DIR setup critique

[Ste Wart]

the halcyon guys spend a lot of time trying to get it right

Oh, so that's why it costs so much. We're paying for their equipment on a per hour basis

 

[Mayor]

For me buying gear to go into a hostile environment is no where I want to be saving money. I want the best and will pay a few bucks more to have it. When I need it to work it's always up for the challenge.

Funny 98% of my gear has an H on it.

 

[Mayor]

As for the bottom timer i'm really enjoying the Liguivision xen in the water. Check it out before you buy anything.

 

[Tortuga68]

On SS vs Alloy plates: I have both, but if someone asks me what *one* to get I say go SS, unless your travel weight is really critical; the extra ~3# won't overweight most people much even if you're diving warm water/no neoprene, and they're easier (less additional weight required) to dive in cooler waters

 

[lost: the island]

Thanks for all the advice!

SS back plate it is.

I so want the liquivision, do i ever love OLED displays. I may end up with one.

still researching the regs, wondering if i should buy with cold water in mind for later, or cross that bridge when the time comes.

 

[Tortuga68]

There's not a huge price difference like-for-like, so if they fit your budget (which if you're considering a Xen, they should do), go for it. It's not like they don't work in warm water

 

[islanddiver1]

honestally take gue or utd fundies, the is a whole section of the course just for equiptment configuration and proper use. And if your into DIR skip the AOW and go right to a fundies class, you will save money.

 

[Ste Wart]

Funny 98% of my gear has an H on it.

That's a pretty big H

 

[lost: the island]

There's not a huge price difference like-for-like, so if they fit your budget (which if you're considering a Xen, they should do), go for it. It's not like they don't work in warm water

Yeah thats what I assumed, just not sure what to look for in a 1s and second stages, and id you get 2 matching secondary's for DIR. And you are correct, I have a dive gear budget set aside that im not close to meeting.

honestally take gue or utd fundies, the is a whole section of the course just for equiptment configuration and proper use. And if your into DIR skip the AOW and go right to a fundies class, you will save money.

Going to do some tec courses when im finished, Probably at Masters on Koh Tao. For now I just want to go to some nice place, hot weather, dive and relax...for several months.

 

[rjack321]

Yeah thats what I assumed, just not sure what to look for in a 1s and second stages, and id you get 2 matching secondary's for DIR. And you are correct, I have a dive gear budget set aside that im not close to meeting.

Identical 2nds are nice from a service/parts perspective but not required. As far as regs go almost any will work. The least desirable for backgas are probably the unbalanced pistons (like the SP Mk2) since the "spoked" design of the hose ports will create a rather annoying loop of hose bulging out to your shoulders on both sides.

The whole "deep reg" concept is not really applicable in DIR because any reg will breathe fine once you start adding helium to the mix. To start, just look for something which has been around awhile, has local parts/service, and decent hose routing.