The Lar-V rebreather is a chest mounted, German oxygen rebreather made by Draeger (Drager). The device is marketed exclusively to military units, and you cannot buy so much as a buckle through official channels, unless you are a military unit that is authorized to obtain them.

ALMOST ALL LAR V AUCTIONS ARE SCAMS some are not.  I myself have dealt a couple on Ebay, but the majority are fake. Take the normal precautions (see my article on rebreather scams). 

Should you consider owning a LAR-V? it depends on what you want to use it for. It has some very strong points, but also severe limitations.

 Unlike its civilian counterparts, such as the Atlantis/Dolphin, and Ray, the LAR series is completely closed circuit.  Therefore, instead of burping bubbles every few seconds, they never have to emit bubbles, even on ascent. (if you ascend slowly enough) Unlike the Atlantis/Dolphin, they do not have a dosage unit, so you don't have that constant, annoying, sound bothering both you and marine wildlife.

They are also known for extreme durability and reliability  Both the high pressure and low pressure systems are hard plumbed. There are no hoses to rupture. There is only one gage, and it is right on top, where you can see it (if you have a limber neck.) and the purge button is right on the front, though well recessed to avoid accidental activation. The originals were made with hand-laid fiberglass shells and scrubbers, and extremely durable fabric- reinforced counterlungs.  Their compactness makes them something of a german jigsaw puzzle, but once you get used to it, you come to appreciate it.

Being chest-mounted, you will also find it easier to ride in vehicles while wearing it.  This may not be an issue for you, but it is handy.

The down side of front mounted rebreathers is that they are hard to exhale into. This is one reason the unit is often called "lungbuster" (the other reason is they dont have an over pressure valve) Breathing resistance is not a big problem in the first hour or two, but these units can easily go more than four hours under favorable conditions. It is also the quietest rebreather available. without any solenoids or dosage orifices, the only sound you will hear is the occasional cracking of the add valve when you bottom out the lung. Note that this does make an ultrasonic sound that can be picked up by submarines,  if you are too close to their transducers. It doesn't seem to bother the fish.

The front mounting also makes it extremely inconvenient to use a full face mask, despite what the GI-JOE doll would have you beleive. It can be done, but you will get a lot of blow-by if you are at all in a heads-up attitude, even with the stiffening strips installed. If you do get the full-face mask, I recommend the one with the internal mouthpiece, which seems to be a little self-defeating, but there you have it.

The down side:

Many dive boats will not let you use it even if you are certified, and they can't fill your O2. If you had to fly to your destination, this means your bottle is empty.  Good luck.

Even if everything goes well, you will be limited to about 20 feet.

Though you may be able to stay down 4 hours, you still have to be back on the boat when everyone else is.

Unless you have special training, you must limit the depth of this rebreather to about 20 feet or risk sudden death.

It is doubtful that you will be able to find a buddy who can match your dive profile.

There is no national civilian agency that will train beyond 21 feet, and even at that, will probably cost you a few hundred dollars. 

Do you need to get certified?  Some have suggested that the only reason to get certified is that no one will fill your tanks otherwise.  And if you are going to fill your own anyway...   I'm not sure I like this argument. In theory, training has more to do with survival than simple convenience. On the other hand, usually by the time someone gets to the LAR they have experience on other RB's, or have been through a non-cert course from their agency. There is no law against not being certified, and I am certainly not going to tell anyone how they have to dive, but I will say that training is "recommended".  You can gather and surmise on that point, based on your own experience.

The LAR does not have a relief valve in the breathing loop. there is a very good reason for this, but it involves the extended training to understand why it is so, and how not to blow up your lungs.

They have no buoyancy, unless you want to try to find a SECUMAR vest, which are both rare and sucky. They are like 50's vintage life preservers.  They have the sole redeeming factor of floating you face up.  Luckily, these dive fine without any form of buoyancy, as long as nothing bad happens. A pony bottle might be a good accessory to have.

No one will fill or hydro your oxygen bottle,  for several reasons.  First, they do not have DOT/CTC stamps, because they are made in europe, and are not DOT approved.  This is a legal problem for dive shops and hydro facilities.  Among those who fill their own, there is some discussion as to the legality of it all. (Debate aside, all LAR V operators need O2, so if you are diving one, I assume you have already made that call.)

 A potentially more serious problem is that the oxgen tanks do not have overpressure devices.  Aside from being illegal,  this may lead to death or serious injury to anyone standing next to the trunk of your car on a hot day. Or if  your tank should have failed hydro but didn't because you couldn't  find anyone to hydro it.

Assuming you could find someone who is willing to fill your tank, you still need to find the right adapters, which are not easy to come by.  Remember, Europeans do everything upside down and backwards if they can, so the one thing you can guarantee is nothing is going to match up to your properly made American compressor whips or bottles.

A better option is to fill your own bottles if you have an oxygen pump,  but generally these run several thousand dollars.  A cheaper alternative to a pump get a fill adaptor hose, which may be built for less than a hundred dollars. The problem with this approach is that  it will only fill up to the pressure of your supply bottle. American oxygen bottles are low pressure compared to what the LAR-V is rated, so you will only end up getting about 2/3 of a fill with a whip. This is even worse if you have your own Oxygen bottle, as your fills will get weaker and weaker each time.  An intermediate step, both in cost and convenience, is to get a cascade of several oxygen bottles, but even at the best, this will only get you close to 2,200 psi. That still renders a pretty good bottom time, if you don't mind diving close to home. A cascade is not easily portable.

 So who should buy these?

Die hard photographers, long distance divers, basic hard core types. Divers who have their own boat/ oxygen fill station, or are pals with someone who does.

People who want a lighter dive rig

People who need to wear something on their back, like a parachute, maybe.  Also convenient if you want to drive off the wrong end of the pier. (where do you people come from, anyway?)

I realize that some of the things mentioned here make it sound like I am against owning a LAR. This is not at all true.  If you are willing to fine tune your dive skills, have the necessary support equipment, and don't mind the inherent limitations of the design, this unit is possibly the best of its class.

Who should not get this kind of rebreather?

Casual divers.

People with poor buoyancy skills.

 People who have poor gas discipline

 Divers who want to go below 20 feet.

 People who think regular scuba diving is expensive. 

And most definitely not for divers who depend on the mercy of strange dive shops/boats.

MK-25 Mod 2

This is just the most recent adaptation to the LAR series.  The major parts are now made of plastic instead of fiberglass.  This includes the scrubber.  Interestingly, the new scrubber can use the old Atlantis scrubber lid.  I don't know if that will ever be helpful to you, but there you go.

Aside from that, the most noticable and beneficial improvement is the bottle.  Its not only bigger, but it has DOT/CTC stamps, so it can be filled and hydroed.  The valve likewise has been Americanized, having an American oxygen thread, and an overpressure device. 

These modifications negate many of the drawbacks of owning this system.  The rest of the rig is pretty much the same as before, except that the regulator is "improved" or maybe not- jury still out on that one.   Obviously, you cannot swap bottles between the new version and the old one.  Mixups are unlikely, though, considering how unlike the cylinders are.  Other mods include swapping the old rubber bottle straps out with elastic cloth bands, one of which doubles to hold in the scrubber.

Overall, the mod 25 is a nice upgrade to the LAR V.

Note that both of these systems are ITAR items, and though restricted in many ways, are NOT illegal to own if you obtained them legally. YOU MAY BE INVESTIGATED anyway.  I was, it took 7 months to clear me. what I can tell you is this:

Do not, under any circumstance, surrender the gear to the investigator.  They might keep it, legal or not, and they will NOT reimburse you.  You can give them the serial number if you like, but you do not have to cooperate at all if you choose not to.

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