Looking for a lightweight rebreather.

[AJ]

With SM i'm thinking about two 8,5 liter steel tanks(they are about 25% smaller than a cuff80).
That would give me enough gas for most of my dives. Adding a chestmount ccr and a 50% o2 would give me enough gas for easy going tech dives.
My idea was first to start SM with small bottles, if that goes well for a while I add the rebreather later. Or that's the idea up till now.

For what it's worth, I dive a JJ-CCR and OC Sidemount. Looking into a lighter travel friendly CCR, so very interested in this thread.

On topic:
Buddy of mine dives Sidemount with Triton, tight caves also. To be honest, it's quite a hassle to prepare for the dive. But once under it's a really nice combination. The hassle has to do with Sidemount diving in itself and on top of that the Triton with means even more clutter. However, for not very sophisticated dives you could get away with a 10 l back mount and still do tech dives. Ideal for boat diving for instance.

Sidemount is ideal for less then perfect entries and restrictions. I dive with two 7 liter steel tanks (with dry suit) which are very light and very easy to carry. Combined with a Triton you can dive until the scrubber is gone or you'll get hungry. You can even consider single Sidemount on holidays. Travel light and still do the complex dives.

The main advantage of a Triton or similar is the easy way to adopt to circumstances and OC diving gear. Everything goes as long as you can hookup the CCR. JJ-CCR is a great piece of equipment, but it's relatively heavy and you always need at least one stage.

 

[Preach]

that's probably worth another thread

• I hated the po2 monitor - it has one button and needs to be recharged regularly. hardwired shearwater however, was great.
• flood recovery not great, but there is at least a way of getting water out of it
• i didn't like the chest clutter, never was really comfortble with how it got in the way of d rings etc. and made some methods of carrying stages harder as i couldn't reach diagonally down across to opposite hip/waist...but all CM units will have that.
• going through low stuff was awkward as i'd have to unclip the unit (4 bolt snaps), hold it in front and then reclip after the restriction. tbh i didn't do body-height restrictions very often.

two other things to note that's a positive for the triton:

• the wob, for me it was fantastic in any orientation and better than the sw (though the sw is no slouch in most body positions)
• super easy to switch between bm or sm (bm was a bit easier on wobbly boats )

Both good. the triton was actually easier in the end as I find the sw makes me a tiny bit tail heavy


i've never dived an eccr except on try dives, so can't really offer a good opinion.

Thanks, It's good to hear user experiences.

I wonder if the flood recovery is better on the choptima.

I can imagine that chest clutter is definitely a hard one when managing stages.
Will probably take quite some dives to get the muscle memory.
At points it will probably feel like starting over .

The wob seems good on both the choptima and triton. Kinda curious how it breathes compared to an Inspiration with over the shoulder counterlungs. But from the user experiences i read it's it seems to be a big difference.

 

[Preach]

Breakdown of Triton - I was actually looking around as was interested to see where the heck they have fitted the scrubber and the head on that thing...perhaps will be of some use.

Multi3S Triton Teardown

The unit has caused a fair amount of discussion for something so specialized. We were asked for a teardown, so here is one from me disassembling the...

www.ccrexplorers.com

I would love to see both side by side kitted up...seems Choppy is a bit flatter but longer, while Triton fatter, but shorter. On Choppy o2 cylinder kinda hangs below the waist, while on Triton, from what I gather from pictures, is a bit higher (on a normal sized person, not NBA player).

I'm 176cm, bit on the small side for a Dutchie. But i read that it's very doable with the choptima.
It would be nice to see them side by side and even nicer to try them like that hehe, but thats not an option.

I wonder if it's easier to manage stages on the choptima if its slightly more flat.

 

[Preach]

For what it's worth, I dive a JJ-CCR and OC Sidemount. Looking into a lighter travel friendly CCR, so very interested in this thread.

On topic:
Buddy of mine dives Sidemount with Triton, tight caves also. To be honest, it's quite a hassle to prepare for the dive. But once under it's a really nice combination. The hassle has to do with Sidemount diving in itself and on top of that the Triton with means even more clutter. However, for not very sophisticated dives you could get away with a 10 l back mount and still do tech dives. Ideal for boat diving for instance.

Sidemount is ideal for less then perfect entries and restrictions. I dive with two 7 liter steel tanks (with dry suit) which are very light and very easy to carry. Combined with a Triton you can dive until the scrubber is gone or you'll get hungry. You can even consider single Sidemount on holidays. Travel light and still do the complex dives.

The main advantage of a Triton or similar is the easy way to adopt to circumstances and OC diving gear. Everything goes as long as you can hookup the CCR. JJ-CCR is a great piece of equipment, but it's relatively heavy and you always need at least one stage.

When boat diving it's maybe possible to go with a small BM set. It's a very short moment of getting out of the water, although a lot will depend on the circumstances (waves, current, etc). The CM rebreathers being versatile is a big pro for me. Because i don't know exactly what the future brings.

I agree with the hassle, I made like 10 SM dives but i stayed diving BM for all my dives. But for me it was surely also a lack of experience, but it will never be as easy to don as BM. It will be a relief to not having to climb/walk over dyke's with heavy BM sets though.

What lightweight rebreather appeals more to you, the choptima or the triton? Or are you considering more some more rebreathers?

 

[Diver.Wayne]

Hallo rebreather divers,
About 6 months ago, i ended up with 2 herniated discs in the lower back. I'm still in recovery, but it's slowly going better.
Since I have much time on my hands atm, i was looking into possibilities to keep diving in the future.
I don't want to take the risks and use the heavy sets i used before. I mostly dived heavy steel doubles and an inspiration as rebreather.
Thinking about using SM with small bottles and adjust the bottle size accordingly to the dive planned.
I know i got to make concessions and that there is still bailout needed. I dive caves, reefs and wrecks.

So now to the rebreather question. What would be a nice rebreather to combine with sidemount?

I was thinking about one of the following ones.


Optima CM:

The optima cm feels like the best option, being Eccr and it's from a well established brand. I hear a lot of good things about it. The problem is I'm Europe based and i would have to travel to USA for a course and to pick it up. Which I would be willing to do if that's what it takes in the end.

Triton:
The triton feels like a good option too, but it's a fairly new brand. And Newer/smaller brands come and go and that could lead to supporting issues later on.

Kiss sidewinder:
The kiss is from a well established brand too, the sidewinder looks small and very clean (no chest clutter). I did hear the wob is worse than the other 2 options.



All advice is welcome, also if the rebreather isn't in the list. User experiences, people that might encounter the same problems, etc.
I'm a mod1 ccr diver, so not the most experienced one.

I have the CM and Sidewinder, love them both. Each have their own pros and cons. Both can be used with SM tanks. The CM packs up a little be smaller, and is a bit easier to set-up and don with not much clutter. Both are great options.

 

[makar0n]

It would be nice to see them side by side and even nicer to try them like that hehe, but thats not an option.

I could be convinced to meet up at Nemo33 if you are not too far up north...you just need to find somebody with Triton xDD

 

[AJ]

It's a very short moment of getting out of the water, although a lot will depend on the circumstances (waves, current, etc).

Walking on the boat is more difficult with Sm than BM. Especially on a small rocking boat. On a boat I will always choose back mount.

I agree with the hassle, I made like 10 SM dives but i stayed diving BM for all my dives. But for me it was surely also a lack of experience, but it will never be as easy to don as BM. It will be a relief to not having to climb/walk over dyke's with heavy BM sets though.

You will get better at it, but it will always be more hassle than BM. Logistics is far easier especially on dykes an steep entries.

What lightweight rebreather appeals more to you, the choptima or the triton? Or are you considering more some more rebreathers?

The Choptima is an ECCR which I'am used to because of my JJ-CCR. The Triton however is a European rebreather with better support locally. I think I have to dive both to come to a decision. Outsider is the KISS Sidewinder which seems appealing to but is limited to Sidemount.

In the end they are all CCR's that will do the job. It's the details that will steer my decision.

 

[Preach]

I could be convinced to meet up at Nemo33 if you are not too far up north...you just need to find somebody with Triton xDD

Hehe, Still recovering but would be nice to do sometime. Il keep it in mind for sure!

 

[Preach]

Walking on the boat is more difficult with Sm than BM. Especially on a small rocking boat. On a boat I will always choose back mount.


You will get better at it, but it will always be more hassle than BM. Logistics is far easier especially on dykes an steep entries.


The Choptima is an ECCR which I'am used to because of my JJ-CCR. The Triton however is a European rebreather with better support locally. I think I have to dive both to come to a decision. Outsider is the KISS Sidewinder which seems appealing to but is limited to Sidemount.

In the end they are all CCR's that will do the job. It's the details that will steer my decision.

After some reading i think the only reason for me to buy a triton would be the Europe support. I like the specs of the choptima more.
Hopefully divesoft will come with a CM rebreather like someone mentioned, eCCR and Europe support would be very nice.

 

[rmssetc]

Do a search for Generic Breathing Machine (GBM). That's another CM that's maturing.

If they really use the acronym, not the full name, that's a terrible fail in marketing....speaking as someone who supports researchers working on Glioblastoma (GBM) -- an aggressive form of brain tumor that typically has a very poor & short prognosis after being diagnosed.