Switched from Kirby Morgan to Ocean Reef for my last gig in the Gulf

Been diving with Kirby Morgans for years but tried an Ocean Reef Neptune on a 4-week pipeline job off Galveston. The lower profile made helmet-to-hat transitions way smoother, but I missed the comfort of the KM's neck dam on long bottom times. Has anyone else made the switch and stuck with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessacarter12d ago

Tried the Neptune last year on a six week job in the same area. Liked the weight at first but ended up switching back after two weeks. The neck dam isn't the only issue. The Ocean Reef leaks way more around the oral nasal mask if you angle your head wrong. Had to clear it every thirty minutes on deeper bell runs. If you're mainly working shallow or doing short shifts it might be fine. But for four hour bottom times the Kirby Morgan is still the better call. Stick with what works and keep the Neptune as a backup.

nina_hall12d ago

Came here to say basically the same thing. Got talked into trying the Neptune for a four week gig on a construction barge and by day three I was already missing the old Morgan. That oral nasal mask seal is brutal if you're doing any kind of angle work. Had to pop my jaw weird to get a decent seal on one job where I was working under a pipe rack. Ended up flooding my mask twice on the same dive. Plus the whole head strap setup feels like it was designed for someone with a totally different skull shape than me. It's fine for light stuff but you absolutely cannot beat the reliability of a Kirby Morgan for long bottoms.