User Comparison: Meg, Kiss Classic and Inspiration

jkaterenchuk

To assist those looking at comparing these units I thought it might be of use to post some of the things I have noticed between the units. I will make all comparisons compared to the Meg only because it is the most recent unit. My comments are not meant to be a good/bad comparison but rather what is the same or different. There will also be no particular order to my comments as I will be shooting from the hip. As differences strike me I will post them. Remember these are my opinions only and your experience might be different.

First a short background on the units and my level of experience. As I mentioned the Meg is new. Its actually a HammerMeg with the Movie size scrubber canister. Everything else is standard as far as I can tell.

The Inspiration Classic was my first unit. I have about 100 hours of time on it. I intially dove it in its standard configuration. After about 20 hours I started to make changes which included adding HH electronics, Kent Tooling travel frame and Golem BOV.

I have about 40 hours on the Kiss Classic. It is still standard configuration with the standard PO2 displays. I have added a Golem BOV.

Ok here we go:

1) Size and weight. The Kiss Classic seems to provide a slighly smaller profile than the Meg and weigh a little less. I am not talking a major difference but noticeable. The Inspo is much bigger and heavier with the travel frame being the main reason. From a packing for travel perspective I suspect that the Meg will end up packing better since all parts are modular. The Kiss actually takes up a significant amount of space because of the the CL case. With the Kent travel frame the Inspo can be packed in a fairly small bag but its really heavy.

2) Tank mounting. I do not like the tiger mounts on the Meg. They allow the tank to move slightly which does not give me a warm feeling that the tanks are secure. I know they are but it just does not seem that way. They also add weight which I do not want for travel and wetsuit diving. I also need to purchase an additional set to mount another set of tanks. I will most likely replace them with regular tank bands. That way I can get the tanks closer to the cannister, reduce the weight, and allow the use of any size tanks from any location. I know that they are more convenient than tank bands but I really am not that much concerned about saving a minute when attaching tanks and doing my prechecks. I also do not like the excess cable that prevents the locking pin from being dropped and lost.

3) Trim and weight. The inspo is the heaviest, The Meg is close second and the Kiss is closest to neutral in a wetsuit. All three are also butt heavy with the Inspo in the travel frame being much worst than the Meg and Kiss. The Meg and Kiss seem to be relative close. I use about 4 lbs/2 Kg mounted on the top of the Kiss tanks to get it in trim. I have not yet determined what is needed for the Meg however I will probably try de-inverting the tanks first since I really do not want to add additional weight to an already negative unit.

4) ADV/MAV Dil operation. This is a area in which I noticed big differences. If I suck the loop negative to inject dil the Kiss ADV requires very little neg to add and seems to add at about the correct rate. The Inspo and Meg seem to need about the same amount of negative suck but the flow from the inspo is about right and the Meg was less flow. When it comes to manual addition of dil teh Kiss does not have this facility. If I press the ADV diaphram on the inspo I get the same flow as if I suck the loop negative. On the Meg if I press the ADV teh flow is extremely high. I would guess its probably 3 or 4 times more flow than the Inspo. I have not timed it but I suspect you could fill the loop on the Meg in well under one second and it would take maybe 2 econds on the inspo.

5) Loop and WOB. To tell the truth I cannot notice any difference of WOB on any of the units. They all feel similar to me in the normal horizontal or heads up positions. The Inspo and Meg seem to demonstrate a change when I go from horizontal to heads up that I do not notice as much on the Kiss. The Meg loop is alot more noisy than either the Kiss or Inspo. Its hard to describe it it just has a noise or resonance that I hear whenever I exhale. I am not sure of the source but I will change from the standard DSV to the Golem BOV at some point and see if it goes away.

6) Electronics. The Meg had the new HH electronics and they are very nice. The Inspo has the pre-delrin HH electonics so there is not alot of differences between the two. I like the HH electronics. For the most part I have not had many issues. Mostly battery related. The only things I would like different with the HH electronics when I compare them to the Kiss standard displays would be....a smaller package and larger digits. The HH bricks are more difficult to put on (the Delrin handsets are a slight improvement.....I think) and during a dive get in the way more. Also its a pleasure being able to easily see the large Kiss digits compared to the much smaller HH digits. I know others have had issue with the Kiss displays and also the HH's but for me the Kiss display do exactly what they were intended for very effectively. One thing I am not quite sure about yet is if the cable length on the primary HH Handset is too short. It certainly seems that way compared to the Inspo but I need to look more closely into the routing and location on the head.

7) Dis/Assembly. The Kiss head/electonics ares the easiest to disassemble with the Inspo close behind. Some tools are needed for the Kiss but it comes apart easily into small pieces. For instance the electronics are very small and easy to transport this critical piece compared to the large head of the Inspo. No tools are needed for the inspo but the one bolt is a little difficult to remove. The Meg comes with some latches which make things seem easy but in reality it ends up being more difficult as you need to pull relatively firmly to remove the head and electronics and there is not many leverage points on the top that you can use without breaking things. Also the entire head is big when compared to the Kiss but about the same size as the Inspo. The Meg makes up for this when you look at then balance of the unit. The counterlungs and loop are easy to remove and clean. The CL on the Kiss are a pain to remove and its even worst on the standard inspo. I modified my inspo CL so that they could be removed with a fastex clip. The inspo loop is about the same as the Meg with the Kiss loop being more difficult. I have the older version Kiss in which the loop is attached with hose clamps. The newer versions have quick releases so they would be equal in ease to the Meg and Inspo.

8) Scrubber. I cannot directly comment on the effectiveness of each scrubber in doing the job for which it was designed. My comments are directed towards the packing and handling. I prefer the design of the Meg scrubber in that it can be removed from the unit and has a clear side. The inspo scrubber can also be removed but the sides are not clear. I like the capability to remove the scrubber, pack it and store it seperate from the unit. Its not a big deal but on the Kiss the Canister and scrubber are one unit. It larger in size and more difficult to pack and use compared to the Meg and Inspo. With the Meg clear scrubber its nice to be able to see the grains packed and also after removal the level of colur change in the media. Its also nice to not have to worry about the placement or loss of a critical O ring with the Meg scrubber when compared to the Inspo.

Well thats it for now. I will continue to add items as they become apparent. Feel free to comment, suggest or add your own.

John

mempilot

John,

Good write up! I like the personal experience without any bias writing.

One comment about the Tiger Gear mounts. The cable should be run down under the mount and back up to the hole on the other side. The cable should be just long enough to make that route and hence it's length. If you run it up over the top, you will have a lot of excess. I have made my own out of vinyl coated picture wire. They are much tougher than the plastic ones which come with the mounts. I haven't noticed the clanking of the tanks from the mounts having generous clearence like you and others have seen. I've contemplated switching to the Shadow mounts, but decided not to. You may want to take a look at them, as they are much smaller, tighter toleranced, and bring the tanks in closer to the canister.

Again, great write up!

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Eric Stadtmueller, otherwise known as, MEM "Da Pilot"