Hi: What would be the lightest and most popular rebreather folks use? I do not have one but am intrigued by the idea. I know its a broad question and will probably get varied opinions.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Lightest and most popular RB
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uhhhh that's a wide variant.....
Lightest- I assume you mean mixed gas CCR not Oxygen which have some light weight chest mount options. I believe the Kiss Sidekick wins lightest mixed gas at ~22lbs ready to dive *just the rebreather, no O2 bottle, harness etc. Most all of them when empty will fit in a pelican air case and be under the 50lb limit though.
Most popular-that all depends on where you are looking.
Globally? Probably the Inspiration because it's been around forever and has a huge global market. I see more of them than I do anything else.
Everything else is going to be an isolated region and or group that will determine what is most popular. Cave country is a complete mixed bag as a whole, but if you go to certain areas or dive with certain people you will see more of specific rebreathers. I.e. mill pond will have a lot of sidekicks and winders courtesy of Edd. Dive with guys associated with Dive Rite in that area and you'll see a lot of O2ptimas, but it's all about the specific area and people down there.
Lightest- I assume you mean mixed gas CCR not Oxygen which have some light weight chest mount options. I believe the Kiss Sidekick wins lightest mixed gas at ~22lbs ready to dive *just the rebreather, no O2 bottle, harness etc. Most all of them when empty will fit in a pelican air case and be under the 50lb limit though.
Most popular-that all depends on where you are looking.
Globally? Probably the Inspiration because it's been around forever and has a huge global market. I see more of them than I do anything else.
Everything else is going to be an isolated region and or group that will determine what is most popular. Cave country is a complete mixed bag as a whole, but if you go to certain areas or dive with certain people you will see more of specific rebreathers. I.e. mill pond will have a lot of sidekicks and winders courtesy of Edd. Dive with guys associated with Dive Rite in that area and you'll see a lot of O2ptimas, but it's all about the specific area and people down there.
The Kiss LTE is very light, and if properly packed can be carried on and put in the overhead on most planes.
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essentially identical to the sidewinder obviously, both 21-22lbs depending on specific harness and wing combo.
OP
Very helpful Tbone1004 and hroark2112.
Pelagian is 9.5kg, empty scrubber and no tanks. That's including everything else.
A KISS Sidekick is 2 kilos lighter, but keep in mind it's a sidemount unit, and that weight isn't including your sidemount system, so the actual weight is comparable to the Pelagian or the Spirit LTE.
Kiss Spirit LTE IS 9.5KG, empty scrubber and no tanks, although I don't think I'd dive one personally.
The absolute lightest is the KISS GEM SCR. It's 5.9kg, BUUUUUUT, it's an SCR, not a CCR. IMO, if you want an SCR, you want to go with a PSCR like an RB80 or similar. That being said, it's super lightweight and a great way to extend your dive time, provided you can get nitrox wherever you're going.
A KISS Sidekick is 2 kilos lighter, but keep in mind it's a sidemount unit, and that weight isn't including your sidemount system, so the actual weight is comparable to the Pelagian or the Spirit LTE.
Kiss Spirit LTE IS 9.5KG, empty scrubber and no tanks, although I don't think I'd dive one personally.
The absolute lightest is the KISS GEM SCR. It's 5.9kg, BUUUUUUT, it's an SCR, not a CCR. IMO, if you want an SCR, you want to go with a PSCR like an RB80 or similar. That being said, it's super lightweight and a great way to extend your dive time, provided you can get nitrox wherever you're going.
victorzamora
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The question for you is: Why so concerned with weight? What's your goal/mission?
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same with popularity
Local popularity is one thing to consider when making a purchase decision.
It's nice to have a dealer and dive buddies with the same gear, both for maintenance purposes, but also to learn together and bounce things off each other. A friend of mine just bought a Liberty because he really liked the unit, but he had to fly somewhere for training, not sure who the US distributor is, and there are two instructors in North America, none near us. Is the unit so much better than any other that it's worth that compromise? I don't know. But I didn't go that way.
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@doctormike local popularity 100%, but not overall popularity.
Divesoft has a US distributor and a handful of instructors in Florida. I know of 4 offhand, but definitely centralized in Florida right now. The unit is REALLY slick though....
Divesoft has a US distributor and a handful of instructors in Florida. I know of 4 offhand, but definitely centralized in Florida right now. The unit is REALLY slick though....
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