Best Tank for a Tall Guy (6'5") Al80 or lp95?

[NovaScotiaDiver]

Hey There,
As a relative newcomer to the board (I do a ton of reading, not much posting) and diving, I'm asking for some advice on tanks. I have the opportunity to add the final piece to my "dream of diving independently" puzzle, and I was hoping the veteran divers here could help. I have the opportunity to buy 2 different tanks:

1. Alum 80 (10 years old, brand new vis and hydro) $95
2. Faber Steel LP95 (used, current vis and hydro) $150

I am very interested in the steel, as I dive dry up here in the frigid Nova Scotian waters and would like to drop a few pounds of weight, but I've been reading a lot of posts that mention that lp95s might not work well for a vertically excellerated man such as myself (6'5"). Which off the two would be the best?

Thanks in advance for any and all ideas!

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

I think you'll find the 95s too short. I'm 5'10" and my 95s are short for me. Not that they don't work, but you might have more difficutly.

 

[Skeeter1097]

There are a few oncer's as well as questions.
Steel tanks let you louse 3 lbs of disposable weight's. A 95 LP 2400 lbs, pump it up and you have 108 ft at 3000.
On a average dive can u deco on a 80, if not go with the 95. bottom time is the key. If you need a longer tank get a boot.
I have both and use both. Long and deep I use steel. Less then 50 ft dives I use 80 Al's as the air last so long.

 

[dave4868]

I haven't heard about trim issues using an lp95, but I don't get around much.

I'd suggest the following priorities for buying first tanks (aside from economics):

• larger capacity (at least to match your needs and relative air consumption compared to smaller dive buddies)
• buoyancy characteristics to suit you (close to neutral when empty appeals to me
• multiple similar tanks (eventually, I know....)

Having plenty of air is very nice.... I'm 5'9" and use HP120's. Weigh that against any extra cost of filling a larger tank versus whether you feel the extra air will often go unused on your typical dives.

I stay in the water until I use most of mine....

Dave C

 

[NovaScotiaDiver]

Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate the comments and suggestions. I'll probably just go with 2 aluminum 80s and dive those, they should be fine for my diving needs (cold water, no deeper than 60 or 70 feet). Although, diving has taken a real hold on me (on the verge of obsessive), and I'm sure the more dives I log the longer I'll want to stay down there. But that's a thread for another day and paygrade,

Thanks again!

 

[mfalco]

I think you should go with the LP95 tanks. They are almost the same height as the AL80s. So it it is a heihght issue, it will be almost the same with both tanks. The weight difference is huge. When I started diving dry I bought some LP95s because of how much weight I needed with the AL80s.