KentB
Contributor
Curious what you do for a living to make roughly 20 mil a year?but don’t think I’m after your money. My hourly rate in my real job is about $10k/hour. What do you think I make teaching an optima class for a solid week.
Revo or Optima?
- Thread starter mikesz
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So a key question just occurred to me. If you had the choice, were new to rebreathers, would you choose the standard BMCL Optima or the Choptima....when the unit has clearly been so well refined from its original version years ago?
Thanks - I think you actually answered my question pretty well in your 30-hour review thread....;-)
Rose Robinson
Contributor
Hi Superlyte,
Not to mention, replacing $100. CL's in a rEvo, may end up costing $2000. That's factoring in exchange, shipping/brokerage, etc.
I did the research on this some time ago, two plastic freezer bags, locked in a tin box, never sounded like a good idea.
I guess those that prefer the rEvo live with this and tolerate it.
Not for me.
I'm waiting for a post pandemic opportunity to get locked in on a RED BARE.
I've attended Vobster Marine's clinic, at Vobster Bay in the UK, beautiful unit, love it in all respects.
Rose
Thanks to Deep Blue Ventures, today, I had a wonderful time test diving the BMCL Optima. Did two dives off the Blairgowrie Marina pier, in shallow water (max depth 3m) but with fairly strong current.
Here is my brief report from the demo day DBV held today. The day started a bit on the cold side, as I drove to the dive site, my car registered 4C and flashed a frost alert. I thought, ohh dear here we go, but by the time I arrived down the coast (80km drive) temp picked up to a balmy 12C. The sun came out and wind totally died off. I knew then it was going to be a perfect day, as I looked out onto the bay, the water surface was basically as flat as a pancake. Perfect for rebreather test diving.
I arrived a touch early to say hi to the boys, who already had 4 different units laid out. They had a revo, mares horizon, BMCL optima, Optima CM and a sidewinder there for anyone who wanted to check them out and try-dive. I did have a good look and a chat to the guys about the revo, optima and choptima. I was very keen to dive the optima, although I also wanted to make sure I had at least a walk through the other units.
I have to say, I didn’t realise just how chunky the revo is. Online photos did not do it justice and I thought the unit would be a lower profile off a divers back. I guess I underestimated the depth of the aluminium chassis that hold the CLs. Saw another guy diving it, and after a good walk through with one of the instructors, all my desktop research was confirmed. The things that I feel could be solved in a batter way were still those that made me to look at other units.
Now to the Optima - as soon as I saw it, I was immediately attracted to how the unit is built. Low profile, all super nicely integrated, neat and tidy layout. We did a detailed walk through of the unit and did the pre-dive checks. All very straight forward and all clearly explained. I especially spent time asking questions about the the unit from a practical point of view. And I knew, Michael the instructor really knew his stuff. He did several 120m+ dive on an optima so knew the unit back to front. After the checks were done, it was time to get in the water and actually give it a go.
I was a touch apprehensive about buoyancy as well as being able to do some of the key tasks. But after about 15min, Michael had me doing various drills. And more importantly it only took me about 10min to get the hang of the unit, and be able to find the bottom of the loop and get loop gas volume to an optimal level. After I did that, we practiced bailout, dil flush, oxy flush, turning the Adv off and running the unit manually. We also went for a swim under the pier and ended up going through a few narrow spaces to see how my buoyancy skills faired. First pass-through I was a bit high, but the excellent cover just did the job of protecting the back. The second pass-through I did with room to spare. The unit felt like it just became a part of me.
The biggest realisation was when I had the loop at the right volume, my breathing literally was no different to being on the surface and just breathing without anything in my mouth. I relaxed and let the enjoyment of diving the optima wash over me. It felt effortless.
The only thing I had to practice a bit more was finding the MAV buttons on the iBOV. However after a few go’s and feeling with my fingers, it was really easy to find them. I really like the way everything is off the chest and the iBOV has a nice feel and layout. No jaw fatigue at all. In fact it didn’t feel any different to a normal regulator - in many ways it felt probably a bit better because when setup correctly, the BOV just sits nicely in front of your mouth and is centrally positioned.
The base unit comes with Shearwater hud and I was also considering what to do with a backup option. But as it happens, I was able to check out the NERD on one of the other units and could see just how great that solution is. So I’m going to get one of those as well. Makes for a very streamlined solution with all the data in your eye, and especially if you’re doing deco - this makes total sense to me.
I’m super glad I spent the extended time doing my desktop research, because I felt I already knew how the unit is put together. Combining this with the practical experience now, just reaffirmed that I had made the right choice.
I have now ordered the unit and can’t wait to do the training and go diving. The adventure begins. I’m so excited!
I also wanted to thank everyone here, for your candid feedback, answering my questions and just for providing your points of view. Many many thanks.
Here is my brief report from the demo day DBV held today. The day started a bit on the cold side, as I drove to the dive site, my car registered 4C and flashed a frost alert. I thought, ohh dear here we go, but by the time I arrived down the coast (80km drive) temp picked up to a balmy 12C. The sun came out and wind totally died off. I knew then it was going to be a perfect day, as I looked out onto the bay, the water surface was basically as flat as a pancake. Perfect for rebreather test diving.
I arrived a touch early to say hi to the boys, who already had 4 different units laid out. They had a revo, mares horizon, BMCL optima, Optima CM and a sidewinder there for anyone who wanted to check them out and try-dive. I did have a good look and a chat to the guys about the revo, optima and choptima. I was very keen to dive the optima, although I also wanted to make sure I had at least a walk through the other units.
I have to say, I didn’t realise just how chunky the revo is. Online photos did not do it justice and I thought the unit would be a lower profile off a divers back. I guess I underestimated the depth of the aluminium chassis that hold the CLs. Saw another guy diving it, and after a good walk through with one of the instructors, all my desktop research was confirmed. The things that I feel could be solved in a batter way were still those that made me to look at other units.
Now to the Optima - as soon as I saw it, I was immediately attracted to how the unit is built. Low profile, all super nicely integrated, neat and tidy layout. We did a detailed walk through of the unit and did the pre-dive checks. All very straight forward and all clearly explained. I especially spent time asking questions about the the unit from a practical point of view. And I knew, Michael the instructor really knew his stuff. He did several 120m+ dive on an optima so knew the unit back to front. After the checks were done, it was time to get in the water and actually give it a go.
I was a touch apprehensive about buoyancy as well as being able to do some of the key tasks. But after about 15min, Michael had me doing various drills. And more importantly it only took me about 10min to get the hang of the unit, and be able to find the bottom of the loop and get loop gas volume to an optimal level. After I did that, we practiced bailout, dil flush, oxy flush, turning the Adv off and running the unit manually. We also went for a swim under the pier and ended up going through a few narrow spaces to see how my buoyancy skills faired. First pass-through I was a bit high, but the excellent cover just did the job of protecting the back. The second pass-through I did with room to spare. The unit felt like it just became a part of me.
The biggest realisation was when I had the loop at the right volume, my breathing literally was no different to being on the surface and just breathing without anything in my mouth. I relaxed and let the enjoyment of diving the optima wash over me. It felt effortless.
The only thing I had to practice a bit more was finding the MAV buttons on the iBOV. However after a few go’s and feeling with my fingers, it was really easy to find them. I really like the way everything is off the chest and the iBOV has a nice feel and layout. No jaw fatigue at all. In fact it didn’t feel any different to a normal regulator - in many ways it felt probably a bit better because when setup correctly, the BOV just sits nicely in front of your mouth and is centrally positioned.
The base unit comes with Shearwater hud and I was also considering what to do with a backup option. But as it happens, I was able to check out the NERD on one of the other units and could see just how great that solution is. So I’m going to get one of those as well. Makes for a very streamlined solution with all the data in your eye, and especially if you’re doing deco - this makes total sense to me.
I’m super glad I spent the extended time doing my desktop research, because I felt I already knew how the unit is put together. Combining this with the practical experience now, just reaffirmed that I had made the right choice.
I have now ordered the unit and can’t wait to do the training and go diving. The adventure begins. I’m so excited!
I also wanted to thank everyone here, for your candid feedback, answering my questions and just for providing your points of view. Many many thanks.
I assume you're skipping the hud and adding a nerd? Or do they have the option of a nerd being a primary controller? I personally didn't like the nerd. It was cool the first couple tries, but then I found it annoying.
On the iBOV, they're great. I really like my divesoft bov and find it better quality than the golem gear alternative which seems more popular. It's light and doesn't bug your jaw as much. The biggest thing is finding the right mouthpiece for it and your jaw. I personally use the stock one. My wife moved to scubapro branded mouthpieces and they work best for her. I personally don't like the mavs being on the bov. Divesoft had had quite a few issues with them initially, so I just don't trust them as much. If it's an option, I'd go with chest mounted mavs as opposed to mounted on the bov
On the iBOV, they're great. I really like my divesoft bov and find it better quality than the golem gear alternative which seems more popular. It's light and doesn't bug your jaw as much. The biggest thing is finding the right mouthpiece for it and your jaw. I personally use the stock one. My wife moved to scubapro branded mouthpieces and they work best for her. I personally don't like the mavs being on the bov. Divesoft had had quite a few issues with them initially, so I just don't trust them as much. If it's an option, I'd go with chest mounted mavs as opposed to mounted on the bov
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