First rebreather choice

[Vicko]

I hope that the fatalities are in relation to the number of inspiration divers tho .

The good news is that most are user error. The bad news is that I used the word most...
It was one of the first modern rebreathers with a lot of automation and very little safeguards which resulted in bad diving practices that still continue around some instructors, but it's not a bad unit.
YBOD is a nickname that translates to Yellow Box of Death.

 

[Preach]

Many people start with an Inspo as their first rebreather, and far fewer buy an Inspo as their last rebreather. It's big and bulky and not super adaptable, and primarily viable for deep open water diving. Doesn't mean it's the wrong choice, just that there are more optimal choices out there that didn't exist when APD was owning the market. I would suggest exploring those options further before making a significant financial decision. There is a bonus to the APD units, they're dirt cheap on the used market. Hence plenty of firsts, very few lasts.



Definitely. And it's not a bad idea to do your MOD1 on a rental unit so you're better prepared to understand units you're try-diving.

Of course there's a correlation between the sheer number of units on the market in terms of fatalities, but the Inspo also had a couple of design flaws that didn't help. There was a certain level of complacency that, coupled with those design issues, lead to some dead divers.

You say the inspirations are big and bulky, does that mean they are also not a good choice for traveling by plane?

I also have been looking at the triton ccr (which is way diffrent, mccr and diffrent setup), it looks pretty good for traveling. But i don't know a single person who owns one, there no instructors closeby and they are impossible to buy second hand atm. They also seem very limited in use.
The system looks very nice (being able to use it on my own doubles and using them as bailout), but i don't have a lot of knowledge about rb's so i could be horrible wrong.

 

[tbone1004]

@Preach in its case, no it's quite bad for flying. It does have a travel frame which makes it no worse to travel with than any other backmount breather.

Chest mount is a completely different animal...

 

[Preach]

So, most people advise doing it on a rental. I don't even know if it's possible to rent units for the course around here. I will check and see if thats an option.

@Preach in its case, no it's quite bad for flying. It does have a travel frame which makes it no worse to travel with than any other backmount breather.

Chest mount is a completely different animal...

I see a lot of comments that chest is completly diffrent, are there so many cons to diving chest mount?

And thanks everyone, for the great info so far. Really helps

 

[tbone1004]

So, most people advise doing it on a rental. I don't even know if it's possible to rent units for the course around here. I will check and see if thats an option.



I see a lot of comments that chest is completly diffrent, are there so many cons to diving chest mount?

And thanks everyone, for the great info so far. Really helps

Ask your instructor. I don't know which agency she teaches with, but you could do the course on her unit, not all agencies require the instructor to be on a breather, but she may also have a spare, or a friend with a spare.

Not many cons to them, they're just very different.

 

[Preach]

Ask your instructor. I don't know which agency she teaches with, but you could do the course on her unit, not all agencies require the instructor to be on a breather, but she may also have a spare, or a friend with a spare.

Not many cons to them, they're just very different.

The instructor's teaching agency is iantd.

I'm going to try and find some more info about the diffrent setups on rebreathers and see if it's possible to start on a rental.

 

[rjack321]

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with the AP units. Although I do think they erroneously rely on various alarms that are not effective. In your case @Preach , they can be found used for fairly low cost so you could get 2 as starter units and after 50-150hrs decide what you like/dislike about them. If they aren't your thing you could sell them for close to wait you paid (used) and then get another unit more to your liking.

 

[broncobowsher]

I am more interested that you find a good instructor. I've known instructors that bought there first rebreather and were diving it all they could just to reach the minimal requirements to teach. In my book that isn't the instructor I want. I found an instructor who owned multiple rebreathers and uses them all. Has been diving them for many years all around the world. Has a very good reputation. I had an idea of what I wanted and traveled to meet him in person and do a quick try dive. It was really 60% one on one interview to see if I liked him and his teachings and 40% to try what I had already picked out in the back of my head.

You have the advantage of already knowing your instructor. And the rebreather is part of that as well. From the sounds of it you are on a good start. Everyone will (or at least should) second guess there choice of rebreather, that is a good sign that you are keeping an open mind. You will dive like total crap when you start, that is normal and expected. You should plan on taking several steps backwards once you start. Even after you finish the class there is still a lot of learning to do. I was doing some pretty simple recreational dives for a long time just to get comfortable and dialed in again. It really is like starting over. Worked my way back into deco diving and went further than I had ever been before and would never have done it without a rebreather. Last year spent a week in Truk and did dives that would have been complex on OC but on a rebreather were rather simple. Had 3 different brands (should have been 4) and we all dove just fine. Each had its own little quirks but in general they are all the same.

 

[AdamSa]

Also take into consideration what your buddies dive (if any of them are on CC). It obviously shouldn't be the one deciding factor, but i find it highly advantageous to dive with people using the same equipment; it's much easier to find spares when the need arises (especially when travelling) and everyone is in sync with everyone's equipment.

 

[taimen]

For now it will be mainly for wreck diving (but maybe thats different in the future, who knows). Apdiving states that the inspiration scrubber lasts 2,5 hour (2,5kg), is this really the limit?
My longest dives oc are 4 hours cave dives in Mexico, but i don't think i will hit those bottom times on the ccr. I will probably keep diving OC in caves, aslong as there is no helium involved.

I seriously doubt that you will be happy diving caves on OC after you are comfortable with your rebreather. 2,5kg scrubber is not limited to 2,5 hours in mx conditions.
As recently trained, I don't recommend try dives before training. It takes like 50 hours to get used to diving rebreathers before you can really appreciate the differences between units. There seems to be nothing wrong with inspiration, people are doing all kinds of diving with them. Still many active divers have switched to other units recently.
Getting a used unit may be a bargain. Otoh updates, maintenance and crossovers easily add up. Total cost before reaching 200 hours and mod2/3 level may not be so much different than bying a new unit.