Mares Abyss Mr22

[rescuediver009]

Now that rescue diver mentions it. There is the MR-22 Ruby, and the MR-22 Abyss. The ruby was first. I have not seen them on the Mares web site, but you do still see them for sale. I belive the Abyss is the more popular.

Do I have a story for you....

I don't think that I would recommend the ruby for any reason other than this. The ruby was the exact same as the Abyss with the exception of the hp seat which was an actual ruby. It was of conical design and worked very well. Because it was such a hard material (rock) it never needed to be replaced. Well I came across one with a chip in it. Obviously it wouldn't seal and had to be replaced. No big deal. Other than being a bt more pricey I couldn't see a problem. Well after talking to Mares I was told that Mares only keeps about 3-4 in north america ! And their price was quite a bit (over $200) For an HP seat ! And there were most definetely not any in Canada and it was 3-4 weeksfor delivery.
Now that sucks. Since then the Abyss has adopted the conical seat design and it can be replaced with a conventional seat. However, I don't know that the extra price of the ruby would be justified. I assume that Mares encountered other problems such as this and perhaps the regs weren't selling, and thus they stopped making them. Any left over in the stores are just that. Left overs. Like some of theolder Scubapros, MK18s and the like. Nothing wrong with them though.

 

[aquaoren]

Do I have a story for you....

I don't think that I would recommend the ruby for any reason other than this. The ruby was the exact same as the Abyss with the exception of the hp seat which was an actual ruby. It was of conical design and worked very well. Because it was such a hard material (rock) it never needed to be replaced. Well I came across one with a chip in it. Obviously it wouldn't seal and had to be replaced. No big deal. Other than being a bt more pricey I couldn't see a problem. Well after talking to Mares I was told that Mares only keeps about 3-4 in north america ! And their price was quite a bit (over $200) For an HP seat ! And there were most definetely not any in Canada and it was 3-4 weeksfor delivery.
Now that sucks. Since then the Abyss has adopted the conical seat design and it can be replaced with a conventional seat. However, I don't know that the extra price of the ruby would be justified. I assume that Mares encountered other problems such as this and perhaps the regs weren't selling, and thus they stopped making them. Any left over in the stores are just that. Left overs. Like some of theolder Scubapros, MK18s and the like. Nothing wrong with them though.

You're not the only one with the chipped Ruby.
It's a long known problem. I've added a link to a German board with some pics of the chipped Ruby and they are from 2001.
http://taucher.net/edb/aus_show_detail.html?artikel=Ruby&hersteller=Mares&kategorie=Atemregler

 

[rescuediver009]

You're not the only one with the chipped Ruby.
It's a long known problem. I've added a link to a German board with some pics of the chipped Ruby and they are from 2001.
http://taucher.net/edb/aus_show_detail.html?artikel=Ruby&hersteller=Mares&kategorie=Atemregler

Wow, that is exactly what it looked like. As I recall there was some kind of problem that if the seat (ruby) didn't quite align correctly right off the bat when the system was pressurized, the high pressure would chip it where as a regular seat is somewhat plyable. My opinion is that the play between the load transfer pin and the holein the middle of the seat is to blame. It allows for too much lateral shifting....