Buying new vs used - pros & cons?

[rddvet]

I agree with those the spirit wouldn’t be on any of my lists. As for new vs old. I went new because you can’t find my unit used often. I also liked I was inheriting someone else’s beat up unit. A used unit is fine if you need to save money, but just make sure someone that knows the unit well goes over it for you before you buy ideally. Unfortunately that can be difficult to arrange.
I take care of my unit well. My wife is meticulous. If you bought one of our units you’d never know who’s is better maintained. Same will be true for any used unit. Just know the trade off in less cash out front will potentially be more cash on the back end.

 

[broncobowsher]

Another good reason for new is getting it built as you want. Many rebreathers have multiple options. Get what you want, not what is available.

 

[davehicks]

I am a recreational cold water diver and have dove the Kiss Sprit and the Sport before that since 2007. The Sprit is great for what i use it for and extremely reliable, portable, and maintainable. I have taken it all over the world and had great experiences with it. I find mCCR to be better suited for my diving style and i feel safer using it than an electronic system. It's been a great unit and i recommend it highly.

 

[happy-diver]

Just as with any diving advice is only complete if your circumstances are the same as the person giving it

 

[Marie13]

After some discussions, the Kiss Classic is an option I’m going to look at more. 51lbs without a backplate, per the manual (with 2x13cft cylinders and full scrubber). I’m naturally floaty and take a lot of lead. The one I had moved partway across the Midwest turned out to have a stand and a chunk of lead on too. No wonder I had issues with it. Maybe added 20lbs to it. The Spirit is 48lbs with the steel frame. The one I went over at the weekend had 12lbs of lead on top of that. I like that the counter lungs are protected. I’ve got plenty of time for more research as I wouldn’t be ready to order until sometime in the late winter.

 

[rddvet]

After some discussions, the Kiss Classic is an option I’m going to look at more. 51lbs without a backplate, per the manual (with 2x13cft cylinders and full scrubber). I’m naturally floaty and take a lot of lead. The one I had moved partway across the Midwest turned out to have a stand and a chunk of lead on too. No wonder I had issues with it. Maybe added 20lbs to it. The Spirit is 48lbs with the steel frame. The one I went over at the weekend had 12lbs of lead on top of that. I like that the counter lungs are protected. I’ve got plenty of time for more research as I wouldn’t be ready to order until sometime in the late winter.

Out of curiosity why are you looking at Kiss units? None of them would be on my personal list, though I am a manual unit fan. Is it what's available through an instructor you like, lots of friends dive them, you just like what you read about them? No judgements, just wanting to understand.
Regardless, if you do choose Kiss and are willing to travel to train if there's not an instructor near you, I would highly recommend Doug Ebersole here in Fl. Though I've never dove with him, he is well respected and highly regarded by top tier instructors I know. He's exceptionally nice, and I feel his personality would allow for an excellent learning environment for pretty much anyone. But you will always walk away with a depth of knowledge (from what I've seen from his students). He is a huge Kiss fan.

 

[Marie13]

Out of curiosity why are you looking at Kiss units? None of them would be on my personal list, though I am a manual unit fan. Is it what's available through an instructor you like, lots of friends dive them, you just like what you read about them? No judgements, just wanting to understand.
Regardless, if you do choose Kiss and are willing to travel to train if there's not an instructor near you, I would highly recommend Doug Ebersole here in Fl. Though I've never dove with him, he is well respected and highly regarded by top tier instructors I know. He's exceptionally nice, and I feel his personality would allow for an excellent learning environment for pretty much anyone. But you will always walk away with a depth of knowledge (from what I've seen from his students). He is a huge Kiss fan.

Explained in a previous post. My tech/cave instructor in Wisconsin does Kiss. If I want to continue to train with her, it has to be a Kiss unit. I have limited vacation time, and training only on weekends 2-4 hours away is a big draw. There is a good community of Kiss divers in the area. @rjack321 knows exactly who my instructor is and she’s no hack instructor.

Most people pick the unit and then search for an instructor. I have a fabulous instructor and so did it the opposite way.

 

[rddvet]

Explained in a previous post. My tech/cave instructor in Wisconsin does Kiss. If I want to continue to train with her, it has to be a Kiss unit. I have limited vacation time, and training only on weekends 2-4 hours away is a big draw. There is a good community of Kiss divers in the area. @rjack321 knows exactly who my instructor is and she’s no hack instructor.

Most people pick the unit and then search for an instructor. I have a fabulous instructor and so did it the opposite way.

Sorry, I read the original post when it first went up but have only been reading the new posts since, so forgot you explained most of it up front. Those are decent reasons to pick a Kiss, so definitely can't fault your choice even if it wouldn't be mine. Rebreathers are like everything else, one unit is perfect for one person and horrible for another. There's never going to be a perfect unit for everybody's needs

 

[Marie13]

I am a recreational cold water diver and have dove the Kiss Sprit and the Sport before that since 2007. The Sprit is great for what i use it for and extremely reliable, portable, and maintainable. I have taken it all over the world and had great experiences with it. I find mCCR to be better suited for my diving style and i feel safer using it than an electronic system. It's been a great unit and i recommend it highly.

How cold have you taken it? 40F water is common for the diving I’ll be doin (and have done in the past).

 

[kensuf]

My first unit was a KISS Classic. Given that the design is 25 years old, it was quite capable and I had a lot of fun on it.

If you're buying used, make sure if it is an older head, that it does not have a crack between the O2 inlet and the ADV. The material between the O2 inlet and the ADV on the original heads was very thin and could accidentally crack if someone ham-fisted and over tightened the O2 inlet piping. Newer models had a larger distance between the two, which solved the problem.

Good luck with the hunt.