Optima divers can pee farther than Meg divers. So, for this reason alone you should get an Optima.

Kidding aside, I have my reasons for going with the Optima compared to the Meg.

• Low work of breathing throughout the dive, not just at the beginning with fresh scrubber. When you are at the end of a longer dive, that's not when you want to have to work harder IMHO.
• Ever go out in rough seas on a boat? I would worry about packed granuals getting tamped down as my boat pounded through the waves no matter how hard I had packed it beforehand. With the EAC, no worries.
• No hassle to switch EACs while on a live aboard boat in rolling seas.
• Optima's premix rod injects O2 so that it mixes thoroughly before reaching sensors.
• Streamline case and hoses. For me, a big plus in wreck diving.
• Major manufacturer in the scuba industry. More and more dealers around that will have parts and EACs.
• Fast turn time if you ever need service.
• EACs virtually eliminate the chances of a caustic cocktail. People will try to minimize this issue. However, run a search on Rebreather World, and you will see that the CC is indeed a real issue for units using granular.

The Meg is a solid piece of equipment. I just elected to go with the Optima. My final two candidates were the Optima and the Meg. The above reasons are why I made my choice.

The EAC is more expensive if you are going for short dives and then have long intervals until your next dive outing. It is pretty cost effective if you are going on longer dives or dive frequently. Besides, I am saving so much on Helium since going CCR that I am not worrying that much about the small difference for the cost in the scrubber.

The EAC is becoming more widely available in more remote areas. However, if that is where you spend all of your time diving, you should either wait to get the unit with the EAC or elect to get one using granular. I am just going to ship mine well ahead of making my trips when it comes to that. However, this could be more or less of a priority to you, and you should take this into consideration.

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caveseeker7

Seeing that 4 of your pro-Optima arguments are based around the Micropore cartridges one should note that a Meg can accomodate them if the owner wants to use them. While still retaining the option of granular absorbant for travelling.

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Mark Chase

As i understand it the Optimer uses the Hammer Head as a controler. Thats all I can coment on.

Presntly the Meg is lacking the full electronics package so the advantages of the HH/Optimer are:

In line deco using Gradient factors

Choice of P02 set point injection profiles

Dill flush confirmation

OC Bailout decompresion profiling

Vibrating DIVA warning system

Two options of HUD operation Smithers or standard warning

Down sides:

The known problem of battery conection through the body of the hand set.

Battery usage.

Bulky hand sets


Personaly I like the Hammer Head a lot but the battery contact issue is always on my mind. i am hopeing the antioxident coating will cure the problem.

Ill give thaught to the Meg once the Apex 3 head is out and beta tested.


On the Scrubber issue with the Optimer. Id like the option of using lime if thats all I could get.

ATB

Mark Chase

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Steve

In the interest of correctness, prepare to be rebutted

• Quote: (Originally Posted by ScubaDadMiami)
  Low work of breathing throughout the dive, not just at the beginning with fresh scrubber. When you are at the end of a longer dive, that's not when you want to have to work harder IMHO.
  I’m must confess to being ignorant of this issue and haven’t detected it in 12 years of rebreather diving. I don’t recall ever seeing it mentioned in test data either. Could it be a case of EAC spin doctoring or can someone provide me with some test data?

• Quote:
  Ever go out in rough seas on a boat? I would worry about packed granuals getting tamped down as my boat pounded through the waves no matter how hard I had packed it beforehand. With the EAC, no worries.
  The Meg has a compression spring to combat this so this is a moot point.
  

• Quote:
  No hassle to switch EACs while on a live aboard boat in rolling seas.
  Granted.

• Quote:
  Optima's premix rod injects O2 so that it mixes thoroughly before reaching sensors.
  The Meg injects O2 in the head. It then has to travel through the scrubber before making it to the sensors. It is well mixed. Moot point.

• Quote:
  Streamline case and hoses. For me, a big plus in wreck diving.
  Beg to differ here. A soft case will snag a lot easier in a wreck than a tank. Cases hide issues from the diver.

• Quote:
  Major manufacturer in the scuba industry. More and more dealers around that will have parts and EACs.
  Granted DR is bigger than ISC. Time will tell if the Optima is as reliable as the Meg. There have been numerous threads mentioning early teething troubles and I’m sure users and DR hope these get ironed out.

• Quote:
  Fast turn time if you ever need service.
  Ditto

• Quote:
  EACs virtually eliminate the chances of a caustic cocktail. People will try to minimize this issue. However, run a search on Rebreather World, and you will see that the CC is indeed a real issue for units using granular.
  Could you please find me a thread where someone has had a caustic cocktail on the Meg? It is almost impossible with the baffles in the T Pieces.

Given that most of your reasons are moot ones and if you wanted to you could use an EAC in the Meg would you make the same choice now?

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JAM

Hey folks,

thanks for all of the great responses. I'll tell you which direction I am leaning when I get back from vacation!

Thank you,

James