Going CCR, not decided which unit..

[Mark Chase]

You need to look at you primary needs for the unit:

Inspo Vision:

Good unit, £3000ish S/H Well proved, easy access to spares, pretty reliable but needs a back to base repair if it goes wrong on thec electrics.

Down side: Needs a BOV so add £600 no chance of running it manually should the hand set fail, they wont like you putting independent displays on it but it can be done at extra cost. Transportation is an absolute bitch. Best to buy a travel frame so add another £2-400. Limited to ispo tanks unless you buy a frame. Again reeely a bit limited on what tanks you can use. Really needs inspo 3ltr tanks.


Sentinel: Very expensive, reliability appears to be an issue and its a very complicated unit so a lot to fail. Its the biggest of the lot so transportation is a major issue. Not well supported on after market things like travel frames. Back to base repairs, again and some units don't have a BOV. Really a deep tec unit IMHO 2ltr internal tanks a pain when traveling but can be run on other tanks or off boards which will take a bit of fafing to do but at leasts its flexible.


rEvo: The mini is the best compromise between use and transportation. All your units have been ECCR so you would want the hybrid which is MCCR and ECCR. A stunning unit and flexible so no problems if the ECCR fails on that trip to Bikini, just run the unit on MCCR like a KISS. Stunning design on the scrubber, super low profile makes it the easiest CCR to swim I have ever owned.Poor flood recovery lets it down a bit and it needs a BOV so add 600.

BIG down side? Cost of a Hybrid at near 6K MCCR a good choice.



JJ : Designed by Dave Thompson who designed the Inspo. His design concept was a ECCR KISS but better and hes pulled it off. Super compact design makes traveling the easiest of any CCR. The Meg is the same but its much heavier. Comes with HUD and BOV as standard so no added cost. Dives beautifully and upgradeable to MCCR Hybrid easily for about £400. Comes with a removable stand and an optional travel stand. Without alteration can easily use a wide range of tanks. Again ideal for travel.

Down side? Cost £4800 without wing tanks and BP (Just use your own) to 5K+ Is a fair chunk to pay for this unit but at least it needs no after market add ons. Not field proved yet. Already one small issue has popped up with the head jamming in to the scrubber canister if left for a while. Its a small thing but its one of the issues you only discover after using it a while.

I have owned since 2004:

Inspo Classic
Hammer Head Inspo
KISS
rEvo Hybrid
JJ ECCR

My favorite so far is the rEvo but I wanted the much improved traveling design of the JJ due to my need to get to Mexico as much as passable



Obviously I believe th JJ is the best unit, thats why i bought one. But It does remain to be proven.

Id say with the financial benefits you have with the inspo, get the Vision and wait a year or so and see if the JJ is as good as we hope it is. Then get a JJ.

Unless travel is a big concern now? then just take a chance on the JJ it does look fantastic on paper and after a try dive.




ATB

Mark

[divetheworld]

As a brand new comparison, the Vision and Classic are so far behind the times that they wouldn't get a look in. It's a bit like comparing a new Focus to an old Escort for similar money.
However the inspo works fine, has a proven record and can be bought second hand for a reasonable price. A bit like buying the 12 year old Escort second hand, you know that it works, will get you to were you need to go, but the Focus will get you there in a bit more comfort, but you'll pay for the privilage.
I've had an Inspo for 9 years and if it finally breaks I'll buy a JJ. But at the moment it keeps on going and I can't justify spending another £5K on a whim for my hobby. I'll put it towards a new car instead.

Of course there is that other way.
The Classic is as you say, well proven but very old. Prices are now dropping well below the £2k mark. So, learn to drive the old Escort. If it doesnt work out then you have outlayed the minimum possible and the unit will be able to be passed on with little loss of capital. However.....
It all goes according to plan and you love CCR diving. What if you could drop your old Escort at West Coast customs?

Rebreather Controllers
Deep Pursuit rebreather controller
You end up with a new unit in essence with a nice 2 year warranty.

If thats not your bag and you want a full new unit then at this time (until the Camelion is released) I recommend the JJ or the rEvo.

[Neil McLeod]

You need to look at you primary needs for the unit:

Inspo Vision:

Good unit, £3000ish S/H Well proved, easy access to spares, pretty reliable but needs a back to base repair if it goes wrong on thec electrics.

Down side: Needs a BOV so add £600 no chance of running it manually should the hand set fail, they wont like you putting independent displays on it but it can be done at extra cost. Transportation is an absolute bitch. Best to buy a travel frame so add another £2-400. Limited to ispo tanks unless you buy a frame. Again reeely a bit limited on what tanks you can use. Really needs inspo 3ltr tanks.

Just wondered why you said that as the HUD would still allow you to run it in mCCR to get out of the water. (So saying I have a BOV and will be fitting a redundant Narc@90 systemmin the next few months).

The inspo has inspo tanks (did you mean the Evolution)?

Neil

[mala]

i did a lot of research and opted for the meg.

so far so good.

[paul booth]

Hi steve
give dan a ring at M.R.DIVING great chap very helpfull they do ccr try dives for 60 quid and you can try out diffent units i have one booked for 31 this month to see if i like them and what unit to go for.

[439gille]

Hi steve
give dan a ring at M.R.DIVING great chap very helpfull they do ccr try dives for 60 quid and you can try out diffent units i have one booked for 31 this month to see if i like them and what unit to go for.

Hi Paul,

I was chatting with Chris today and he mentioned you were looking at CCR also... heres to some great diving in 2010!

[SoggyFox]

Sentinel: Very expensive, reliability appears to be an issue and its a very complicated unit so a lot to fail. Its the biggest of the lot so transportation is a major issue. Not well supported on after market things like travel frames. Back to base repairs, again and some units don't have a BOV. Really a deep tec unit IMHO 2ltr internal tanks a pain when traveling but can be run on other tanks or off boards which will take a bit of fafing to do but at leasts its flexible.

i wouldn't call them very expensive unless your talking about the Boris or the expedition, the level3 units are a couple of hundred quid more expensive than a JJ-CCR, not exactly what i'd call very expensive at 5.8k.

which units don't have BOV's they come as standard, unless the owner has decided to take it off and put on the blanking plate. I can't remember if some of the early level1 or 2 units had the BOV as an option but i don't think they sold many if any ( I have heard of only 1 non-level3 unit being sold, maybe wrong)

it can be alot to fail but you still have a pendant PPO2 which is adequate to run the unit. The rest of it can be turned off at the operators will to allow for failures. The only problem i've had with my unit was the HP sensors which a few have had but the service from VR was excellent.

it is a beast if a thing to look at but underwater its the same as most of the other units, its on your back and you don't really notice the size unless you a loon and like getting in small spaces.

and its now got the CO2 unit available for it, unless you get the expedition in which case its standard. Why i would want one, I have yet to be convinced about but either way its a CO2 monitor, so a step in the right direction.

[nickb]

....unless you a loon and like getting in small spaces.

You rang?

[SoggyFox]

You rang?

not your bell....

[Mark Chase]

Just wondered why you said that as the HUD would still allow you to run it in mCCR to get out of the water. (So saying I have a BOV and will be fitting a redundant Narc@90 systemmin the next few months).

The inspo has inspo tanks (did you mean the Evolution)?

Neil

Can you calibrate it on the HUD only if the hand set is down?


If the hand set is down or saying no dive, will the HUD still work? I didn't think it was independently powered or calibrated

We have had a couple of hand set failures and I didn't see the divers opting to just do the dive on just the HUD.

Also diving a ECCR manually is not as easy as diving a MCCR as it has no trickle feed 02 so the amount of attention to PP02 and manual injection is far more significant.


By inspo tanks I mean the T shaped valves. Its pretty hard running an inspo on a couple of 3ltr ponies (but it can be done) and you have no way to run it on 7s or Al40s or 10s UNLESS you have a frame that will take them.

The JJ by comparison will run on 3s. 5.s 7s. AL 40s and pretty much any valve config.


ATB

Mark