Inspiration
AP Diving
AP Diving's Inspiration is the back-mounted electronically controlled closed-circuit rebreather (eCCR), meaning the unit manages the oxygen level in the breathing loop for you. It is the unit that took closed-circuit diving mainstream in the late 1990s and remains one of the most widely taught rebreathers in the world, which makes finding an instructor and getting it serviced comparatively easy. This entry covers the range generally; the Classic and Vision entries cover specific generations.
18 instructors in the directory across 12 dive centres dive or teach the Inspiration. The qualifications listed under each name are the closed-circuit courses they hold — which is what determines the depth and gas mixes they can teach.
New to rebreathers? One thing worth knowing
Rebreather training is tied to the exact machine you learn on, and courses go up in steps — you start shallow and add depth and gas mixes as you progress.
If you later switch machines, you keep what you’ve earned. You do a shorter changeover course on the new one and carry on from where you were. That works the same way whichever agency you trained with, so it isn’t something you need to plan around.
Instructors are the exception — and it can affect how far they can take you on this machine:
- An IANTD instructor who moves to a new machine keeps teaching at the level they already taught, once they’ve built up enough hours on it.
- A TDI, SSI, PADI, RAID or GUE instructor who moves to a new machine starts again at the beginner course on it, and works back up as they certify students.
What that means as you read the list below: someone may teach to a greater depth on their main machine than they currently can on the Inspiration. Where that’s possible we’ve flagged it — if you have a target depth in mind, just ask them what they teach on this one.
It cuts the other way too. Because a TDI, SSI, PADI, RAID or GUE instructor has to work back up on each machine, they will usually have more hands-on experience actually teaching students on this particular machine. That is a different thing from experience on the machine — an IANTD instructor may have far more personal time diving it, and may well have taught plenty on it too. Worth asking either way.
Instructors Diving This Unit
Indonesia
Malta
Thailand
United States
Egypt
Mexico
Dive Centres Supporting This Unit
We're still building out the directory country by country, so this list isn't every Inspiration instructor or dive centre in the world — more locations are coming soon.
Last updated September 7, 2026