Most compact/travel-friendly CCR - Sidewinder, Optima CH or ??

[vkalia]

I am in the same boat as you are as far as my CCR needs, however I will not travel with mine, thankfully I can get a lot of time on mine in Florida.

Lots of folks are liking the divetalk go. I have seen some on our boats in Florida. As a choptima diver I prefer some of the safety and design features it has which the go does not have. The go is lighter and simpler for sure. For travel the choptima seems doable, but the go would be smaller and lighter.

Sidewinder is heavier for sure.

What safety/design features are these? Have been reading up on the DiveTalk Go (thanks for pointing it out - wasn’t aware of this one), and the fact that it seems to be clocking in at about $2k less all-in compared to the Choptima is always a plus. But that $2k savings is only worth it if there is no compromises in safety.

 

[Mobulai]

Yes I am using exclusively the carts. Easy supply and good benefits for not much added cost.

Makes sense on your reservations.

Did you consider the new halcyon unit? Due to the number of instructors they are onboarding and affiliations thought GUE to deep dive Dubai you might have better access there. A couple friends have tried it who are far more serious than me and said it was a good unit but still prefer the chop due to electronics and cost.

Service would be a challenge.

It’s one of a few resons I pushed on CM units for a bit later

I like it a lot (untested) — I got to play around with it a few times (dry) at their booth at BOOT and I love what I see so far

The doublehose styled ADV/BOV thing that they got is very cool, but I’m a bit skeptical for now, I’ll wait and see what a couple years in operation will bring out with others braver than I
As soon as someone offers a try dive here or there I’ll for sure test it, but not crossing over just yet

As an engineer tho — I’m hooked and in love

 

[Mobulai]

What safety/design features are these? Have been reading up on the DiveTalk Go (thanks for pointing it out - wasn’t aware of this one), and the fact that it seems to be clocking in at about $2k less all-in compared to the Choptima is always a plus. But that $2k savings is only worth it if there is no compromises in safety.

Well the 2k you save, you lose:
- ECCR functionality (and as mentioned below redundant electronics)
- Smaller scrubber size (shorter dive time); if you’re going to CC mainly to avoid the bubbles and not duration that might be ok/of no consequence
- “expedition grade” system, the chop is cave exploration worthy, I doubt that can be said for the GO
- the cartridge option: consistently packed sorb every time (AFAIK these are only available in the US)

 

[vkalia]

Well the 2k you save, you lose:
- ECCR functionality
- Smaller scrubber size (shorter dive time); if you’re going to CC mainly to avoid the bubbles and not duration that might be ok/of no consequence
- “expedition grade” system, the chop is cave exploration worthy, I doubt that can be said for the GO
- the cartridge option: consistently packed sorb every time

Gotcha, thanks.

I think i need to figure out the sorb part of things and see what works better for the places i plan to use this stuff. That will likely be a key factor in the selection process. Will speak to a couple of friends who do dive CCRs and see what they get.

 

[grantmac]

I was, and am still, very sceptical about the Go.

However Achem from ISC seems to be a fan and he's not exactly one to pull punches. I believe they are offering a stackable can arrangement to add sorb which has some benefits. I'm not sure I want a rigid plate on my chest, but the CL position makes a hell of a lot of sense.
I'd probably prefer a needle valve on an MCCR just from a conceptual standpoint and KISS construction quality seems to be something not everyone agrees about.

 

[Jonah Kowall]

Well the 2k you save, you lose:
- ECCR functionality
- Smaller scrubber size (shorter dive time); if you’re going to CC mainly to avoid the bubbles and not duration that might be ok/of no consequence
- “expedition grade” system, the chop is cave exploration worthy, I doubt that can be said for the GO
- the cartridge option: consistently packed sorb every time (AFAIK these are only available in the US)

They have a larger scrubber coming out very soon which can handle larger amounts of sorb (not a concern for me). The folks I was with last weekend on the boat also said they had swapped larger hoses in for better volume on the go.

The bigger issues I have heard from folks way above my expertise are about the number of water traps and places where water is stored in the unit. The Chop has 3 water traps, the Go has zero. I also like that the Chop has two separate electronic systems (brains) and 4 sensors. The go has 1 brain and 3 sensors.

 

[vkalia]

I just read through all 31 pages of discussion on the Go.

What seems to have gotten very little comment was the observation from someone that only 7 out of 13 observed dives with it ended successfully (ie, without requiring OC bailout). Yikes.

 

[Mobulai]

also like that the Chop has two separate electronic systems (brains) and 4 sensors.

The redundancy of DiveCAN architecture has a huge upside for eCCRs — functional safety and graceful degradation of automated systems is just sexy in my eyes
I’m actually hoping to mod a sidewinder to such an architecture, let’s see if that’s a feasible project

I just read through all 31 pages of discussion on the Go.

What seems to have gotten very little comment was the observation from someone that only 7 out of 13 observed dives with it ended successfully (ie, without requiring OC bailout). Yikes.

(Very personal stance, take with a grain of salt, not a technical analysis)
It guess it has to do with the „camps“ surrounding DT drama — it’s a keen observation btw

I have my bias as well against the GO, besides the technical downsides it had (for my taste of diving), most of my stigma comes from the people behind it (and the drama that I don’t wanna give much attention, but if you’re interested and don’t know about it look into the whole Amex/DAN thing about Woodys incident from a year and half ago).

The demographic (a big chunk of it not its entirety) that is targeted by this unit is (not surprisingly) very green (tech skill wise), so a fair statistic on BO cause (bad design vs bad diver) isn’t that easy to figure out; I assume the reason not many comments discussed it; most of the usual suspects here on SB would just joke about it being on the „DThaters“ (not calling them that, it’s what they’re being called) camp (which I’m closer to than the other camp; but I will try and treat the unit only at its merit)

I did try to be objective about it and checked it out at BOOT as well, talked a bit to Achim from ISC; it seems to do what it’s described to, I don’t like the chest plate, it seems more like a diy project than a series production, still felt like it would survive alright
I am very skeptical about the CLs; will have to try to tell

But for my intents and purposes a GO will only serve me as a BO or deco rebreather— and I am far from that in my diving level/career

 

[davehicks]

As a photographer I'd be skeptical about a chest mount CCR. I do get low and one of the advantages of CCR is that I can hover 2 inches off the sands. For macro and muck diving this is critical for good images. I use a KISS Spirit, which is basically the original back mount predecessor to the Sidewinder. It weighs very little and is easy to travel with, assuming you can get Sorb and a 30-40cf bailout at your destination. I'll use an 80 if nothing else is available. I usually fly with my 14cf O2 bottle as it's so small.

This talk about water traps and such might be important to some Cave divers, but I've done >1000 dives on the Spirit and never flooded the unit. I don't see this as a problem. Bailout should be the first response to a flood anyway.

 

[davehicks]

The redundancy of DiveCAN architecture is a huge upside for eCCRs — functional safety and graceful degradation of automated systems is just sexy in my eyes


(Very personal stance, take with a grain of salt, not a technical analysis)
It guess it has to do with the „camps“ surrounding DT drama — it’s a keen observation btw

I have my bias as well against the GO, besides the technical downsides it had (for my taste of diving), most of my stigma comes from the people behind it (and the drama that I don’t wanna give much attention, but if you’re interested and don’t know about it look into the whole Amex/DAN thing about Woodys incident from a year and half ago).

The demographic that is targeted by this unit is (not surprisingly) very green (tech skill wise), so a fair statistic on BO cause (bad design vs bad diver) isn’t that easy to figure out; I ssume the reason not many comments discussed it; most of the usual suspects here on SB would just joke about it being on the „DThaters“ (not calling them that, it’s what they’re being called) camp

I did try to be objective about it and checked it out at BOOT as well, talked a bit to Achim from ISC
But for my intents and purposes a GO will only serves me as a BO or deco rebreather— and I am far from that in my diving level/career

I know two very experienced divers (1000's of dives) who have owned at least three other CCR models that recently got the GO and are satisfied with them.