Salty old sea-dogs who dive in ABLJs and shun such innovations as contents gauges will be horrified. Any dive kit that costs over 23.50 is an aberration to them. Sensational stories about people killing themselves on Inspirations have lent the kit a fearsome reputation. Small children run screaming with terror at the sight of a diver in a rebreather. Open-circuit divers turn their faces away and mutter protective prayers.
Skippers shake their heads and demand their payment upfront.
Learning to dive with a CCR presents a world of opportunity to make a complete tit of yourself, all over again. On my first open-water CCR dive in Stoney Cove, I was so concerned to avoid the world's most expensive snorkelling experience that I vastly overweighted myself. Once I had mastered the buoyancy a bit better, the fun really began. Reaching the bottom of the shotline, I checked my handsets and then looked up to see where my buddy had got to. A puddle of cold dribble that had accumulated in the mouthpiece rolled back into my gob.