Post a roadmap for getting all the training and gear for tech and rebreathers?

[danvolker]

You can get from Palm Beach to Miami in :

• A car .. relatively inexpensive and pretty hard for anything to go wrong mechanically most days
• a small plane.....costs lots more, requires extensive time to learn flying, requires good maintenance so it won't crash...requires frequent use so you don't forget how to fly well
• A Jet.....Cost Really alot more,requires extensive time to learn flying, requires good maintenance so it won't crash...requires frequent use so you don't forget how to fly well

Rebreathers are like the small plane or the Jet...few divers here on SB actually NEED a RB to enjoy the kind of diving they want to do....there is a huge Geek factor, a huge "look at me" factor, and a huge death potential when compared to open circuit.

If you really have to go miles into a cave, or if you really have to go to 450 feet deep in open ocean, maybe you really need a rebreather.....If it is just the bubbles and the silence, an exhaust through a fine sponge is dead silent, and would cost almost nothing( relatively speaking), and be much safer.

Doubles and tech diving....If you are seeing all kinds of things you love deep, and you cant find these things shallow, then this will make sense to you. I went this way for the much bigger fish....for most people, the rewards diminish alot when they get to the wrecks or reefs deeper than 160....

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Doubles - aluminum can get set up for around 400 or less if you really shop, Steels 500-800 (lp 72's though which make a sweet learner set can be put together for 300)

Regs at least three first and second stages - 600 and up not always with hoses

If you have a single BPW set up. keep it that way. Switching is a PIA.

You can get a new BPW for doubles for less than 450.00. New. 269 for the wing, 99 plate, 40-65 for a harness. Or 25 bucks if you buy the webbing and hardware and make your own generic one.

Stage bottle. buy a used for 40 for 100 bucks. They come up all the time here and on ebay.

Can light can set you back over a grand but there are less expensive ones that will work in the beginning for under 500.00

If you are not in Bonaire all the time then if you don't have one a drysuit is damn near a must. 800.00 and up.

Then there's training. My Intro to Tech is 425.00

Most adv nitrox/deco classes you're looking at 600.00 plus and there is no guarantee you'll pass.

Follow that with an entry level trimix, heliox, or helitrox class for another 300 plus or more.

Trimix fills vary so wildly it's not funny. I saw one post where a trimix fill was 1.00 per cu ft. If you're diving double LP 85's that's 170.00 for a fill. Even at 65 cents a cu ft., it's 110.00 for what may be a dive at say 150 feet for twenty five minutes and then as much as an hour of deco hanging on a line and reading national geographic which is printed on waterproof paper and can last long enough to keep you occupied.

Now add this up and double it. Cause one BPW and one set of doubles will not be enough. You'll end with 6 -10 regs, 3 sets of doubles, 3 stages or more, and all the maintenance that goes with it. I just paid 133 for visuals and I get a break. That was for twelve tanks and 4 additional fills. Luckily I service my own regs. Next time around I'll be doing my own vis's as well.

SO yeah 10 grand is a good place to START to budget for. Rebreather as I seem to see is 6 k for the unit, 1500 -2000 for the training. And that's just to dive recreational depths!

 

[Nwcid]

Another thing on the plus for rebreathers is weight.

GF and I had looked at going tech but she can physically not handle big doubles. That along with a few other reasons going to rebreather is what we have decided to do. We are about 1.5-2 years out from doing it. It is going to cost $10-15,000 each.

Another thing to look into is if any shops have a rebreather "demo" day or something similar. We just did one and learned a lot. Really took the mystery out of them.

 

[TSandM]

Don't forget that rebreathers still weigh about 70 pounds, and then you have to handle the deco and bailout cylinders. I look longingly at anything that reduces the total weight I have to carry around, but rebreathers haven't made it attractive enough to merit the cost and other issues associated with them.

 

[Nwcid]

Don't forget that rebreathers still weigh about 70 pounds, and then you have to handle the deco and bailout cylinders. I look longingly at anything that reduces the total weight I have to carry around, but rebreathers haven't made it attractive enough to merit the cost and other issues associated with them.

Very true. I am amazed at what you can do. Beth has physical limitations limits her. It sounds like fully loaded the rEvo mini is about 65lbs. That is the same weight as 2 100cf tanks only. For me if I end up in double 130's then there is a huge weight savings.

Yeah we still need other bottles and stuff but those are things that can be packed down to the site to be staged.

We are going to do more research for sure but that is the way it is looking. I have a set of double 72's that Beth is going to start using soon and see how she does with those.

 

[daniel f aleman]

Equipment:

Dry suit with hood and gloves: $1200-2500
Wet suits (3 each: 3mil, 5mil, 7mil) $500-750
Masks: 2, $100
Fins: 2 sets, $150
2 sets: back plates and wings: $1000
6 regulators, $1200-2000
2 mixed-gas computers, $800-1200
2 depth/bottom timers, $100
2 compasses, $100
8 pounds weights, belt - $100
1 high performance light, $1200
2 back-up lights, $200
2 lift bag / SMBs, $300
1 primary reel, $50
1 secondary reel, $50
1 spool, $50
2 cutting devices, $50
2 sets of doubles, with manifolds, $1500
6 stage bottles / ponys, $800 (AL80s can be used as singles)
1 suit inflation bottle, $100
2 slates, $75
1 oxygen / helium analyzer, $1000
Box of assorted clips and do-dads, $300-500
Box of extra hoses, save a dive kit, $400
Gear bags and crates, $300

Sub total: $10,000-15,000

Training:

Advanced Open Water, $250
Rescue, CPR-First Aid, $250
Nitrox / Advanced Nitrox, $350
Decompression Procedures, $450
Gas Blender, Advanced Gas Blender, $350
Trimix $600
Advanced Trimix - $600
Full Cave - $1500

Sub total, $15,000-20,000

1 Rebrether, and training, $3000-6000

Total: $20,000-25,000

Additional running costs include: travel, gasses, site entry fees, insurance, additional training and equipment, yearly maintenance costs, divorce and child support, etc.

 

[danvolker]

Equipment:

Dry suit with hood and gloves: $1200-2500
Wet suits (3 each: 3mil, 5mil, 7mil) $500-750
Masks: 2, $100
Fins: 2 sets, $150
2 sets: back plates and wings: $1000
6 regulators, $1200-2000
2 mixed-gas computers, $800-1200
2 depth/bottom timers, $100
2 compasses, $100
8 pounds weights, belt - $100
1 high performance light, $1200
2 back-up lights, $200
2 lift bag / SMBs, $300
1 primary reel, $50
1 secondary reel, $50
1 spool, $50
2 cutting devices, $50
2 sets of doubles, with manifolds, $1500
6 stage bottles / ponys, $800 (AL80s can be used as singles)
1 suit inflation bottle, $100
2 slates, $75
1 oxygen / helium analyzer, $1000
Box of assorted clips and do-dads, $300-500
Box of extra hoses, save a dive kit, $400
Gear bags and crates, $300

Sub total: $10,000-15,000

Training:

Advanced Open Water, $250
Rescue, CPR-First Aid, $250
Nitrox / Advanced Nitrox, $350
Decompression Procedures, $450
Gas Blender, Advanced Gas Blender, $350
Trimix $600
Advanced Trimix - $600
Full Cave - $1500

Sub total, $15,000-20,000

1 Rebrether, and training, $3000-6000

Total: $20,000-25,000

Additional running costs include: travel, gasses, site entry fees, insurance, additional training and equipment, yearly maintenance costs, divorce and child support, etc.

Thankyou Daniel, and this is EXACTLY why Rebreathers are the darlings of many shop owners....why sell a diver into the sport for $2000 when you could sell the same diver into the sport for $20,000.....Daaahhhh !!!!

I am pretty sure the Divorce part would cost a lot more...and why some rebreather shop owners now have Law degrees

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Equipment:

Dry suit with hood and gloves: $1200-2500
Wet suits (3 each: 3mil, 5mil, 7mil) $500-750
Masks: 2, $100
Fins: 2 sets, $150
2 sets: back plates and wings: $1000
6 regulators, $1200-2000
2 mixed-gas computers, $800-1200
2 depth/bottom timers, $100
2 compasses, $100
8 pounds weights, belt - $100
1 high performance light, $1200
2 back-up lights, $200
2 lift bag / SMBs, $300
1 primary reel, $50
1 secondary reel, $50
1 spool, $50
2 cutting devices, $50
2 sets of doubles, with manifolds, $1500
6 stage bottles / ponys, $800 (AL80s can be used as singles)
1 suit inflation bottle, $100
2 slates, $75
1 oxygen / helium analyzer, $1000
Box of assorted clips and do-dads, $300-500
Box of extra hoses, save a dive kit, $400
Gear bags and crates, $300

Sub total: $10,000-15,000

Training:

Advanced Open Water, $250
Rescue, CPR-First Aid, $250
Nitrox / Advanced Nitrox, $350
Decompression Procedures, $450
Gas Blender, Advanced Gas Blender, $350
Trimix $600
Advanced Trimix - $600
Full Cave - $1500

Sub total, $15,000-20,000

1 Rebrether, and training, $3000-6000

Total: $20,000-25,000

Additional running costs include: travel, gasses, site entry fees, insurance, additional training and equipment, yearly maintenance costs, divorce and child support, etc.

Thanks! Due to the huge gas costs I think I'm going to be going the rebreather route. Maybe something like a KISS GEM?

Small, light, somewhat inexpensive.

I would still like to be trained in deco diving though for those occasions when I want to have longer bottom times or dive deeper. I've read that there are no deco classes for the GEM, but some are in the works? Also the GEM was originally intended for deep cave dives? FYI I have no inclination to do cave dives.

 

[TSandM]

If I were you, I'd do a LOT of reading, and a lot of talking to a lot of people before I laid down money for a rebreather. There are a lot of them out there and they are quite different. Some, like the GEM, are SCRs, some are manual CCRs and some are electronic CCRs, and there are arguments for and against each type, and some dives each is best suited for. This is really an area where you should do your homework. I've been reading about rebreathers for several years, and have attended two rebreather "try dive" events, but I don't feel at all prepared to make a decision about what unit I would buy, were I to go that route.

 

[darushin]

Equipment:

Dry suit with hood and gloves: $1200-2500
Wet suits (3 each: 3mil, 5mil, 7mil) $500-750
Masks: 2, $100
Fins: 2 sets, $150
2 sets: back plates and wings: $1000
6 regulators, $1200-2000
2 mixed-gas computers, $800-1200
2 depth/bottom timers, $100
2 compasses, $100
8 pounds weights, belt - $100
1 high performance light, $1200
2 back-up lights, $200
2 lift bag / SMBs, $300
1 primary reel, $50
1 secondary reel, $50
1 spool, $50
2 cutting devices, $50
2 sets of doubles, with manifolds, $1500
6 stage bottles / ponys, $800 (AL80s can be used as singles)
1 suit inflation bottle, $100
2 slates, $75
1 oxygen / helium analyzer, $1000
Box of assorted clips and do-dads, $300-500
Box of extra hoses, save a dive kit, $400
Gear bags and crates, $300

Sub total: $10,000-15,000

Training:

Advanced Open Water, $250
Rescue, CPR-First Aid, $250
Nitrox / Advanced Nitrox, $350
Decompression Procedures, $450
Gas Blender, Advanced Gas Blender, $350
Trimix $600
Advanced Trimix - $600
Full Cave - $1500

Sub total, $15,000-20,000

1 Rebrether, and training, $3000-6000

Total: $20,000-25,000

Additional running costs include: travel, gasses, site entry fees, insurance, additional training and equipment, yearly maintenance costs, divorce and child support, etc.

Thanks! Due to the huge gas costs I think I'm going to be going the rebreather route. Maybe something like a KISS GEM?

Small, light, somewhat inexpensive.

I would still like to be trained in deco diving though for those occasions when I want to have longer bottom times or dive deeper. I've read that there are no deco classes for the GEM, but some are in the works? Also the GEM was originally intended for deep cave dives? FYI I have no inclination to do cave dives.

Rebreathers are good tools only if you dive deep and or dive Trimix a lot. For example I routinely dive eagles nest cavern (130ft -170ft) on 17/40 using my PRISM 2. My total dive time is about 180 minutes (100 bottom / 80 deco) and my total cost to dive (sorb+ gas) is about 50$ which rocksn

The problem you will discover with rebreathers is that the same 50$ also applies when you want to dive a reef with your open circuit buddy.

Also as others have mentioned, the up front costs suck too. To get trained in a ECCR you can exist 2k got mandatory manufacturer training, then 2k more to get the Trimix rating. Another 2k for bailout, deco and stage bottles. 2k for regulators for those bottles. Oh and figure 1500 for a good drysuit (don't even bother with wetsuits). This in addition to tie cost of your CCR. So you are at 9500+CCR cost just to get deep certified on a CCR. Add another 3k for cave if that it's your cup of tea.

Before you even think of breaking out your visa on a CCR, consider the following.

1. How easy it's the unit to maintain?
2. What is the yearly maintenance service going to cost and entail.
3. Is this unit locally serviceable by an authorized dealer.
4. What are the known specific risks/defects of this unit?
5. Can I follow a predive regiment that may entail doing 30 minute equipment check religiously.
6. Can I handle the prospect of having this unit failing at 200 ft?
7. Can I plan a dive including deco and actually execute that plan.

Daru