How deep

[rongoodman]

One way to reduce the urgency to get into a MOD 2 class is to take your MOD 1 from an IANTD instructor, along with ART if you don't already have a trimix ticket. That will let you use normoxic mixes from the start, down to 160', with limited(15 min) deco.

 

[Drin]

Yes I do need to start slow and that is my full intention, but I also need to have a path to get where I want to go. Since when is having a goal a bad thing? First you have to have a goal then take the right steps to get there. So here is a more direct question for you. It is unrealistic to have a goal to be able to complete MOD2 by the end of 3 years?

That's not unrealistic at all. However , I'd recommend setting a more modest goal. Complete MOD 1 and get 50 hours on your rebreather. Then reevaluate if 200' is your goal.

If "all" you want to do is get to 200' why not save yourself some upfront cost and take OC training up to and including normoxic trimix? You don't need a rebreather to get that deep.

I am not sure how I am "fixated" by having a goal.

Having a goal is a good motivator, but I think your goal is too far off to consider at the moment. Smaller goals make more sense. I've had people who want to learn to dive OC from me walk in and say "I'm fascinated with the Andrea Doria and her story and I want to dive her". Their goal is too far away to be of any use as a motivator and they need to define some intermediate goals.

I also get a caution flag from your original post when you said (and I'm paraphrasing) "what do you guys see below 200'?". That indicates to me that your goal is depth and that you may not have any true idea of what you want to see at that depth. That feels like depth for the sake of depth to me.

To be fair, in a subsequent post you indicated that you wanted to dive Bikini. If that's the case you'd better talk to Pete Mesley from Lust4Rust in New Zealand. He runs the only rebreather trips to Bikini, it'll cost you roughly an additional $10,000 to make the trip with him (including airfare and sorb and gas costs) and he will NOT take you there unless he's damn sure you're ready for the trip. Passing MOD 2 won't cut it. You'll need plenty of hours on your unit and to prove to him that you're ready for Bikini and the challenges it entails.

Even having rode other bikes I did not hop on it on day one and "see what it could do", I worked my way up. When I first get on it again in the spring my riding style is very different then the fall after I have been riding for 5-6 months again.

I'm glad you're willing to work your way to depth. Your initial questions here and elsewhere indicated you had a desire to get to the "stuff worth seeing deeper than 200'" as you put it.

My response is to take it slow and to buy a rebreather that will let you get to those depths if and when you decide you want to go there, rather than making getting those depths your goal. There's a difference, and I hope you see it. THAT's the fixation I was talking about.

By all means buy a rebreather that will allow you to go to depth. That, however, doesn't mean depth should be your goal. Learn to dive it and get a LOT of experience on it first, then decide if depth is what you want. That's the only point I'm trying to make, which seems to be rather misinterpreted by some of the replies to this thread.

For the benefit of those who might be misinterpreting my point:

Two options:

1. I want to go to 200' so I'm going to buy a rebreather.
2. I want to learn to dive a rebreather, and maybe in the future I'll go deep.

I hope everyone sees the difference.



-Adrian

 

[Nwcid]

That does make sense and now I do more understand where your responses are coming from.

I don't care about depth so much as what things I would like to see. To see them I have to have a path to get there. The 200' level came from the fact that there is lots of stuff between 150'-200' in my area. I do agree that a person needs both short and long term goals. So right now my "long term" goal is Bikini and the current short term is figure out what unit. Next short term get through training. Next short term may be get 25, 50, 100hrs on the unit. Other short terms goals will come along the way. The short term and even long term goals may change. Right now I have very little interest in cave diving, but I have seen some amazing pics that can make me understand why others do. Maybe along the way something will happen to make cave diving a new goal. Life is full of changes, and that is life. So maybe my timeline is unrealistic, should it be 7, 10, more years?

I have looked into OC vs CCR costs. The closest shop that I think does mixed gas is a 5hr round trip, if not the next closest is about 10-12hr round tip. We started down that path and I already have some of that gear. The cost for each was close in our situation and the GF's back will not handle doubles. Lets not forget the ever increasing price of Helium and the availability of it.

I have looked into Bikini and that is one of the reasons it is a 5 year goal. The other is to get ample training and time on CCR. That 5 year goal may have to change, but I have to start somewhere.

I am sorry if the original question in here came off wrong. I just know many people dive in excess of 200' and i was wondering what their motivation was.

 

[Drin]

That does make sense and now I do more understand where your responses are coming from.

I don't care about depth so much as what things I would like to see. To see them I have to have a path to get there. The 200' level came from the fact that there is lots of stuff between 150'-200' in my area. I do agree that a person needs both short and long term goals. So right now my "long term" goal is Bikini and the current short term is figure out what unit. Next short term get through training. Next short term may be get 25, 50, 100hrs on the unit. Other short terms goals will come along the way. The short term and even long term goals may change. Right now I have very little interest in cave diving, but I have seen some amazing pics that can make me understand why others do. Maybe along the way something will happen to make cave diving a new goal. Life is full of changes, and that is life. So maybe my timeline is unrealistic, should it be 7, 10, more years?

I have looked into OC vs CCR costs. The closest shop that I think does mixed gas is a 5hr round trip, if not the next closest is about 10-12hr round tip. We started down that path and I already have some of that gear. The cost for each was close in our situation and the GF's back will not handle doubles. Lets not forget the ever increasing price of Helium and the availability of it.

I have looked into Bikini and that is one of the reasons it is a 5 year goal. The other is to get ample training and time on CCR. That 5 year goal may have to change, but I have to start somewhere.

I am sorry if the original question in here came off wrong. I just know many people dive in excess of 200' and i was wondering what their motivation was.

Thanks for your comments. I now better understand your goals and your path to getting there. I think your timeline is realistic if you can find the in-water time you'll require.

I personally would narrow it down to rEvo, Meg or Prism2. If money was no object the rEvo would be my first choice. With that in mind I'd talk to Mel, Joshua and Leon. There are also people on here who dive those units who I'm sure would be willing to show off their toys.

Good luck, and don't stop asking questions.


-Adrian

 

[Nwcid]

Thanks and I think we are the same page now.

So I have been kinda putting off actually going and "taking" to Mel or Leon since they are in business and I am tire kicking right now. I know that is part of business, but still. I was hoping to gain as much knowledge this way, by asking questions so that when I do go talk to them I have a better idea of what I am looking at and what I want to know. Right now if either are reasonable "salesmen" whatever they tell me would sound "best". I know each with have their preference and that is just the way things are.

So I think a new short term goal is to make time to talk to or stop by and see both of them. Also get ahold of a couple of my contacts that I know that have those units and actually meet up with them.

From all my reading so far I do think I have come to one major understanding. This is a Ford/Chevy, Honda/Kawasaki, ext debate. Either way I can not go wrong, both will have good and bad points. So in the long run it might come down to what unit I can get the best deal on.

 

[Superlyte27]

Not really a Ford vs. Chevy argument.

More like Ford vs. Kawasaki.

 

[red_barbarian]

The OP has posted several questions and has responded to clarification requests in several threads. Fisrt my bias is I dive a Meg, and I like it. That said, I don't think you are going to save a lot of money by getting one unit over another. Honestly if your that cost sensitive you may find that spares, sorb, sensors, wear and tear are going to cost you more than you want to spend. rebreathers are not cheap to buy, nor is traveling with them (the travel industry is hard on stuff and excess baggage costs rack up) and maintenance. On the Meg there are a lot of options in the way you configure the unit, I bought a used one and made changes once I got it as I learned it. As you dial it in you spend more money making changes you want. In my opinion you should look at who else you are likely going to dive with besides your GF. If most people you know are diving a particular unit you'll get more tips as you are going along and again in my opinion learn faster. On the depth question since your stated goal is to go to Bikini, I believe that's a max of 180 ft, so maybe you don't need to look at 200+ ft units. In answer to the what do you see questions sometimes a lot of sand/mud, sometimes great things....just my experience. Just remember the longer and deeper you go the more time you wind up hanging at 6M. I personally dislike having to hang for more than an hour and that's usually my cutoff for a dive plan, but some folks don't seem to mind. In short your really getting into an area where personal preferences are going to make your questions quite hard to answer. After you've done the demo days just go with your gut feel for the unit you like the most and (try to) ignore the cost. Hope you wind up happy with whatever direction you chose to go in.

 

[techintime]

Assuming a fair amount of regular diving. I see CCR diving as more of a parallel to prior OC diving. For divers that have been diving deep (i.e AN/DP, Trimix) the transition to CCR diving to the same depths should be a fairly rapid thing. Once you learn the machine, personalize the configuration, dial in the trim, and get comfortable with the differences in buoyancy control, there should be little reason not to get back to at least where you were prior to the CCR transition. As far as which machine to buy...my opinion is to buy the machine that does everything you can ever imagine doing and then some. Working your way through machines would be grossly expensive.

 

[Taliena]

I have done OC-dives over 330ft/100m depth. So I needed to look further. But before buying an rebreather I said to an instructor: I want to try rebreatherdiving, so I want to hire a unit for mod1. I don't need mod2, but I want to do some real decodives before I decide if a rebreather is usefull for me. So we made a deal, doing mod1 and mod2, dive a lot with his rebreather.
I have now since 2 weeks my own rebreather, and I am planning to do mod3 in spring or summer. For me a rebreather must be usefull over 330ft.
For me a recreational rebreather with a depthlimit was not a choice. But if you really know never want to go deeper, then it can be a choice.
Talk a lot with rebreaterdivers to know what they think about their unit. And try some if you can.