JJ Cmoptima and the liberty

[SK_diver]

The reason Dan didn't tell you what his favorite is he likely does not want to show favoritism to any of the different brands he teaches.

The Liberty and JJ are two different machines with the JJ being a simple durable unit and the Liberty being more complicated but with some redundant features. I chose the JJ based on simplicity, reputation and my perceived stability of the company (both Shearwater and JJ), furthermore it does not need endless amount of options like other units. The JJ is not the easiest unit to travel with, but is manageable which is enough for me.

Although I have never tried a GUE configuration JJ but one of the reasons I went for the CCR is the weight which is negated by the heavy or GUE configuration (moving from double HP100s). I have dove the JJ in some sporty conditions (5ft with the odd 7ft waves) in the standard configuration with an AL80 for bailout and had no issues with the boat (getting on or off), so I would recommend a bit of caution before going the heavy or GUE configuration. I sometimes dive off a small boat as well so that may have added to my decision as I can unclip my bailout before boarding.

 

[rjack321]

No idea where you are and what your buddies dive. Around here in Puget Sound the JJ has far more market share and you are likely to have help/mentoring as you develop your skills and progress.

The other two are rare here and you wont have buddies and mentors to grow with you'll be much more "on your own"

So I would look hard at the JJ. In another region the answer might be very different

 

[SavageSeaCow]

There is a pretty big community of both JJ, Liberty, and chomptima divers in south Florida. Those and revo are by far the most common. All of my buddies dive liberty and they all love it, but there are a bunch of quirks to the system that require a good instructor to get you sorted out. Dan will help you there. I’ve never seen anyone dive anything with a “heavy” configuration a la extra back gas down here. Getting below mod2 depth in the keys is a rare occurrence and there just aren’t enough wrecks that warrant the hassle of lugging that configuration around and trying to strap it into a typical boat.