Hootis
Guest
fltekdiver,
Hi...jumping in kinda late here. I own and dive MK15's, an Inspiration and a Meg. (Bought in that order) I like them all for different reasons, but when I have to pick one to go with me on a trip it's the Meg.
MK's are really uncluttered. No counterlungs on the chest to get in your way. They take a long time to setup properly, lots of maintenance, and are hard to find expensive parts for. Some people complain about the way they breathe, but thats a matter of opinion...uncluttered is worth 'chipmunk cheeks' (positive hydrostatic pressure) when laying on your back (I rarely find myself in that position.) Some people have likened these to an old classic Harley...lots of work to keep running, but really cool to take out for a spin. (Personally, I think they have let me down MUCH LESS than any old Harley. ;-)
Inspiration is like the Chevy truck of rebreathers. They're everywhere (comparatively) and are easy to get parts and service and training for. (again, relatively) There are more Inspirations on the market than all the other closed circuit rebreathers combined. (Probably even by a factor of 3 or 4 to 1! But I don't have exact figures to support this as most RB mfg's aren't real interested in telling you how many units they have out in the field....and some lie.) Suffice it to say, there are a ton of them around, with a loyal following. Build quality is really good, but like a Chevy truck, they tend to be sort of 'production-y' I consider that both good and bad...some parts seem cheap, and others seem very polished. It's a good rebreather with a good track record.
OK...so why did I buy a Meg? I wanted a rig that was easier to travel with, and a few other features. After listening to the 'vocal minority' of Prism owners (many of whom are on this forum) I thought a Prism (the Volvo station wagon of rebreathers...people that own them think they're cool, but everybody else thinks they're just weird...) would suit me fine. After some deliberation, a visit to the factory, and dinner with some guys from the Navy Experimental Dive Unit, I decided not to buy a Prism. Although many people are happy with theirs, I am confident in my decision not to have purchased one. I am a real stickler for quality, and (sorry Stephan, et al) I just don't feel it in the way the Prism is constructed....even though I really wanted to.
My first impression of the Meg (which incidentally, I compare to a BMW...some folks will call them snobby, but those with an eye for quality will appreciate them...) was that it is well built but maybe not as travel-worthy as the Prism (heavy aluminum scrubber housing as opposed to the light-weight plastic one...which by-the-way is very tough.) But, in fact, I've come to find the Meg is much more travel worthy (than the MK's or Inspiration) for a couple of key reasons. 1. You can use whatever tanks you are able to rent at your destination...very flexible mounting. 2. The whole rig (less bottles) fits in a carryon...no big case. 3. Many standard scuba components make it easy to find spares at a dive destination in a pinch. 4. Very durable loop components (hoses are the toughest I've seen. Leon claims you can loop the DSV assembly over a tree branch and hang from the hoses. Haven't tried it, but I'll take his word for it.) And the scrubber housing is Aluminum so the Meg's take travel abuse well.
The rig has very similar dive characteristics to the Inspiration, with a couple of improvements. The biggest is a dump valve on the exhale lung. When the diver ascends, the unit automatically dumps any water out of the exhale lung through the dump valve. The diver can also automatically activate this valve a number of ways. Another advantage is the sensor carriage does not allow the sensors to drift like I had seen on my Inspiration (and many users have complained about) on longer dives (moisture on the cells.) Another is that the ADV (the newer one) is actuated by the collapse of the counterlung. I find this works better for me than the negative pressure that triggers the Inspiration. (I'm sure some will disagree...) And finally, the unit is designed to accept a number of different scrubber canisters, including the CIS hydrophobic canister. Stephan has already pointed out that these are hard to get and expensive, but they may increase the safety of the unit for those interested in using them.
Disadvantages are that the Meg is a little more pricey than the Inspiration, but not by much. Even less, if you already have a significant amount of dive gear, as you can purchase the Meg without many of the accessories you probably already own (harness, backplate, wing, first stages) To my knowledge the Inspiration is only sold as a complete unit. Another disadvantage is that if you live in Europe it's not CE approved. At this time only the Inspiration is.
Many of the Meg users I've met owned an Inspiration first before purchasing a Meg.
If you can, try all the different rigs you can find, but remember, your frame of reference will change with experience. Whichever rig you choose, I'm confident it will serve you well. You will really enjoy diving without bubbles.
Later,
Ryan
/dons fireproof suit. ;-)
Hi...jumping in kinda late here. I own and dive MK15's, an Inspiration and a Meg. (Bought in that order) I like them all for different reasons, but when I have to pick one to go with me on a trip it's the Meg.
MK's are really uncluttered. No counterlungs on the chest to get in your way. They take a long time to setup properly, lots of maintenance, and are hard to find expensive parts for. Some people complain about the way they breathe, but thats a matter of opinion...uncluttered is worth 'chipmunk cheeks' (positive hydrostatic pressure) when laying on your back (I rarely find myself in that position.) Some people have likened these to an old classic Harley...lots of work to keep running, but really cool to take out for a spin. (Personally, I think they have let me down MUCH LESS than any old Harley. ;-)
Inspiration is like the Chevy truck of rebreathers. They're everywhere (comparatively) and are easy to get parts and service and training for. (again, relatively) There are more Inspirations on the market than all the other closed circuit rebreathers combined. (Probably even by a factor of 3 or 4 to 1! But I don't have exact figures to support this as most RB mfg's aren't real interested in telling you how many units they have out in the field....and some lie.) Suffice it to say, there are a ton of them around, with a loyal following. Build quality is really good, but like a Chevy truck, they tend to be sort of 'production-y' I consider that both good and bad...some parts seem cheap, and others seem very polished. It's a good rebreather with a good track record.
OK...so why did I buy a Meg? I wanted a rig that was easier to travel with, and a few other features. After listening to the 'vocal minority' of Prism owners (many of whom are on this forum) I thought a Prism (the Volvo station wagon of rebreathers...people that own them think they're cool, but everybody else thinks they're just weird...) would suit me fine. After some deliberation, a visit to the factory, and dinner with some guys from the Navy Experimental Dive Unit, I decided not to buy a Prism. Although many people are happy with theirs, I am confident in my decision not to have purchased one. I am a real stickler for quality, and (sorry Stephan, et al) I just don't feel it in the way the Prism is constructed....even though I really wanted to.
My first impression of the Meg (which incidentally, I compare to a BMW...some folks will call them snobby, but those with an eye for quality will appreciate them...) was that it is well built but maybe not as travel-worthy as the Prism (heavy aluminum scrubber housing as opposed to the light-weight plastic one...which by-the-way is very tough.) But, in fact, I've come to find the Meg is much more travel worthy (than the MK's or Inspiration) for a couple of key reasons. 1. You can use whatever tanks you are able to rent at your destination...very flexible mounting. 2. The whole rig (less bottles) fits in a carryon...no big case. 3. Many standard scuba components make it easy to find spares at a dive destination in a pinch. 4. Very durable loop components (hoses are the toughest I've seen. Leon claims you can loop the DSV assembly over a tree branch and hang from the hoses. Haven't tried it, but I'll take his word for it.) And the scrubber housing is Aluminum so the Meg's take travel abuse well.
The rig has very similar dive characteristics to the Inspiration, with a couple of improvements. The biggest is a dump valve on the exhale lung. When the diver ascends, the unit automatically dumps any water out of the exhale lung through the dump valve. The diver can also automatically activate this valve a number of ways. Another advantage is the sensor carriage does not allow the sensors to drift like I had seen on my Inspiration (and many users have complained about) on longer dives (moisture on the cells.) Another is that the ADV (the newer one) is actuated by the collapse of the counterlung. I find this works better for me than the negative pressure that triggers the Inspiration. (I'm sure some will disagree...) And finally, the unit is designed to accept a number of different scrubber canisters, including the CIS hydrophobic canister. Stephan has already pointed out that these are hard to get and expensive, but they may increase the safety of the unit for those interested in using them.
Disadvantages are that the Meg is a little more pricey than the Inspiration, but not by much. Even less, if you already have a significant amount of dive gear, as you can purchase the Meg without many of the accessories you probably already own (harness, backplate, wing, first stages) To my knowledge the Inspiration is only sold as a complete unit. Another disadvantage is that if you live in Europe it's not CE approved. At this time only the Inspiration is.
Many of the Meg users I've met owned an Inspiration first before purchasing a Meg.
If you can, try all the different rigs you can find, but remember, your frame of reference will change with experience. Whichever rig you choose, I'm confident it will serve you well. You will really enjoy diving without bubbles.
Later,
Ryan
/dons fireproof suit. ;-)
