I was gonna ask about the hose contraption but thought better of it. N
A day at Portage and lessons learned
- Thread starter Paladin
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OP
Paladin
Contributor
After Dark,
You are right on all counts. My gear has also become a mixture of old and new. Some of the new stuff I like. Some of it I don't. What I would like to have now is a wing that I can use with my old, metal band back packs. I don't much care for nylon tank bands.
I like my TommyDSports wetsuit, but I've lost weight and it's too big for me now, so I ordered a new one. It should be here Wednesday or Thursday.
I'm ordering an Aeris XR-1 in a couple of weeks. But I will still wear my capillary depth gauge and watch as backup. My Navy tables will still ride along with me, as well.
My age and physical limits now dictate how I dive and even how I get into the water. This, more than anything else, is what is driving me, kicking and screaming, into the present.
I'm starting my AOW next month, though because of time constraints, I probably won't finish it up until spring. We'll see.
You are right on all counts. My gear has also become a mixture of old and new. Some of the new stuff I like. Some of it I don't. What I would like to have now is a wing that I can use with my old, metal band back packs. I don't much care for nylon tank bands.
I like my TommyDSports wetsuit, but I've lost weight and it's too big for me now, so I ordered a new one. It should be here Wednesday or Thursday.
I'm ordering an Aeris XR-1 in a couple of weeks. But I will still wear my capillary depth gauge and watch as backup. My Navy tables will still ride along with me, as well.
My age and physical limits now dictate how I dive and even how I get into the water. This, more than anything else, is what is driving me, kicking and screaming, into the present.
I'm starting my AOW next month, though because of time constraints, I probably won't finish it up until spring. We'll see.
OP
Paladin
Contributor
LOL My inflator hose is a little too short for the horse collar when used with DAAM. Everyone was out of stock concerning a longer hose so, as a stopgap measure, I used an extension. It looks weird, but it does the job. LeisurePro now has the long hoses in stock and I've already ordered one.
I recommend the little XR1 as an air only computer but if you are going to go Nitrox in the future the XR2 is the way to go. I like the Oceanic/Aeris family of computers because they have a liberal algorithm and excellent displays and are easy and intuitive to use and the bar graph nitrogen loading display is informative and tells you all you really need at a glance--surf the bar and you are good to go 
.
If you are staying with air only then the XR1 is hard to beat at the price point. A great little computer.
Metal bands, nobody uses metal bands because they don't pack or travel compactly, they don't adjust to the multiple tank diameters used today easily if at all. In one day at GC I dove a 6.9, a 7.25 and an 8.0 inch tanks.
I assume your horsecollar BC has a crotch strap and you had it pulled snug?
One other observation, I would avoid trapping my regulator hose with the BC corrugated hose on one side and the LP hose on the other as I see in your photo. Use bicycle inner tube pieces, about three 1.5 inch pieces, to hold the BC hoses into one unit.
I learn things new from time to time also, at SD, I learned that I will never use a military harness ever again with a horsecollar, I will use a horsecollar, I will use a military harness but I will not use them together ever again, IMO they are incompatible pieces of equipment and potentially dangerous when combined. My point being that one must use some critical thinking sometimes when combining different types of scuba gear or scuba gear from different eras into odd and novel arrangements. Thus my recommendation to always pool test your stupendous ideas beforehand lest they simply leave you looking, well, stupid, not stupendous. I really hate that when it happens to me. YRMV.
N
.If you are staying with air only then the XR1 is hard to beat at the price point. A great little computer.
Metal bands, nobody uses metal bands because they don't pack or travel compactly, they don't adjust to the multiple tank diameters used today easily if at all. In one day at GC I dove a 6.9, a 7.25 and an 8.0 inch tanks.
I assume your horsecollar BC has a crotch strap and you had it pulled snug?
One other observation, I would avoid trapping my regulator hose with the BC corrugated hose on one side and the LP hose on the other as I see in your photo. Use bicycle inner tube pieces, about three 1.5 inch pieces, to hold the BC hoses into one unit.
I learn things new from time to time also, at SD, I learned that I will never use a military harness ever again with a horsecollar, I will use a horsecollar, I will use a military harness but I will not use them together ever again, IMO they are incompatible pieces of equipment and potentially dangerous when combined. My point being that one must use some critical thinking sometimes when combining different types of scuba gear or scuba gear from different eras into odd and novel arrangements. Thus my recommendation to always pool test your stupendous ideas beforehand lest they simply leave you looking, well, stupid, not stupendous. I really hate that when it happens to me. YRMV.
N
OP
Paladin
Contributor
I will probably use the horse collar in the future, too. I have learned that I need a couple more pounds of lead to compensate for that little bit of air that stays trapped in the upper neck area.
You are quite correct in that one must take care when combining technologies from different eras. Some things simply do not mix.
The air only computer will serve me fine. I'm really not interested in getting into nitrox. Just plain old air does what I want to do.
My back packs have fully adjustable metal cam bands that will fit any size tank.
Actually, the inflator hose was running under the reg hose, where it should be.
You are quite correct in that one must take care when combining technologies from different eras. Some things simply do not mix.
The air only computer will serve me fine. I'm really not interested in getting into nitrox. Just plain old air does what I want to do.
My back packs have fully adjustable metal cam bands that will fit any size tank.
Actually, the inflator hose was running under the reg hose, where it should be.
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Amigos,
Here's a link I posted in the Canon discussion area since I shot the Canon S90 compact camera set up.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/canon-corner/348236-canon-s90-uw-sx200-above.html#post5423232
It was a fun weekend with great weather and super warm water!
Enjoy the photos....
dhaas
David Haas Underwater Photography
Here's a link I posted in the Canon discussion area since I shot the Canon S90 compact camera set up.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/canon-corner/348236-canon-s90-uw-sx200-above.html#post5423232
It was a fun weekend with great weather and super warm water!
Enjoy the photos....
dhaas
David Haas Underwater Photography
Attachments
halocline
Contributor
You might be very happy with the freedom plate; it works really well with doublehose regs and matches up well with the oxycheq mach V wings.
Everyone has a bad dive day now and then, sounds like you had yours. We all learn from them.
I know you're a big fan of the DA aquamaster, but my meager experience is that on their absolute best days, neither of my DAs were even close to my PRAM or (snif...it's gone...) RAM. I never heard of anyone regretting converting their DA to a PRAM.
OP
Paladin
Contributor
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