cool_hardware52
Contributor
Folks, CHILL!!!
Let's focus on the topic, not each other. Sometimes, words simply may not convey a common, clear meaning to all readers. Tobin explained his intended point to me (and others), and I think we can all agree that - if someone is going to use doubles, they should be prepared to do so. Weighting is part of that preparation, but there are other factors as well. And, each of us brings a different experience profile to the discussion. Tobin has one, I have a slightly different one, and Storker has yet another. Storker made a good point, that I was not aware of, and possibly others of us based in the US are not aware of - recreational doubles are apparently more common in Europe than the US. That's great to know. I don't think that Storker's comment was intended to be snarky at all.
So, back to the actual topic??? I think the OP was asking about potential changes in weighting in moving from a single steel cylinder configuration to double steel cylinders.
How does Stoker know *what* my level of knowledge is WRT to doubles use worldwide? I have zero doubt that if I had added "your welcome" to unsolicited advise that would have been deleted by the mods. It was snarky and condescending by design. Double standards are not confidence inspiring.
*Alert* Sweeping generalization to follow. *Alert*
The level of understanding concerning proper weighting is dismally low. I'd suggest it's largely a function of the current education environment. Most can agree that a high percentage of BOW students are 1) Over weighted, 2) Have no real Idea how to quantitatively determine how much ballast they need, 3) Don't understand beyond "I can't sink" why they need ballast.
At least they have a BOW instructor to (supposedly) help them (or hand them more ballast)
What I encounter on a routine basis are divers trying to buy gear in anticipation of a "intro to tech" type course. (Kinda like the OP here) They want to get the gear *before* the course. These folks routinely need some help understanding the assumptions used to determine required ballast, and the tangible means used to achieve it. Failing either can result in gear they can't use.
The fact remains a diver in New York was asking about weighting to 2 x 100 cuft tanks. 200 cuft of gas is more than enough to get somebody into deco. Understanding that, and being prepared to deal with it has IMO no downside. That fact doubles are routinely used for no stop diving in some parts of the world doesn't change that either.
Tobin