Is CCR the right route for me?

[sea_ledford]

I got into my chop for ~60% of that.

It certainly can be done, especially if you live in the right part of the world, and have a bunch of stuff already. Live in North Florida, and already cave dive in sidemount? $5-8K is completely doable. Live in Iowa and only have single tank backmount? $15K

But even $8k is not really considered "minimal cost investment" for most of us.

 

[lostsheep]

I live in the CCR Mecca of NorCal .

Joking aside, CMs go onto existing gear (single tank BM included), I bought it at the intro price, and I trained locally. I don’t understand what cave diving has to do with it.

Why would anyone except James Kirk live in Iowa?

 

[broncobowsher]

I got into my chop for ~60% of that.

New, with all the training?

 

[lostsheep]

New, with all the training?

It better have been new, I was a relatively early adopter. Yes training, boat, and an o2 cylinder.

 

[sea_ledford]

Joking aside, CMs go onto existing gear (single tank BM included), I bought it at the intro price, and I trained locally. I don’t understand what cave diving has to do with it.

Sounds awesome! I mentioned cave diving because there would be a lot of CCR instructors in North Florida, so no travel costs for training, sidemount so you would already have multiple tanks, regulators, lights, appropriate computer, etc. You know, all the stuff that most people don't factor in to the cost of a CCR. Dive Rite in particular seems to be doing a good job of spreading the CCR instructor pool out to a larger area, so it's easier for more people to find local instructors.

Cm CCRs with exclusively backmount dilout are certainly less expensive as a starting point, but getting into deco probably equalizes pretty quickly. But it definitely makes it less daunting to spread that cost out over time!

 

[lostsheep]

Cm CCRs with exclusively backmount dilout are certainly less expensive as a starting point, but getting into deco probably equalizes pretty quickly. But it definitely makes it less daunting to spread that cost out over time!

I am a firm believer in doing OC deco diving before CCR, as such I had an/DP completed first which allows you to go straight to helitrox and deco using existing gear.

 

[andrespp]

Look at the Kiss Spirit and Sidewinder.

 

[tyson155]

Hi all new to the forum, signed up to try get some advice on what route to take in my “recreational” diving career.

Based in UK and been diving since about 2022. Got padi OW, advanced, deep, rescue, sidemount, wreck, first aid, nitrox. Only dive recreationally when on holiday.

Pretty much did them all one right after the other, did not find it that challenging, so recently did tdi IIT/AN/DP. Primarily only found the hands on side of things slightly challenging but not too bad. Things like maintaining breathing pattern whilst changing to deco gas and mask swaps but have it fairly dialled in now since finishing DP a few days ago. Classroom side of things - no issues for me.

Again finding myself a bit bored and not sure on what route to take next. I did a 1 day 2 dive intro on the titan rebreather and found it pretty fun/interesting. So contemplating going down the ccr route. I suppose other than ccr its the trimix/helitrox route? Mixed gas route puts me off because im limited to needing to find a dive shop that does tech, and adhering to their timetables when im on holiday etc. where as if i have a ccr abroad with me i can just go for a 2 hour semi shallow/40m swim for fun.

My main goal is primarily to be able to have my own kit i can easily transport around the world, if i have to rely on a dive center for things like filling deco gas thats fine, but i want this to be as minimal as possible. I travel the world a lot, and basically want to be able to dive on my own at any time, anywhere, without having to rely on others / dive shops as much as possible. Depth wise; i dont care about crazy depths of 100m+. I would be super interested in learning the skills to do depths of 100m or so, but primarily i just want to be able to go anywhere in the world with my own kit and do 1-2hr dives. Mostly upto 50/60m would be fine.

I read a lot on this forum that ccr users go solo a lot so its an appealing aspect. I have been doing about 20-40 dives a year and think i have around 100+ dives so far including all aforementioned training dives. I mostly enjoy just learning new skills, including practising simulations of things going wrong on a dive, learning to use new equipment, as opposed to looking at fish etc.

Not interested in cave diving at all, unless its something really interesting like things ive heard of in mexico. Wrecks are ok.

Financially wise not looking for a route that will break the bank, but happy to invest in a ccr obviously. Used or new? Heard mixed reviews on both on this forum?

Maintenance wise, i have a background in mechanical electrical engineering. So definitely want something i can mostly fully maintain myself and not have to ship off once a year for a service. I know most or all rebreathers need new o2 sensors once a year. Is this a strictly once a year rule, or can it be say every 50 dives etc?

Obviously i have a lot of questions. Just trying to figure out what direction i should head in now. From my research so far im strongly considering a light weight or side mount ccr. So Any advice and opinions a

 

[tyson155]

When considering CCR, may I suggest you try more than one unit? I feel like this was easier in the past. You'll care about things like the centroid and resultant work of breathing, so maybe try a chest mounted counterlung and a back mounted one to see how you balance the tradeoffs between breathing resistance and a clutter-free work area. Also, make sure the manufacturers have viable support within reach of where you live or dive.

If you have ever had a set of doubles held hostage with an expensive trimix fill due to a charter getting blown out or changing wrecks due to sea conditions, etc., you will have a little more incentive to go CCR each time that happens.