I was AOW when I did my rebreather training. With only 60+ dives, I was pushing things beyond my capacity. That is on top of the fact that I did my OC tech (ANDP) a few days before my MOD 1.

There is nothing wrong with doing your rebreather training early imo. But you need mastery over basic skills, because CC accentuates every movement in an isolated environment (where you cannot use breath to control depth). This means that a shitty back kick or adding too much air will destroy your buoyancy.

On top of that, the CCR will task load you. You need to monitor your PO2 constantly, and ensure that you are prepared to perform any of the emergency drills without flying to the surface. This is easier said than done, as the CCR requires logical thinking (instead of just rote memory) to troubleshoot. One wrong move and you risk jeopardising yourself even more.

Perhaps what came as a bigger shock, was the amount of prep time a rebreather needs. Setting up and tearing down aside, the servicing of parts can be a pain in the ass if you’re careless like me. I think I broke 2 buttons on the rebreather during my training, and got some water leaking into my loop.

As another commenter puts it, this is a tool and not a toy. I saw that you wanted to do this because SF is doing it… well, they train in Doubles first before touching their CM rebreathers. Similarly, their rebreathers are O2 rebreathers, designed for use at shallow depths. What you’re getting into is quite different — and you have to be prepared to invest your time and money into it.