Beautiful and informative video. Thank you for it. Regarding mounting the O2 bottle on your rump: from what I see in the picture of your chOptima at 1:01 I'm assuming you unclip the O2 from the bottom of the CCR and relocate it to your backside when gearing up. The green O2 hose does not appear to be long enough to 'superman' the unit. Am I mistaken? Please help me understand the "superman-ing" process beyond unclipping the chOptima and holding it in front of you. I'm currently thinking through making this change on my unit as well. Any other alterations in the 3 years since posting this? Thank You.
Hi Casey, O2 is never connected to the bottom of the ChOp during the dive - Always on my butt. And yes the O2 hose could be a tad longer for super-manning the unit as there is some tension on the hose, however it is a compromise as a longer hose could become an entanglement issue. Another option is to clip the O2 tank to your hip and bungee the valve to keep it neat.
Thanks for your comment. Was using my Cuda 400. Now has an aftermarket 45 amphr battery and Smart DPV controller. About 13-15 k’s of travel. Nice to not have to pull it out of the cave for a few days just to charge.
Joseph, excellent review... you mentioned that you have experience with other CCR units. I'm curious, which ones? I'm currently debating between Choptima and a few others, but unlike you, I'm a deep wreck diver... so tight restrictions aren't really a problem. Thanks!
Thanks for your comments. I also own a rEvo, a Flex, a Spiro O2 breather and have try dived several other CCR’s. I am an instructor on both the ChOptima and the rEvo. The two are very different weapons of choice. The rEvo is a solid unit for sure and generally my go to unit for deep dives and wrecks (as long as restrictions are not an issue). My favourite type of Diving is Cave Diving and the ChOptima is just a dream in that environment. It is without a doubt the most versatile unit on the market and lightest when it comes to travel weight. In places like Truk Lagoon the ChOptima works well as you can jump between closed and open circuit just by unclipping/clipping the unit. Can’t help but love this little unit. Choosing the right CCR is a difficult choice. I’m fortunate that I own a few units. If you’re going to only have 1 CCR then seriously consider the ChOptima. It can be used for all applications.
I own an original Flex. It is taller than the Flex 2. Very robust unit and serves me well. Very different to the ChOptima. Admittedly the ChOptima is my weapon of choice for the caves I do. There are some sumps that need traversing and a Side Mount Unit is awkward in these conditions. The ability to jump from OC to CCR and back on the same day or same dive is a big bonus. Next weekend I have some work to do in a lake setting lines for training dives. Dives will be 60 m, 40 , 20 m as well as some 10 m bounce dives. We are diving off a boat. So I use the ChOptima for the deep stuff and unclip and ready to do OC for the shallow stuff. The versatility is phenomenal. And for travel the unit can go as carry on.
Nice video and great review of the ChOptima.
Glad you enjoyed it
Beautiful and informative video. Thank you for it.
Regarding mounting the O2 bottle on your rump: from what I see in the picture of your chOptima at 1:01 I'm assuming you unclip the O2 from the bottom of the CCR and relocate it to your backside when gearing up. The green O2 hose does not appear to be long enough to 'superman' the unit. Am I mistaken? Please help me understand the "superman-ing" process beyond unclipping the chOptima and holding it in front of you. I'm currently thinking through making this change on my unit as well. Any other alterations in the 3 years since posting this?
Thank You.
Hi Casey,
O2 is never connected to the bottom of the ChOp during the dive - Always on my butt.
And yes the O2 hose could be a tad longer for super-manning the unit as there is some tension on the hose, however it is a compromise as a longer hose could become an entanglement issue.
Another option is to clip the O2 tank to your hip and bungee the valve to keep it neat.
Awesome video and review! I was wondering what type of mask you have?
I have been using a Cressi Free Diving Mask as it is super low profile
Outstanding video. Thanks mate, sorry i might have missed it but what scooter are you using?
Thanks for your comment. Was using my Cuda 400. Now has an aftermarket 45 amphr battery and Smart DPV controller. About 13-15 k’s of travel. Nice to not have to pull it out of the cave for a few days just to charge.
Joseph, excellent review... you mentioned that you have experience with other CCR units. I'm curious, which ones? I'm currently debating between Choptima and a few others, but unlike you, I'm a deep wreck diver... so tight restrictions aren't really a problem. Thanks!
Thanks for your comments.
I also own a rEvo, a Flex, a Spiro O2 breather and have try dived several other CCR’s.
I am an instructor on both the ChOptima and the rEvo. The two are very different weapons of choice.
The rEvo is a solid unit for sure and generally my go to unit for deep dives and wrecks (as long as restrictions are not an issue).
My favourite type of Diving is Cave Diving and the ChOptima is just a dream in that environment.
It is without a doubt the most versatile unit on the market and lightest when it comes to travel weight.
In places like Truk Lagoon the ChOptima works well as you can jump between closed and open circuit just by unclipping/clipping the unit. Can’t help but love this little unit.
Choosing the right CCR is a difficult choice. I’m fortunate that I own a few units. If you’re going to only have 1 CCR then seriously consider the ChOptima. It can be used for all applications.
@@Dive_Addiction thanks a lot for the quick reply. Ironically I'm choosing between rEvo and Choptima. Thanks for your opinion!! :)
So new to ccr just bought a choptima could you use a full face with that setup and any recommendations on how
Sorry for delay in responding. ChOp + rEvo + Flex. Since making the video I have sold the Flex as the ChOp and rEvo do eveything I need them to.
That looks sick! Taking the O2 off and relocating is definitely the way to go. Is there any flow in there?
Thank for the post. No flow at all.
Perhaps a bit late to the party, but I was wondering if you feel that the chest mount rebreather hangs in the wake of the scooter?
For me - no. It would only be an issue if the unit was not fitted correctly.
Beautiful cave and slick unit. Such silty site would benefit from frogkicks.
May I ask what Sidemount rebreather you have ? And how does this compare to it. I’m trying to decide on a unit
I own an original Flex. It is taller than the Flex 2. Very robust unit and serves me well. Very different to the ChOptima.
Admittedly the ChOptima is my weapon of choice for the caves I do. There are some sumps that need traversing and a Side Mount Unit is awkward in these conditions. The ability to jump from OC to CCR and back on the same day or same dive is a big bonus. Next weekend I have some work to do in a lake setting lines for training dives. Dives will be 60 m, 40 , 20 m as well as some 10 m bounce dives. We are diving off a boat. So I use the ChOptima for the deep stuff and unclip and ready to do OC for the shallow stuff.
The versatility is phenomenal. And for travel the unit can go as carry on.
Is choptima your pet name or is that what’s it’s called on the shelf?
Off the shelf it is the DivRite Optima Chest Mount CCR affectionally known as the ChOptima :)