Triton rebreather or Hollis Prism2. Getting into CCR diving with a recreational diver background.

[tbone1004]

I scheduled a try dive with my local instructor, to test on the unit as well as to get to know the instructor. He seems very reputable and experienced… but we will see

CCR try dives when you aren't already experience on a CCR are basically useless as an FYI. They're immensely frustrating and unless you know how to actually evaluate a rebreather based on experience I do not find them very useful when making a purchasing decision.

 

[boriss]

CCR try dives when you aren't already experience on a CCR are basically useless as an FYI. They're immensely frustrating and unless you know how to actually evaluate a rebreather based on experience I do not find them very useful when making a purchasing decision.

I disagree... I did 3 back-to-back try dives a few months ago (Just tried 3 CCRs (Fathom, rEvo, Choptima)) and they were very helpful. After training I know a lot more and probably care about different things than I did initially, but just being on the units helped a ton! Good or bad, I quickly learned at least some of the things I liked/didn't. It's also an excellent way of turning theory into practice and learning much more from (and about) a potential instructor.

OP, if you can, try to get a try dive on both units, it's good to have some perspective.

 

[broncobowsher]

CCR try dives when you aren't already experience on a CCR are basically useless as an FYI. They're immensely frustrating and unless you know how to actually evaluate a rebreather based on experience I do not find them very useful when making a purchasing decision.

they are not totally useless either. If you have never experienced one it can give you a preview of the challenges that are in front of you. For me I tried a Poseidon first. I could see that a rebreather was what I wanted, but not that one. Didn't like there paddle display nor there proprietary battery/depth/training/marketing scheme.

If you do a try dive, be sure to get the full experience. Ask to be around for the build up, and clean up in the end. Because that will be part of you actually diving a rebreather. The glossy sales pitch of showing up and all you have to do it put on a prebuilt rebreather and they clean it up later after you leave will deprive you of the full experience of the rebreather.

I got my rebreather 5 years ago. At that time the best fit for me was the rEvo. Easy to build, easy to maintain, travels well. The Micro will fit the overhead bin as a carry on. The dual scrubbers are a better match to my typical recreational style of diving. But it is also completely capable of doing technical diving with hours of deco. I also like the lack of chest clutter (I had been doing some sidemount stuff as a step before getting the rebreather). Someday DiveTucson will have to put me in his Choptima so I can see what all the hype is about.

 

[tbone1004]

I disagree... I did 3 back-to-back try dives a few months ago (Just tried 3 CCRs (Fathom, rEvo, Choptima)) and they were very helpful. After training I know a lot more and probably care about different things than I did initially, but just being on the units helped a ton! Good or bad, I quickly learned at least some of the things I liked/didn't. It's also an excellent way of turning theory into practice and learning much more from (and about) a potential instructor.

OP, if you can, try to get a try dive on both units, it's good to have some perspective.

that's why I recommend taking Mod1 first on the unit you think you're going to want to buy, then doing the try dives afterwards because you are in a much better place to evaluate. Especially when comparing three wildly different rebreathers like you did. A lot of times people will base WoB on a unit from a try dive before they actually take Mod1 and have experience and the unit may not be fit well to them and it causes issues. For the 3 you tried it certainly gave you a backmount bmcl pair of units vs. chest mount so that will feel very different and will usually tell you which format you want to go with, i.e. if you hate stuff on your chest the Choptima is not for you. Fathom vs rEvo is a bit more complicated though from a try dive perspective, unless you're in a wetsuit and try to trim out in the Revo, that will be pretty obvious ;-) Doing a try dive before Mod1 on say a Fathom, JJ, and Liberty for example is essentially pointless though as they are functionally identical units and you are going to be so task loaded with trying to maintain ppO2, buoyancy, trim, etc. that you aren't in a great position to truly evaluate one vs. the other.

they are not totally useless either. If you have never experienced one it can give you a preview of the challenges that are in front of you. For me I tried a Poseidon first. I could see that a rebreather was what I wanted, but not that one. Didn't like there paddle display nor there proprietary battery/depth/training/marketing scheme.

If you do a try dive, be sure to get the full experience. Ask to be around for the build up, and clean up in the end. Because that will be part of you actually diving a rebreather. The glossy sales pitch of showing up and all you have to do it put on a prebuilt rebreather and they clean it up later after you leave will deprive you of the full experience of the rebreather.

I got my rebreather 5 years ago. At that time the best fit for me was the rEvo. Easy to build, easy to maintain, travels well. The Micro will fit the overhead bin as a carry on. The dual scrubbers are a better match to my typical recreational style of diving. But it is also completely capable of doing technical diving with hours of deco. I also like the lack of chest clutter (I had been doing some sidemount stuff as a step before getting the rebreather). Someday DiveTucson will have to put me in his Choptima so I can see what all the hype is about.

I should have clarified my stance on useless is when comparing units from one to the other, but yes you can learn some macro type things against a unit in the water from a try dive but I do find that taking Mod1 on a unit you think you want to be certified on and then doing the try dives puts you in a much better situation.

 

[JMBL]

The main attraction for me is the ease to travel and size of the unit. I am going to dive in BM with one smaller tank than what I used to dive which is usually a 100 or 80. How much was the whole rebreather when you’ve purchased it ?

I'm not sure my answer would be relevant : it was 3 years ago and in France. Too be fair, price was an incentive as well, it was the less expensive unit on the French market at that time.

Concerning the tank, a 7L is considered enough if you stay within NDL.

 

[inquis]

that's why I recommend taking Mod1 first on the unit you think you're going to want to buy, then doing the try dives afterwards

If one is on the fence between an mCCR unit and an eCCR unit but ambivalent regarding philosophy, is either one a "better" choice to pursue for MOD1?

 

[WOB0.01J]

+1 for Choptima. Had the same background/plans, went with Choppy despite living in EU and having to travel a fair bit to test @DiveTucson teaching patience . It is about the same size/weight as Triton, you can use it with the very same OC gear. Whole unit (sans cylinder) fits hand luggage easily in terms of traveling. Triton is nice, but mCCR. As @boriss says:


With mCCR you will have to fiddle with things. eCCR does it for you...meaning you don't have to let go of the camera

What exactly are the things that you need to

I disagree... I did 3 back-to-back try dives a few months ago (Just tried 3 CCRs (Fathom, rEvo, Choptima)) and they were very helpful. After training I know a lot more and probably care about different things than I did initially, but just being on the units helped a ton! Good or bad, I quickly learned at least some of the things I liked/didn't. It's also an excellent way of turning theory into practice and learning much more from (and about) a potential instructor.

OP, if you can, try to get a try dive on both units, it's good to have some perspective.

try dive is absolutely helpful to decide between the units. To have a first impression on units and to get to know the instructor

 

[tbone1004]

If one is on the fence between an mCCR unit and an eCCR unit but ambivalent regarding philosophy, is either one a "better" choice to pursue for MOD1?

Philosophically that is a personal preference. A good Mod1 instructor will make you do most of your diving by manually adding oxygen to the loop and it's actually more work to do that with an eCCR because the solenoid shouldn't be firing at all so you'll be hitting the O2 MAV a lot more than with a leaky valve.

When choosing what to do Mod1 on though I firmly believe you should do it based off of the instructor that works best for you.

 

[runsongas]

my vote is with @tbone1004, fixing up an aquamaster and some short doubles would be less hazardous than trying to move into CCR

ask hollis explorer owners how well the rebreathers for recreational angle works out

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I would suggest looking at the entire weight of the unit out of the water with the amount of weight you need to become neutral. I.e., are dense materials used? Are there unnecessary air spaces?

These things are not light and if you have back issues, it could be a problem.