I currently own an Inspiration, MK-15, Meg, Dolphin and soon to own a Ouroboros, I also have a Cis on loan from my uncle (saturated).
The inspiration: I have owned mine for about 5 years, have put hundreds of hours on it. It is overall a pretty good unit and gets the job done.
Gripes: The DSV and harness/wing in my opinion suck. I have found the mouth piece to be difficult to close in an emergency. The wing did not give me the trim characteristics I prefer and the harness was sloppy to me. I added a KM-M48 with Nato pod, and a custom diver wing/harness/bp to solve those issues. One of the most frustrating things I've dealt with is the handset magnets corroding. I am very anal about cleaning but nothing seems to work. I have replaced them 4 times so far. The jury is out regarding batteries in the loop, but when in doubt move them. The location of the cells seems to allow condensation on the #2 cell on a regular basis. As a day of diving progresses, #2 seems to hold moisture and go out from 1&3. Usually if I pop the head and dry it out, #2 is right back in the game...but that is annoying on a long day out. Counter lungs are bulky and in the way. Hose connections can be a pain in the but, leaky connections can and do take time to resolve. No factory installed way to remove water from the loop (huge detriment). I know the list is long; I beat the hell out of my units every weekend. These are my observations over a very long period of time. Some may not be legitimate complaints, more so wish lists. But they are my observations.
Praise: While I do not have the new electronics and will not comment on them. I have found my backlit electronics more than adequate. They seem to track close and other that the moisture issue for #2 I have had no issues. It is easy to assemble and disassemble; scrubber packing is pretty straightforward and overall pretty simple. As stated earlier I have about 700 hours on mine. The only things (other than required maintenance ect.) that have failed are the handset mags. The warnings are adequate, and if recognized and adhered to most issues are known before problems arise. Breathing is easy in all positions. Set point changes are easy. Back lighting works very well. With the CD wing/bp/harness the trim of the unit is perfect. I generally dive a 5.5 wet suit and 5lbs in the top pocket is all the weight I need. The shape of the case works very well on the cattle boats. It will usually strap right in the tank holder with no issues. I have no reservations about diving this unit. It has been very dependable, with the changes I have made I truly enjoy it.
Will add my observations on my other units later.
The inspiration: I have owned mine for about 5 years, have put hundreds of hours on it. It is overall a pretty good unit and gets the job done.
Gripes: The DSV and harness/wing in my opinion suck. I have found the mouth piece to be difficult to close in an emergency. The wing did not give me the trim characteristics I prefer and the harness was sloppy to me. I added a KM-M48 with Nato pod, and a custom diver wing/harness/bp to solve those issues. One of the most frustrating things I've dealt with is the handset magnets corroding. I am very anal about cleaning but nothing seems to work. I have replaced them 4 times so far. The jury is out regarding batteries in the loop, but when in doubt move them. The location of the cells seems to allow condensation on the #2 cell on a regular basis. As a day of diving progresses, #2 seems to hold moisture and go out from 1&3. Usually if I pop the head and dry it out, #2 is right back in the game...but that is annoying on a long day out. Counter lungs are bulky and in the way. Hose connections can be a pain in the but, leaky connections can and do take time to resolve. No factory installed way to remove water from the loop (huge detriment). I know the list is long; I beat the hell out of my units every weekend. These are my observations over a very long period of time. Some may not be legitimate complaints, more so wish lists. But they are my observations.
Praise: While I do not have the new electronics and will not comment on them. I have found my backlit electronics more than adequate. They seem to track close and other that the moisture issue for #2 I have had no issues. It is easy to assemble and disassemble; scrubber packing is pretty straightforward and overall pretty simple. As stated earlier I have about 700 hours on mine. The only things (other than required maintenance ect.) that have failed are the handset mags. The warnings are adequate, and if recognized and adhered to most issues are known before problems arise. Breathing is easy in all positions. Set point changes are easy. Back lighting works very well. With the CD wing/bp/harness the trim of the unit is perfect. I generally dive a 5.5 wet suit and 5lbs in the top pocket is all the weight I need. The shape of the case works very well on the cattle boats. It will usually strap right in the tank holder with no issues. I have no reservations about diving this unit. It has been very dependable, with the changes I have made I truly enjoy it.
Will add my observations on my other units later.
