150ft for sport KISS

[Kim Smith]

Does anyone know why the new sport KISS is 'only' rated at 150ft (this is 50m ?).
(or is this for legal purposes, due to comming CE certification for the unit?)
I was looking for a small RB, at about 2-3h divetime, and around 55-60m depth.
(around 40-45m with nitrox, range 35-60m with trimix or heliox).
Does this mean that the Sport KISS is not suitable for full-trimix diving?
Anyone practical experience with diving this unit only in shallow depths (less 10m or 20m), or for non square-profile dives (fe. reef dives, shore dives, ...) (difficulty for deco calculations).
Any advice for the SS - alu covers. We are mainly diving coldwater (Northsea/Oosterschelde) wetsuits (7mm) and drysuits, is it better to choose the 'extra' weight of SS cover?
(I'm mainly interested in keeping the overall weight as low as possible, in case of taking the unit for holiday diving trips)

There I was, going through my many emails, after returning from a trip and someone mentioned that the KISS depth ratings were being discussed on Scuba Board. Thought I'd better check it out since I haven't logged on in a while.

The Classic KISS is rated for 250 feet, with proper training, gases and bailout. People have asked me about diving deeper than this, as they know divers who do. We do not recomend it. I believe that those who are going to deeper depths are doing so on modified units. Yes, Liability is an issue.

The Sport KISS is rated for 150 feet. At this depth the diver must have adequate training, gases and bailout. Why this depth? Liability is a huge issue. Also, this rebreather has been designed for the sport diving market. Gordon and I regularly dive this unit in the 150 foot range and use normoxic trimix, 20/40 on all dives, regardless of depth.

If you are diving cold water I would recommend the SS counterlung case. You will be able to take about 6 pounds off your weight compared to the aluminum case.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Now, back to my many emails!

Regards,

Kim Smith
www.jetsam.ca