I dove a KISS for a year and a half logging around 250 hours on the unit. I loved my KISS, and it was a great unit to get me started on diving CCR's, and I had a couple of opportunities to become a KISS instructor but there was one thing that kept troubling me. My KISS had zero flood tolerance and for the diving I was doing, it was possible I could be 4 or more hours away from the surface. Without the ability to recover a flooded loop, this could be a disaster and I decided I needed to look at other options.
Last fall James Draker from ScubaForce USA let me take an SF2 on a try dive. I told him one of my concerns with my KISS was the inability to recover from a flooded loop, and that my goal on the try dive was to put the SF2 to the test.
Five minutes into the try dive I took the DSV out of my mouth, turned it upside down, and completely flooded the unit. James had a horrified look on his face as I shook the loop hoses making sure every last bit of gas was out of the unit, mostly because he expected that like most sane people, I would try the flood test at the end of the dive. After de-watering the unit I stayed on the loop for an extra two hours, never once having to go to the surface or bailing out. The SF2 performed wonderfully and I ordered mine the very next day.
Since receiving my SF2, I've put it through it's paces in many different and challenging environments.
7 hour dives in Eagles Nest? Check.
350' dives in salt-water? Check.
12,000' cave penetrations in 15' of vis? Check.
Traveling to foreign countries? Check.
My SF2 has been flawless and I've enjoyed every minute of diving it. The more I dive it, the more I realize it's an incredibly robust, yet simple, machine. Care and maintenance are quick, assembly is straight forward, and with no over the chest counter-lungs, the unit is very clean and uncluttered.
Fast forward to last week.. James Draker ran an SF2 instructor institute for Carsten Huppertz from Florida Keys Dive Center (FlaKeys) and myself. Our student, Tracy, managed to put up with countless boom drills, shooting lift bags at turtles, and even a monsoon. At the end of the week, Tracy was a new SF2 diver and Carsten and I were new SF2 instructors.
I'm going to be helping with a CCR "Try Dive Weekend" on May 6th and 7th here in High Springs, FL. It'll be a two day event and an opportunity to learn about, play with, and try several units including the SF2, JJ, Fathom, and KISS Sidekick. If you're interested in rebreathers, but not really sure, please feel free to join us. Details are at the event page, Rebreather Workshop
Last fall James Draker from ScubaForce USA let me take an SF2 on a try dive. I told him one of my concerns with my KISS was the inability to recover from a flooded loop, and that my goal on the try dive was to put the SF2 to the test.
Five minutes into the try dive I took the DSV out of my mouth, turned it upside down, and completely flooded the unit. James had a horrified look on his face as I shook the loop hoses making sure every last bit of gas was out of the unit, mostly because he expected that like most sane people, I would try the flood test at the end of the dive. After de-watering the unit I stayed on the loop for an extra two hours, never once having to go to the surface or bailing out. The SF2 performed wonderfully and I ordered mine the very next day.
Since receiving my SF2, I've put it through it's paces in many different and challenging environments.
7 hour dives in Eagles Nest? Check.
350' dives in salt-water? Check.
12,000' cave penetrations in 15' of vis? Check.
Traveling to foreign countries? Check.
My SF2 has been flawless and I've enjoyed every minute of diving it. The more I dive it, the more I realize it's an incredibly robust, yet simple, machine. Care and maintenance are quick, assembly is straight forward, and with no over the chest counter-lungs, the unit is very clean and uncluttered.
Fast forward to last week.. James Draker ran an SF2 instructor institute for Carsten Huppertz from Florida Keys Dive Center (FlaKeys) and myself. Our student, Tracy, managed to put up with countless boom drills, shooting lift bags at turtles, and even a monsoon. At the end of the week, Tracy was a new SF2 diver and Carsten and I were new SF2 instructors.
I'm going to be helping with a CCR "Try Dive Weekend" on May 6th and 7th here in High Springs, FL. It'll be a two day event and an opportunity to learn about, play with, and try several units including the SF2, JJ, Fathom, and KISS Sidekick. If you're interested in rebreathers, but not really sure, please feel free to join us. Details are at the event page, Rebreather Workshop