perfect unit?

ericfine50

Is there a perfect unit? I keep hearing about the Prisims, the KISS, the Meg, the Evo and the Inspiration. Is there one better than another? This is still just an education process for me - but I am wondering for the future if/when I go to CCR.

Thanks

Steve

Short answer = No
Longer answer = As I'm sure you can appreciate it is pretty hard to work out the wheat from the chaff in the wonderful world of rebreathers. Especially on the net.

I'll put this out there; I know of KISS, PRISM, YBOD, EVO, CIS and Mk series divers that now dive the Meg. I havent heard of any Meg owners who have sold their unit to get something else. I'm sure they exist but there are a hell of a lot of experienced CCR divers who have changed to the Meg.

And now I'll crack open a Coopers Sparkling Ale and enjoy the tales of wonder

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Ken

I concur. The more I dive this unit, the more I love it. The modular nature of the unit lends itself to almost any diving situation + the service is top-notch.

schford

Every unit has it's pro's and con's and what is right for you might not be right for me.

You need to work out what is most important for you in a unit and that will help you pick the right one - I am about 80% of the way through an article comparing all the current units but for now....

What is important to you...

1 - Price?
2 - Clutter Free Front?
3 - CE approval?
4 - Large numbers sold?
5 - Proven design?
6 - Scrubber Monitor?
7 - Compace Size?
8 - Full or no Electronics?

Tell us what you think of those and then we can help more!

Stuart

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decoweenie

IMHO, I don't think there will ever be.

The meaning of "perfection" is judged by the application need. And everyone has different needs. Plus, individual need level also changes depending on the dives.

For example, an unit "perfect" for exploring a 400-ft wreck or a deep cave system won't be "perfect" for taking on a small single-engine airplane going to some remote island...

So people are judging perfection under different lights such as...

Is the electronic perfect ?
Is the unit modular and easy to assemble/disassemble ?
Is it easy to take different tanks ?
Is the WOB perfect ?
Etc and etc...

For me at the moment, the Evolution + DT BM-CL + Weenie-frame is "perfect" for what I want from an eCCR:

• (so far) reliable electronic
• integrated deco
• HUD
• small and portable
• non-clutter chest area
• take any size tank easily

I will pick up a second-hand Meg to play when something else newer come along and people are itching, but it is too costly for me to fly elsewhere for the training.

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Ben Field

Dead right Stuart, noting the posts above- I'm sure the Meg is wonderful and lots of people have switched to it but that doesn't make it perfect

Its not perfect if you live away from the mainland US, its far from perfect if you don't like/want OTS CL's and its last on the list if you want to avoid electronics!

The thing is there are so many factors including those listed above, another is "availablity" for example... you want it now? Then an Evolution is out of the question, 11month waiting list I heard, maybe you could get a KISS in a couple of months so perhaps you end up with a second hand Inspiration- there seems to be 2-3 a week on ebay/the for sale section on here!

Make a list of what you need out of a unit, capability, features, how much you can spend, remember to add £1000 to your initial outlay for training and buying "bits" as the purchase cost is just the start of you throwing cash into yet another piece of dive gear

Enjoy,
BEN

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onetime

Hey Eric,

Perfect for whom I guess is the question. Is there a unit that is perfect for everyone, I doubt it. Is there a unit that (with some customization) will be perfect for you? I'd say probably yes.

The KISS seemed like the right unit for me when I looked at all the others. I wasn't convinced that CCR was going to be right for me so a lower investment cost with very straightforward bits and pieces was the path I chose.

Is the unit perfect for me out of the box? Not even close. I don't like the stock frame, the manifold, the hoses, the balance, etc. Fabricating a new frame has helped but that prototype left a few things to be desired.

Would an ECCR be a better choice? Maybe but I kind of like the manual nature of the KISS and it doesn't take much to monitor your PO2 and adjust accordingly.

Is it the easiest to maintain/field service? Not right out of the box. There are additions to the unit you can make to limit the number of tools you need to break it down but, like everything, that's more $.

What was the wait time like for my KISS? About a month IIRC. That was several months sooner than the other units I called around about.

What about the depth limit on the KISS? I've found plenty of stuff in the shallows that interest me. The deep stuff hasn't caught my full attention yet so that isn't an issue for me. If I were regularly doing 300+ ft dives, I probably would have chosen another unit (although the KISS can be modified to do them, the changes necessary are just enough to push me toward the Meg or Evo).

Well, enough about the KISS. No doubt you already know what your goal(s) are with regard to an Rebreather. You know the diving you're looking at doing and the next step is picking the RB that's closest, in stock form, to meet your needs. Now, go out there and buy one you know you want to.

TR300

Hi,
I had looked around in the net. I had looked about all "tear downs" from Rebreather in the net. The last was the meg I have seen. Nice unit, good work.
the answer about "whats the right Rebreather, or perfect unit" is equal to "which car does I need". If you can spend a lot of money (then you can buy a ferrari) then there are RB like Ourobouros, Inspiration, Meg, and so on. These RB are quite good, proofen all over the world. Thats the answer "whats mean the price" :-)

If you comes from an OC tec diver you like a "Clutter Free Front" where you can hang the stages in your way. (I like this way too :-) ) then you have to look for other RBs (most of them have no CE approval ) like KISS (Sport/Klassic), RB80 and rebuilds, TR300, Dolphin (CE) , Submatix (CE) etc. These units are often manufactored in small amounts and not this much proved by everybody (means only specialyst are using them)

If you like to have a Rebreather just for rec diving then all CE proved RB are OK. Its just nice for UW Photographs and divers who like the silent.

Also all Rebreather have different modes. SCR, pasSCR, mCCR (or new dcCCR), eCCR.
the mode is not dependend on the Rebreather it self (the main function is to elimenate the CO2 and add some fresh mix). Any rig does this.

For me e.g. it is important that the Rebreather is easy to maintain, easy to check, has less points of failure and is small but gives the max of options

So I build my own Rebreather this unit works for me.

The best way in finding "my Rebreather" is to test and try a much RB you can get around who you live, tell them what you want todo in the future with the RB find out which RB will fix your need. go diving with them more than one time (the first dive with a new RB is only trouble). then after some modells and some hour of RB diving you can choose you right System (so I did it).

Holger

Ken

If anything, there is no perfect Rebreather out there as there is a high degree of variability and psychology at work. Hence, we see some vigorous, rather boring defenses when it comes to the camps of SCR, MCCR, ECCR, OC etc. Personally, I feel that once there is a grounding of hands-on experience, a facile RB/OC diver can probably make any reliable RB kit work given time and support. Quite a few of us have access, or own multiple kits and move between one or the other given the mission.


In short, the main aspects of getting a Rebreather that I see are:

*Diver competency (Do I have the skills and mindset to be able to use/manipulate a Rebreather)

*Mission (What do I expect to do now and later)

*Reliability of kit (Does my piece of kit have a track record in the lab and field)

*Access to training and kit (service both educationally and materially)

*Available funds for continued improvement and maintenance (In order to play, you must be able to pay)

caveseeker7

Eric, I pretty much concur with just about everything said here.

First thing to do is analyze your needs and wants.
Have a look at your dive profiles, environment and particular tasks if any, both what you've been doing so far and the diving you want to do in the future.

Then have a close look at the rebreathers that are available, make sure you understand how they work. What they will and will not do. Try to match the rebreather to what suits you.

It's really not easy as there plenty of offerings today, new and used, and all of the above suggestions to consider. While the broad variety of rebreathers will probably get you pretty close to perfect you may well end up modifying your choice (or at least wanting) to get yet another bit closer to that perfection you seek.

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Cheers
Stefan


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