You dive the Optima.. Post here..

[lars2923]

Hello fellow Optima divers.
How do you like your unit?
What positive experiences do you have diving the optima?
How would you compare diving the Optima to open Circuit?
Are you in or near Florida?
Interested in an Optima Divers get together for a day or two of diving?
Ocean/Cavern (Sorry I'm not cave certified, yet)

Let hear it..
Cheers,
Lars

[seafox]

Hey Lars, I am Optima diver and I am very happy with my unit.
Dive Rite HQ is in Florida's Cave Country and most of their staff are cave divers.
They know how to make outstanding diving equipment and provide great customer service when needed.
The Optima is no exception. It's a great CCR!
I live a little too far to go for a dive with you, but I do get to Florida to dive 3 to 4 times a year.

Cornel

[lars2923]

Seafox,

I'v seen your post on the boards. I was just out diving the Optima today.
Put in a couple of hours on it.. Cavern diving at a place called Paradise.
I brought my HD video along and let a friend use it. So I have a few shot with
me in it now..
I love the Optima. It's very easy to setup and maintain. Having Dive-Rite just
down the road doesn't hurt either. In fact I was there yesterday picking up a
couple of boxes of scrubber for the baby.
I had an O2 sensor MV dip below 40 today at depth.. The Vvvvvvvv from the DIVA and the two blinking red lights.. Then back to green.. Occured mayb once every few minutes.. I made a slow ascent, nothing to be alarmed about.. Just remembered to perform a diluent flush and see which sensors reported the correct PPO for the depth I was at. Sensor #2 lost...
I also stuck my bailout reg in my mouth due to an O2 spike at 110.. Took one breath and had no air.. Opps... Forgot I had turned off the air.. No big deal...
It's good practice at 110... ( o)(0)

Let me know when you're heading down. If your near me at the time, I'll try diving with ya. Take ya to a few nice caverns...

Maybe iDiveChick will join us... I hear she's a diver too... :-)

Cheers...
PS: I've been to Toronto a number of times... Love the city...

[lars2923]

Seafox,

Is that you with the FULL facemask with the Optima?
Where did you get the mask?
I have two sets of Full face masks by OTS. The most recent
is the model with the POD..
I have been looking at putting together something but the
mouthpiece sticks out way too far.
I would like one where the second stage of the bailout is attached and I could
switch back and forth between the rebreather and bailout without removing
the POD... What suggestions do you have?

Thanks,

[Zero]

I went to the Australian launch of the Optima and have to say i was less than impressed . It may have been the Australian distributor not knowing overly much about the unit or rebreathers in general but it gave me an insecure feeling about the unit.
I know its just been released to the world so there will be updates and modifacations done to it in the coming years but it still didnt get me in the door. The scrubber was probably the biggest turn off for me. I love the idea of the extendair cartridge but there is no other option. No insert for granules even. It may be ok in the USA where the market is huge but out here and in the Pacific theres next to no support. If you plan a trip to somewhere half remote youll be taking all the cartridges you need for the entire trip. Whether you ship them in earlier or take them on the flight with you its going to be a bit of a PIA. It is a bit the same with granules but more fit into a smaller area so size wise it is better. Also more compatible with other units. If your the only one on an Optima and everyone else is on a mixed bag of granule munching machines it will make it harder to work in with everyone elses units and shipping
Im not trying to bag the unit i think a bit of thought has gone into it and the designers did a good job with the options they had but i think it needs a bit more refinement
I do plan to have a good look at it at Oztek and talk with Lamar about it so might have a fully changed opinion after the weekend. Will show some pics as well.

Matt

[seafox]

Hey Matt, understand your reluctance and questions.
Getting a proper demo from Lamar, will clear up most of your apprehensions.
The Optima has been around for 2 years now, with the last upgrade just a few weeks ago.
It a very robust and easy to operate RB with a flexible configuration.
I travel often to the US, Mexico, Bahamas, Carribean, and going to Truk and Hawaii in Nov, and I either travel with the EAC's or ship them.
Keep in mind that each EAC is potentially good for 4 hrs.
Last month on a 2 week trip to Grenada I used 5 cartriges (25lbs), which I carried in baggage. I put in 20 hrs of diving.
Yes, you are correct, the cartridges are not as common as sorb, but you can't get Sorb everywhere either.
I am not debating the fact that it would be nice to have both available on the same unit, but that's not the case for now.
IMHO the ease of use,l ack of dust and no chance of caustic cocktail are sufficient benefits for me.
Talk to Lamar and you'll get an update on the Optima!

Cornel

[seafox]

Seafox,

Is that you with the FULL facemask with the Optima?
Where did you get the mask?
I have two sets of Full face masks by OTS. The most recent
is the model with the POD..
I have been looking at putting together something but the
mouthpiece sticks out way too far.
I would like one where the second stage of the bailout is attached and I could
switch back and forth between the rebreather and bailout without removing
the POD... What suggestions do you have?

Thanks,

I use an OTS/AGA/Interspriro FFM with coms.
I have no mouth piece on my FFM, I have a oronasal mask.
I also added a BOV from Divematics, and I plug in my outboard B/O with QD from MJ Eng.
I agree with you that you should not remove the FFM to B/O, so I the use the BOV.
It's very fast, the turn of a switch, and in case of a C02 hit does not require that you remove a mouth piece, which is almost impossible with a serious hit.
I don't use the FFM on every mission/dive. Only when I do work that requires coms.
On the other hand, I always use the BOV, as I consider it to be safety equipment.
On my B/O I have a reg on a 5' hose and two LP hoses. One goes to my BOV and the other is used in case I need to plug in to my CL.

Cornel

[lars2923]

Seafox,

Thanks for the info.. I'll look into the configuration you mentioned.
Can't wait...

Cheers

[Zero]

Yes, you are correct, the cartridges are not as common as sorb, but you can't get Sorb everywhere either.
I am not debating the fact that it would be nice to have both available on the same unit, but that's not the case for now.
IMHO the ease of use,l ack of dust and no chance of caustic cocktail are sufficient benefits for me.
Talk to Lamar and you'll get an update on the Optima!

Cornel

It shouldnt be long before someone does a bit of backyard engineering and comes up with an insert to take granules. Look at every other rebreather out there and the amout of 3rd party accessories available.
Just curious about the caustic cocktail. Is there no chance at all? I thought if the water passed through the EAC it would become caustic to some extent even though it wasnt mixed with it.

Matt

[seafox]

It shouldnt be long before someone does a bit of backyard engineering and comes up with an insert to take granules. Look at every other rebreather out there and the amout of 3rd party accessories available.
Just curious about the caustic cocktail. Is there no chance at all? I thought if the water passed through the EAC it would become caustic to some extent even though it wasnt mixed with it.

Matt

No, no chance at all. Some people actually put their tongue on the material to demonstrate!

Cornel