David Strike wrote:

> Which is once again, to my way of thinking, where training comes in.  If
> the skills to operate a machine at any depth aren't second nature -
> leaving the diver free to concentrate on the challenges of the dive
> without needing to exercise the front of their mind on the life-support
> system -  then they shouldn't be using the equipment!   It's not as
> though the principles of a rebreather are cutting edge technology!

This seems to be the preliminary conclusion of the UK divers as well.  The
manual and their advice are consistent in suggesting that a new Inspiration
user is a novice not matter how much open circuit diving experience they
have and in advising that progress be slow and careful.  Further, it's clear
that many of the requirements that appear to be absolute, are things that
open circuit divers have never done reliably, things that have also lead to
problems and depth.  For example, it would be very difficult for me to train
myself to consistently consult guages once each minute (one reason why I'll
probably never chose to purchase an Inspiration) and we have all marveled at
how many divers manage to run out of gas at depth simply because they didn't
look at their spg even once every 10 or 15 minutes.

As nearly as I can tell, which may or may not be correct, the biggest single
problem with the Inspiration is not the unit, but the divers who use it.

Lee