LP108 vs HP 100 steel tanks for tech

[Tan6916]

Looking on opinions for my first set of back mount doubles to get into tech diving. What would be better for tank selection low pressure 108 steel or high pressure 100 steel

 

[inquis]

If you're just starting, you probably don't need the extra capacity of 108s, which are also noticeably heavier on land.

 

[Jhgt2d]

Depends on a lot of things:
Your budget, your personal ability to hump the tanks around
If you have a shop that can reliably full to 3500# cold
If said shop will give you a nice fat full on the LP tanks when you have a trip soon
How much you value that extra gas in the LP tanks if the shop will actually overfill them
What your future tech plans are(HP tanks are great to whip over to a rebreather bottle).

I am sure I am missing more considerations.

Personally, I love my HP100s. I have 2 sets of HP100s, a set of HP130s and a set of LP95s. By far my favorite to dive are the 100s. The HP bottles make great bank bottles to whip over to my rebreather bottles when I am on a dive trip now that I have made the jump to an O2ptima.

 

[Badger7]

Looking on opinions for my first set of back mount doubles to get into tech diving. What would be better for tank selection low pressure 108 steel or high pressure 100 steel

Up here in the midwest, you'll have much better luck getting HP tanks filled to spec than you would find a shop willing to overfill LP tanks, which is honestly where LP tanks best shine. Twinsets get heavy to haul around, so I even the 10 extra pounds or so of a set of 108s will feel like a lot if you have to move them around. I dive dual HP100s and that perfect sweet spot IMO. Plenty of gas for any reasonable deco dive you'd want to do around here, and sufficient gas to do just about any two NDL dives on one fill.

I bet this is Tanner isn't it? No way Anythony is overfilling 108s enough to make it worth the extra dry weight, and anyone you'd be diving OC with around here would be diving with anymore than dual 100s, so your extra back gas is just extra weight.

Finally, you really need a big 60lb wing for 8 inch tanks, whereas a nice normal size 40lb wing works perfectly for 7.25" HP100s.

No comparison IMO, HP100 all the way.

 

[grantmac]

LP108s are truly huge tanks and in the current era where OC trimix is starting to go away they are making a lot less sense.

 

[NothingClever]

Even inside Florida it’s a lot of extra driving to get my LPs cave filled outside of cave country.

I have a set of LP85s that I wish were HP100s. Not much is as dispiriting as strapping on some LPs that are only filled to their service pressure.

 

[rjack321]

100s are fine. The 108s are beasts