Rebreather Purchase question

[Chuck_Northrup]

ccuda,

Sorry for the delayed response. If the Inspiration is too big for you (assuming you tried it on?) you may want to take a closer look at the Mini-meg, or when they finally reach production an Evolution. I first thought the Evolution was a "smoke and mirrors" publicity stunt, but now I believe AP is just being careful not to rush it into production. For this and other reasons the Inspiration is going to remain a strong presence in the RB community for some time; after all it does have the current market share. The fundamentals of rebreather technology are almost 150 years old and most of the improvements will change very little in the function (i.e. principles) of CCR.

On a related topic you brought up the travel restrictions. I think the issue here is really about flying with cylinders. A rebreather is no more suspicious looking than scuba gear, but the cylinders send up a red flag in our post 9/11 society. Even with valves removed you need to "prove" that the cylinders do not contain compressed air. ??? With more and more shops in exotic locations becoming "rebreather friendly" these hassles will become less prevalent.

As for the Prism I have to agree with you it is a very well designed unit. In support of its viability, it recently passed US Navy testing. Inspiration Diver is correct by saying production issues and cost are the biggest factors keeping it from our market (the first is probably the more important of the two). Until this weekend I have never actually seen a prism. Much like the evolution I had heard about it, seen pictures of it, but never actually had hands on experience with it. There are still less than 75 units in the field. :'(

There are some features unique to the Prism which are definitely a sign of "thinking outside the box" like an analog PO2 meter that can be used to independently test all 3 sensors and perform battery checks. One 9 volt battery provides up to 40 hours of operation, but even without a battery you can determine your PO2 by checking the mV each cell is producing. The size in comparison to the Inspiration is not a battle it wins, however. The scrubber canister is actually larger, not smaller, but a radial design enhances chemical performance to 6 hours (double the YBOD). I have some picture of the Prism I can post here, or email to you if you would like. I am working on a PowerPoint presentation for upcoming Discover Rebreather events so I am collecting digital images of as many units as I can.

Hope this answers most of your questions.

Chuck