DeepOutdoors Harness - Single Tank Use Question

[MASS-Diver]

For anyone thinking about diving doubles, my advice is to do it in a class, period.

D.

How about this instead, if you don't have any common sense don't dive doubles without a class, or better yet, just don't dive. *roll eyes*

Learning how to perform fast valve drills while keeping one's trim and bouyancy on point certainly takes practice and it's harder to muscle doubles, so many people, as soon as they are task loaded, will drop their knees and break trim - but diving them isn't rocket science and there no reason that anyone with some decent diving experince can't learn on their own. I have let some of my single tank buddies try my doubles in the past and most comment on how nice they feel in the water.

 

[Reinoud]

For anyone thinking about diving doubles, my advice is to do it in a class, period. The first time I was in the water, I waaaay underestimated how much air I needed in my wings and crashed into the muddy bottom of lake travis.

I can only imagine rolling off a boat with doubles for the first time and plummeting to the bottom. I've heard that you can LITERALLY descend faster than your inflater can compensate for (remember, twin steel 90's is about 80 pounds or so).

What you describe sounds just like being seriously overweighted. Not really a doubles problem in my opinion.
I started diving doubles about 50 dives after my DIR-F. To be honest, I did (and do) not see very much difference (I dive with double first stages on my single tank as well).

• The dump valve is a little more to the side.
• comparing a Pioneer to an Explorer wing, getting the Explorer completely empty takes a bit more work
• There is an extra valve in the valve drill
• You do longer with the gas because you have more

The rest was about the same. I feel a little more stable in the water, and I notice that the extra mass makes me move a bit longer after doing a fin stroke. (and it takes a bit more time to get into motion, especially with the backward kick).

I basically see no point in taking a class for diving doubles. Sounds like a money scheme to me ";-)

To overcome being overweighted I allways try out new stuff in the pool, or on an easy shore dive. Never on a complicated one.

 

[mdb]

I basically see no point in taking a class for diving doubles. Sounds like a money scheme to me ";-)

It is.

 

[jonnythan]

I basically see no point in taking a class for diving doubles. Sounds like a money scheme to me ";-)

It is.

Did you look at the parts, learn how to assemble them yourself, figure out what all the valves did, and teach yourself proper valve drills just by figuring it out?

Instruction is recommended at some point.. you don't need it to hop in the water with some doubles as long as you treat them like singles (ie, if anything fails you go to your buddy, get gas, and bail on the dive), but using them properly requires instruction of some sort.

 

[mdb]

Did you look at the parts, learn how to assemble them yourself, figure out what all the valves did, and teach yourself proper valve drills just by figuring it out?

Yep, sure did. When I first was certified J and K valves were current. Switching off was
always part of training. Diving doubles was simply to have more time U/W. I had 50's and 72's rigged to go single or double. I liked the 50's the best, they had a good center of gravity and lots of U/W time.

 

[dpthdiver]

I basically see no point in taking a class for diving doubles. Sounds like a money scheme to me ";-)

It is.

I have to agree with you on this point. Kinda like the Computer Specialty or the Equipment Techniques specialty.

I think you can get the same valuable information from other divers that use doubles instead of a class.

 

[lamont]

Diving doubles is more than just trim during valve drills. The doubles workshop that Mark gives is like "intro to rec triox" with valve drills done in trim, with a single hand for valves and clips and the other hand for good light control, and with proper buddy visual contact. Also the 9 failures of doubles, and how to proceduralize responses to valve drills as a team so that a "left thought it was right" failure doesn't result with both of the victim's valves shut down. I think that for Bob's class Mark even brought out the monkeydick. After having taken Rec Triox after the doubles workship, I think the workshop was useful preparation.

 

[Reinoud]

Diving doubles is more than just trim during valve drills. The doubles workshop that Mark gives is like "intro to rec triox" with valve drills done in trim, with a single hand for valves and clips and the other hand for good light control, and with proper buddy visual contact.

That is exactly what I learned during my DIR-F. And -as I wrote- the only difference with a valve drill going from a single-tank-dual-first-stage setup to doubles was handling the manifold.
I do not argue that the course might be usefull, but I see no specific 'doubles' skills. If I want to learn the basics, I do a DIR-F. If I want to learn how to use Triox I will do RecTriox.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I think this has degenerated into pointless argument.

Someone offered a workshop at a reasonable price. Some of us decided it had value, signed up for the workshop, and took it. All of us who did agreed that we got our money's worth out of it.

Why should anyone else care? Any instruction can be valuable if it targets the correct audience and fulfills the stated goals of the course.

Taking a class is like adding a tool to your toolbox ... if you already have a tool that'll do the job, you don't need it. If you don't, or want to try doing something a different way, it can have value. For me, the workshop was worthwhile, despite the fact that I'd been trying to learn the skills with friends who dive doubles regularly, because it offered me an organized perspective on what it was I was trying to do.

'nuff said ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)