So I completed my AOW this weekend and had a blast. There. I said it. Learned some stuff, dove some cool places, and did my best to violate every tenet of the "no new gear" thing.
I have gear. New gear. Gear-gasmic status even. DGX BP/W, HOG reg set, Apollo drysuit, new light...only thing not new was my gloves and fins. I'd been renting before last weekend, so I've always had new stuff anyway, right? It went famously well. Class was comprised of 2 or at most 3 divers per instructor/divemaster.
First dive was a night dive on Redondo Beach (Puget Sound, not Cali), a site I've dove quite a few times. This was my first night dive however. I've been wanting to go over to the VW for a while, so we did. Viz was amazing. Saw the baby wolf eel who has been hanging out there. New hi-viz console was a great choice. More to come on that. We had lights and backups as well as blinkers on our backs, maintained formation, and had a blast. Learned the importance of signaling not under (that was easy when used to horrible visibility anyway), but in particular at the surface.
Next morning we went down to Sund Rock for the next 3 dives. Our group rented the site to have all for us alone, which was nice. Did deep, nav, and buoyancy work there while enjoying tons of critters on the two walls. Rained the entire day and viz was blown out, with less than a foot until you got below 50'. Have to go back there. Failed miserably at getting the least bit narced, as did my sister. Is there a genetic component? Other than suit squeeze, I could have been at 60'.
Final day was a current dive at Titlow Beach, near the Narrows Bridge. It was colder with water at 44 degrees and feeling it. Tons of nudis in the pilings. Buoyancy was interesting when paired with current and about 10' variance in depth as we lapped the site. Lasted well over 50 minutes since it was shallow. Messed with weighting more, learned more about dealing with the current - I've done some drift dives but not current like this.
Did I learn a lot? Probably not a lot, but for the price I paid getting 5 guided dives isn't a bad deal IMO. Had plenty of time to debrief each dive and was very happy with the experience
Now equipment.
@Jim Lapenta helped me select my HOG reg, and I love the whole setup, from the streamlined hi visibility console to the breathing quality. I flipped completely upside down on my back on several occasions poking around for critters, and the HOG breathed nice and dry. The current was pretty heavy for a while and even then I had no issues. Granted I've been diving rental rigs, but I'm very happy with my setup. Current was strong enough that one of the students had free flow issues.
The Apollo drysuit was crazy easy to manage and kept me mostly warm with just a basic undergarment layer and a fleece vest. Water temps were 44-47 degrees or less down deep.
DGX backplate and wing are a no brainerr, or a BPW in general. I felt like I had nothing on my back all weekend. So happy I went straight there instead of starting with a back inflate or worse yet jacket. I'm pretty short, so the cummerbunds on them are crazy uncomfortable. Having 2 tank straps should be mandatory as I didn't even notice my tank. There were a couple of times that I thought my should strap was loose, but it was just my inflator. I built my BPW with one of the adjustable/cinchable keepers and it is great for doffing and donning my gear.
Only thing that I am mulling over now (well, not only) is my weighting. I used a weight belt this weekend and it was a huge pain. How comfy are the weight harnesses with a BPW? Having LCE seems a good idea. I don't need much - I'm using just 24 pounds with this setup and sinking/staying down just fine even with Al tanks. Part of me just thinks I should get a channel weight and add some weight in trim pouches, but I'd prefer having enough ditchable weight just in case.
