The New KISS Sidewinder is a Pretty Cool Unit!

[teknitroxdiver]

Since I'm not an expert I've tried to not make statements on the internet that will be taken as fact. I've had a long conversation with Edd about the scrubbers, water, flooding, etc. The way the unit is designed with two scrubbers he has actually had one scrubber completely flood and was still diving the unit. Jason Richards did a good job of addressing that over on Cave Diver's forum. I would suggest to anybody with questions to just give Edd a call. He's got more experience with the unit than almost anybody and he doesn't deal in assumptions, conjecture, and leaping to conclusions.

Usually we have discussions about the merits of products here, on the board you posted on. Suggesting that anyone with a topic for discussion 'just call Edd' defeats the point of a good group consideration.

 

[nakatomi]

Ok, so then please answer the question. When did you dive a current production Sidewinder and discover all these design and manufacturing flaws?

Dude, you're here to sell and promote the rebreather so it's your job to convince me that all this has been fixed, not the other way around.

So, are you telling me the spirit now has redesigned scrubber canisters with more threads?
Does the sidewinder not have plastic fittings with a seam that the Spirit has? Have the clamps for the loop fittings been improved so they don't break? Are the loop fittings no longer interchangable? Are the grooves being deburred properly? Has quality control been improved at the factory? If so, when and how?

Pete asked for opinions, I gave mine. Instead of defending my opinion, maybe you should offer some insight on the design improvements that have been made in the year since I last looked into these products.

 

[flyboy08]

Did you get paid to say that?!?!?!?!?

You've made the ignore list with your arrogant postings....see ya.

 

[bamafan]

I don't know anything about rebreathers as I have never even been in a pool with one but back in March I was going cave diving with a buddy who has a new Sidewinder (less than 2 months old) as he was gearing up the loop hoses popped loose from the mouthpiece. He had to borrow zip ties from me to make the dive. The hose clamps were cheap plastic ones that definitely don't exude confidence in the quality of the unit. I asked several other people who dive Kiss units and every single one said the loop hose clamps from the factory are a pos. Any further than that I can't comment but it seems to me that if you spend 4 or 5k on a piece of dive gear you shouldn't have to replace parts that every one seems to know are crap.

 

[Nukakola]

I dive the Spirit LTE and before that a GEM. There are some legitimate criticisms here but some others seem just bizarre to me.

Let me just say that loop hoses should not fall off the DSV/BOV or head, and they don't when proper material is used.
Also the loop attachment should prevent the exhale loop on the inhale side and vice versa, without having to color code the hoses.

Are you talking about the possibility of getting a false lock on the quick disconnect for the hoses? That's just incorrect assembly, and something to test for when you build your unit. I've never heard of or experienced the hoses randomly falling off for another reason. Similarly, you'd have to be a pretty big knucklehead to attach the hoses backward and not notice when doing your checklist.

And as to the spirit/sidewinder, I can absolutely spot cheap and thin-walled plastic parts with seams when I see them, as opposed to one-piece durable Delrin.

I have to agree here in some places. In particular the plastic T-piece where the counterlungs and scrubbers attach on the LTE could be much more robust.

As far as the Sidekick goes, I've never even seen one and have no experience, so I'll leave that alone.

 

[The Chairman]

Me? I'm going to set up a dive with Edd on one at the NSS-CDS conference. Why not? I love my SF2, but I don't think it will pout if I dive another unit.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

@nakatomi, Thank you for posting your observations.

@Richard FDC, I think you are trying to be helpful in promoting this unit. However, you are having the opposite effect, and are becoming ineffective.

On my rebreather list: SF2, JJCCR, Revo (fading from my list), another Meg or Pathfinder.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

@nakatomi, Thank you for posting your observations.

@Richard FDC, I think you are trying to be helpful in promoting this unit. However, you are having the opposite effect, and are becoming ineffective.

On my rebreather list: SF2, JJCCR, Revo (fading from my list), another Meg or Pathfinder.

What put you off of the revo? I've been looking hard at either a micro Revo or a JJ.

 

[The Chairman]

What put you off of the revo? I've been looking hard at either a micro Revo or a JJ.

For me it was the caustic cocktail I got in training with a very minor amount of water as well as the continuing fallout with all of the politics surrounding who can be an instructor.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

What put you off of the revo? I've been looking hard at either a micro Revo or a JJ.

Lack of flood tolerance, although I realize this may not be that big of a practical concern in normal use, it still is of some importance to me.

I also am a little bit concerned about not being able to easily access the counterlung for cleaning and sanitizing.

Keep in mind that my frame of reference is the Megaladon. I liked that I could easily sterilize/flush the counterlungs post dive.

Let's face it, post dive the contents of the counterlungs are not the kind of thing you want to not easily be able to flush out.

The Meg counterlungs are great for flood tolerance, and easy to clean.
My feelings about them ranged from not minding OTS counter lungs....to being annoyed about them.

I had a love/hate relationship with them......which is one nice things about the SF2.
I will be checking out the SF2 soon. I'm headed back to Japan for work soon, and will have some time to see one up close, and dive one.
It looks like a very clean design.