Dear MARES Team,
Although the Horizon SCR is rated for a minimum temperature of 4 degC, are you working on a dedicated cold-water edition?
Last month, I had the chance to try the Horizon in a pool and I agree with the other testimonies: It's really trailblazing and it was good fun to dive.
The promotion videos suggest that the Horizon has been designed for tropical waters, and the MARES brochure emphasizes the light-weight optimized for traveling. Needless to say that the majority of SCUBA holiday destinations are warm and sunny places.
But how about cold-water diving with the Horizon? To take the advantage of extended dive-time even in waters below 10 degC, good thermal protection and therefore some extra weight is needed. For example, the three layers of garment under my dry-suit equal to 12 kilograms of lead I have to carry with me. On OC, the weights are well distributed to maintain a good trim. The Horizon, by default, offers only the two weight compartments (rated with 2.5 kilograms each) and some limited space for pockets on the waist belt.
So, I wonder whether there might be a future edition of the Horizon that would provide the option to convert the SCR unit whenever needed:
a) travel-friendly soft-pack, harness and bladder similar to the current design
b) cold-water kit = heavy steel back-plate with drill holes to fix P-weight, battery tank for heating, small argon tank etc.; choice between various wing bladders of different lifting capacities ...
Right now, the Horizon appears to me as a compact unit where the SCR itself, the harness and the bladder are integrated and where it is not intended to tear the components apart on regular basis, in contrast to a standard OC technical gear (double tank + back plate + wing bladder). Please correct me, if I am wrong here.
Although the Horizon SCR is rated for a minimum temperature of 4 degC, are you working on a dedicated cold-water edition?
Last month, I had the chance to try the Horizon in a pool and I agree with the other testimonies: It's really trailblazing and it was good fun to dive.
The promotion videos suggest that the Horizon has been designed for tropical waters, and the MARES brochure emphasizes the light-weight optimized for traveling. Needless to say that the majority of SCUBA holiday destinations are warm and sunny places.
But how about cold-water diving with the Horizon? To take the advantage of extended dive-time even in waters below 10 degC, good thermal protection and therefore some extra weight is needed. For example, the three layers of garment under my dry-suit equal to 12 kilograms of lead I have to carry with me. On OC, the weights are well distributed to maintain a good trim. The Horizon, by default, offers only the two weight compartments (rated with 2.5 kilograms each) and some limited space for pockets on the waist belt.
So, I wonder whether there might be a future edition of the Horizon that would provide the option to convert the SCR unit whenever needed:
a) travel-friendly soft-pack, harness and bladder similar to the current design
b) cold-water kit = heavy steel back-plate with drill holes to fix P-weight, battery tank for heating, small argon tank etc.; choice between various wing bladders of different lifting capacities ...
Right now, the Horizon appears to me as a compact unit where the SCR itself, the harness and the bladder are integrated and where it is not intended to tear the components apart on regular basis, in contrast to a standard OC technical gear (double tank + back plate + wing bladder). Please correct me, if I am wrong here.