Looking for a lightweight rebreather.

[Preach]

Hallo rebreather divers,
About 6 months ago, i ended up with 2 herniated discs in the lower back. I'm still in recovery, but it's slowly going better.
Since I have much time on my hands atm, i was looking into possibilities to keep diving in the future.
I don't want to take the risks and use the heavy sets i used before. I mostly dived heavy steel doubles and an inspiration as rebreather.
Thinking about using SM with small bottles and adjust the bottle size accordingly to the dive planned.
I know i got to make concessions and that there is still bailout needed. I dive caves, reefs and wrecks.

So now to the rebreather question. What would be a nice rebreather to combine with sidemount?

I was thinking about one of the following ones.


Optima CM:

The optima cm feels like the best option, being Eccr and it's from a well established brand. I hear a lot of good things about it. The problem is I'm Europe based and i would have to travel to USA for a course and to pick it up. Which I would be willing to do if that's what it takes in the end.

Triton:
The triton feels like a good option too, but it's a fairly new brand. And Newer/smaller brands come and go and that could lead to supporting issues later on.

Kiss sidewinder:
The kiss is from a well established brand too, the sidewinder looks small and very clean (no chest clutter). I did hear the wob is worse than the other 2 options.



All advice is welcome, also if the rebreather isn't in the list. User experiences, people that might encounter the same problems, etc.
I'm a mod1 ccr diver, so not the most experienced one.

 

[makar0n]

hmm so Triton been around a while and from what I gather it has a rather pretty good rep. Plus its kinda local (Europe). That said its mCCR.
vs Choptima being eCCR. And since it is scubaboard in about 5 posts expect a flame war about why this or that is the best, followed by somebody bringing up rEvo into the thread then it all descends into chaos
It will depend on yer preference there really, everything else being quite similar weight/size wise, with perhaps price being tad better on Choptima (comparing Nerd 2 options). Also not sure if CE mark matters to you or not (ie. insurance, though DAN is fine as long as its not modified)


For what it's worth - I am based around the corner from yours, despite that went with Choppy as wanted eCCR since I find that a bit easier diving when having to handle things or lug camera setup around. You can do training in Mexico (cheaper than US) and pickup the air freshener there. Similarly Bonaire, Israel or Indonesia are also an option. Ping me if you want any more info, happy to share my adventures.

 

[rx7diver]

@Preach,

There is a recent SB thread that discusses the weight of rebreathers. There is a lot of good info (actual numbers) there.

rx7diver

 

[Preach]

hmm so Triton been around a while and from what I gather it has a rather pretty good rep. Plus its kinda local (Europe). That said its mCCR.
vs Choptima being eCCR. And since it is scubaboard in about 5 posts expect a flame war about why this or that is the best, followed by somebody bringing up rEvo into the thread and then fighting over scrubbers erupts.
It will depend on yer preference there really, everything else being quite similar weight/size wise, with perhaps price being tad better on Choptima (comparing Nerd 2 options). Also not sure if CE mark matters to you or not (ie. insurance, though DAN is fine as long as its not modified)


For what is worth - I am based in around the corner from yours, despite that went with Choppy as wanted eCCR since I find that a bit easier diving when having to handle things or lug camera setup around. You can do training in Mexico (cheaper than US) and pickup the air freshener there. Similarly Indonesia is also an option. Ping me if you want any more info, happy to share my adventures.

CE isn't really a point for me, and I won't be modifying units.
The biggest challenges is also support/maintenance on the optima cm.
Do you travel for maintenance or do you send the unit to usa?

I agree with the eCCR, its also what I'm used too.
With the triton/optima cm i do worry a bit about chest clutter in combination with a big camera.
What's your experience with that?

People are mostly very committed to their preferred system, so i know Threads sometimes derail. But there are some people on here who used a lot of different systems.

Thanks for the info so far!

 

[Preach]

@Preach,

There is a recent SB thread that discusses the weight of rebreathers. There is a lot of good info (actual numbers) there.

rx7diver

I'm definitely going to read them too.
The more info the better

 

[makar0n]

Do you travel for maintenance or do you send the unit to usa?

So far I have not, since barely got it last year but plan is either to do servicing myself (maybe send regs to Narked@90 as i think they do Dive Rite) or just grab some el cheapo flight to US off season. Or just find a carrier mule who happens to go there and does not mind taking it - whole thing packs into hand luggage (sans cylinder). Plus general wisdom round here seems to be that 1 year service interval is rather optimistic, kinda like with servicing regs every year.

With the triton/optima cm i do worry a bit about chest clutter in combination with a big camera.
What's your experience with that?

So there is a bit of a clutter indeed but totally no issues with camera. Key is to adjust properly the straps and find the right place for d-rings on your harness. Will depend a lot on your height and the amount of bioprene sticking out for example. At the beginning was a bit annoying as kept bobbing up, but adjusted things, added bungee instead of bottom straps and works great now. My only gripe is that I cannot anymore see whats in my leg pockets, gotta feel it instead

 

[Preach]

So far I have not, since barely got it last year but plan is either to do servicing myself (maybe send regs to Narked@90 as i think they do Dive Rite) or just grab some el cheapo flight to US off season. Or just find a carrier mule who happens to go there and does not mind taking it - whole thing packs into hand luggage (sans cylinder). Plus general wisdom round here seems to be that 1 year service interval is rather optimistic, kinda like with servicing regs every year.


So there is a bit of a clutter indeed but totally no issues with camera. Key is to adjust properly the straps and find the right place for d-rings on your harness. Will depend a lot on your height and the amount of bioprene sticking out for example. At the beginning was a bit annoying as kept bobbing up, but adjusted things, added bungee instead of bottom straps and works great now. My only gripe is that I cannot anymore see whats in my leg pockets, gotta feel it instead

An el cheapo flight to the USA is a good excuse to have an extra vacation. I hope my wife doesn't read this thread.
I agree with the service intervals, every year is probably a bit much.

I have some SM experience and I know it takes a bit longer to dial everything in. At least that was my experience with SM. I can imagine it gets more complex with adding a rebreather to the set. It will probably take a while before it's completely comfortable.
I normally have everything in my drysuit pockets. Is it maybe easier to use the pockets on the back, that brands like xdeep offer?

i never thought about bioprene and a chest mounted rebreather hehe, i think i will be ok on that though.

 

[Vicko]

Trough the year there will be a bunch of chest mount rebreathers released, might be worth it to wait a few months and see how things develop.

 

[makar0n]

Trough the year there will be a bunch of chest mount rebreathers released, might be worth it to wait a few months and see how things develop.

o_0.. do tell more! Happy with Choppy but always enjoying a bit of news

 

[Preach]

Trough the year there will be a bunch of chest mount rebreathers released, might be worth it to wait a few months and see how things develop.

I'm not in a rush, so thats some good info.