The Cosmicist
Contributor
Hello everyone, posting here because I recently got a Rec Pass in Fundies and I would like to learn (backmount) doubles in GUE style. I only own a wetsuit and don't currently have the money for a drysuit, so I have a couple of questions regarding how to learn doubles right now.
1. Are there problems with learning doubles while diving wet? I'm unsure of weighting considerations, although I can do some quick math in my head. I know this will depend on which cylinders are on my back and their buoyancy characteristics. For reference though, in Fundies I dived:
-in fresh water
-5mm suit with 6mm booties and 3mm hood
-single LP72 (not sure why they gave us those)
-Alu plate
-4lbs of weight
2. What cylinders are most recommended for normal backmount doubles? I understand this will depend on what diving I am doing/will do. I currently do a mix of ocean and FL springs diving at the recreational level, but my goals are to cave and mine dive (primarily), and also to dive wrecks. I don't care about weight on land, etc. I want to learn what is common/useful to cave diving (and secondarily, wreck diving)... I seem to see LP85s and HP100s mentioned here a lot. A follow up to this would be, what should I take into consideration when buying my own set of doubles?
3. How valuable is the GUE Doubles Primer class? I live in Savannah, GA and don't know anyone here (outside of an SDI shop and a couple NAUI instructors) that could teach me doubles and dive with me. I'm new to diving and haven't developed a base of friends and contacts, so the course seems beneficial in that sense.
Thanks for the advice!
1. Are there problems with learning doubles while diving wet? I'm unsure of weighting considerations, although I can do some quick math in my head. I know this will depend on which cylinders are on my back and their buoyancy characteristics. For reference though, in Fundies I dived:
-in fresh water
-5mm suit with 6mm booties and 3mm hood
-single LP72 (not sure why they gave us those)
-Alu plate
-4lbs of weight
2. What cylinders are most recommended for normal backmount doubles? I understand this will depend on what diving I am doing/will do. I currently do a mix of ocean and FL springs diving at the recreational level, but my goals are to cave and mine dive (primarily), and also to dive wrecks. I don't care about weight on land, etc. I want to learn what is common/useful to cave diving (and secondarily, wreck diving)... I seem to see LP85s and HP100s mentioned here a lot. A follow up to this would be, what should I take into consideration when buying my own set of doubles?
3. How valuable is the GUE Doubles Primer class? I live in Savannah, GA and don't know anyone here (outside of an SDI shop and a couple NAUI instructors) that could teach me doubles and dive with me. I'm new to diving and haven't developed a base of friends and contacts, so the course seems beneficial in that sense.
Thanks for the advice!