Making the leap: help choosing first rb

[tbone1004]

@Zebra 1
You can convert the backmount to the chest mount fairly easily, so no need to buy two units if you go that way.
iBov will definitely give you the cleanest chest possible
If you are spear fishing I would recommend NERD since the HUD's can be hard to read in bright light
Florida would be better
I would do it all at once. There isn't that much information that you'll learn in class as far as book work that you can't preread, and the skills aren't that bad so I would do it in one go.

 

[broncobowsher]

Start with the NERD.

 

[rddvet]

Do the class straight through. Breaking it up won't make for a better class. I'm not a fan of the nerd. I have the divesoft bov and like it, but would not recommend the version with the mavs on the reg or the built in ADV. Both have had issues.

 

[ChuckP]

Do the class straight through. Breaking it up won't make for a better class. I'm not a fan of the nerd. I have the divesoft bov and like it, but would not recommend the version with the mavs on the reg or the built in ADV. Both have had issues.

Do tell more - what's the problems with it? I was wondering about the "barrel" ADV valve with the four possible positions verses just the two.......

 

[JahJahwarrior]

The HUD is hard to read in bright sunlight but I'm not a fan of the cable on the handset. I liked the preproduction setup for the choptima that had the NERD controller and a HUD tucked away to be pulled out if necessary to confirm cells. I don't think that's the official production version, but as soon as I upgrade my old head for choptima use, I will be switching to NERD for both designs and the petrel handset will gather dust.

The ibov with mav and adv is a lot of moving parts in a small package, so it's not due to divesoft that it has high strung maintenance and higher risk of failure than the rest of the stuff on the unit, but the less stuff you cram in there, I think the more reliable it is. I would try to live with the MAV on the chest.

No need to break the class up, and better to get it done during the week when there is less traffic at the springs.

 

[tbone1004]

Do tell more - what's the problems with it? I was wondering about the "barrel" ADV valve with the four possible positions verses just the two.......

the bov body itself is the same, only the barrel in the middle. the "ADV" position has a small slot in it to let the reg let gas in when you create a vacuum while leaving the loop hoses open. You can get the same effect with most BOV's by cracking them. I think they fixed the twisting issues with it.
The face MAV's had some leaking issues in the beginning, but I think they've all been fixed.

 

[Zebra 1]

Ok I have to talk with my partner but I'm sold on the O2ptima. I'm looking for an instructor and or dealer. I don't think our local Dive Rite dealer trains on the O2ptima. 2 units with bmcl's and Nerd 2, spares kit. Anything else reccomended?

 

[tbone1004]

Ok I have to talk with my partner but I'm sold on the O2ptima. I'm looking for an instructor and or dealer. I don't think our local Dive Rite dealer trains on the O2ptima. 2 units with bmcl's and Nerd 2, spares kit. Anything else reccomended?

I mean, @Superlyte27 is an instructor and dealer on the O2ptima and has been contributing to this thread, so he's certainly worth talking to. Paul Heinerth is in the same neck of the woods and probably has more diving experience on the O2ptima than anyone else in the world. @LandonL is down in Ft. Lauderdale and can teach on the unit if you want to be in the ocean instead of caves. I'd start with those three and see where you get.

 

[rddvet]

I mean, @Superlyte27 is an instructor and dealer on the O2ptima and has been contributing to this thread, so he's certainly worth talking to. Paul Heinerth is in the same neck of the woods and probably has more diving experience on the O2ptima than anyone else in the world. @LandonL is down in Ft. Lauderdale and can teach on the unit if you want to be in the ocean instead of caves. I'd start with those three and see where you get.

doesn’t Lamar still teach the optima too or has he relegated it only to their outside instructors. This could become a very controversial comment, but I find it very hard to recommend Paul Heinerth for training to anyone. There are a lot still hardcore in his camp, but even some of his former students and friends are really questioning referring people to him nowadays. That is not meant to detract from his legacy as a cave diving pioneer.

edit: I also spoke to Lamar recently about taking the choptima training with a rental unit (since I didn’t learn I hated the sidewinder until I dove it in class) and he suggest3d Ted. I assume Ted also still teaches on the optima?

 

[LandonL]

Thanks @tbone1004 for the tag.

@Zebra 1 I actually teach on the AP units, not the Optima. I used to own an Optima and am diver qualified on them, however I didn’t like the unit as much as my AP Evolution, so ended up selling it.

@rddvet and what did you do with your sidewinder?