What makes one rebreather "better" than another?

[colinicky]

I started on an inspo classic then a vision then put home made rear lungs on that thanks to Dave Thompson
That love of rear lungs basically led me to my first rEvo . Good & bad point on all of the above units. I like the rEvo for the shearwater electronics . Comes down to personal preference . Who you dive with & sometimes even what the instructor you like teaches on .

[jturner]

Or why did you choose your rebreather model over the others available on the market?

I chose the one I'd tried and it was most common in the community I was diving in.

[PhilPage]

Or why did you choose your rebreather model over the others available on the market?

For me it was cost and sustainability - and one's geography plays a part.

Putting together a full-spec Inspo in the UK is orders of magnitude cheaper than any other option I'm aware of other than homebuild.

The other big cost is training - you're unlikely to find courses anywhere near as cheap as BSAC (we have courses for AP & Poseidon).

Sustainability - the inspo has been around the longest of all the eCCRs so the number of units out there is vast compared to other manufacturers and support from AP is local & well established. The amount of aftermarket stuff available from either AP or 3rd party UK suppliers makes modification & maintenance a doddle.

If I were in the US, the local aspect (with regard to aftermarket support & training) wouldn't apply, so I'd probably have gone for a Meg there.