Ditchable weight

[Rainer]

To the OP:

I live in Southern California. Here, it's rare you'll find a DIR diver with a single tank

What "DIR" divers are you diving with??? I can't think of any of the DIR locals who don't own a single (and singles gear) and dive it when appropriate.

Doubles are really pretty dumb for a lot of our local shore dives (most of which are quite shallow)... It's also a rare recreational boat dive where a single HP130 won't suffice. Honestly, I can't figure out why many are diving doubles locally for <100' NDL dives, especially with no aspirations of moving on to tech/cave courses. I guess doubles must be "cool"...

 

[lamont]

Honestly, I can't figure out why many are diving doubles locally for <100' NDL dives, especially with no aspirations of moving on to tech/cave courses. I guess doubles must be "cool"...

how do you know that they have no aspirations?

it generally takes quite a bit of 'techreational' diving with doubles before getting that first tech/cave card... and generally it would be better to encourage divers to have more experience with the gear rather than less before advancing...

 

[Rainer]

how do you know that they have no aspirations?

I asked them. Duh.

It's shocking how few people can articulate a coherent reason for having/diving them. [No, they are not cool, no, they aren't required for DIR diving, no they don't add redundancy--they just allow for it, no, you do not always have to be "practicing" for (future) "technical" diving,....]

it generally takes quite a bit of 'techreational' diving with doubles before getting that first tech/cave card... and generally it would be better to encourage divers to have more experience with the gear rather than less before advancing...

Doubles are easy...once your core skills are in place. I see LOADS of newer divers whose fundamental skills could use attention. Doubles tend to get in the way when added too early. I know I suffered through them initially. I'd rather encourage newer (either actually green or just new to DIR) divers to (1) work on basic/core/fundamental skills, (2) gain experience diving new sites, with new buddies, building a strong well of experience, and (3) have FUN. Doubles can/should come later. The gear really is the most minor issue that needs addressing before "advancing".

Doubles obviously have a place in (DIR and other) diving, but IMO it's gotten a bit out of control (especially among newer DIR divers).

 

[TSandM]

Chris, I think of all the posts of yours I've read on this board, I most strongly agree with this one.

I wish people would just stay in single tanks and become good divers, before they change equipment and go haring off after dives in the "dark and scary" (as my friend Laurynn would put it).

 

[rjack321]

Doubles are easy...once your core skills are in place. I see LOADS of newer divers whose fundamental skills could use attention. Doubles tend to get in the way when added too early. I know I suffered through them initially. I'd rather encourage newer (either actually green or just new to DIR) divers to (1) work on basic/core/fundamental skills, (2) gain experience diving new sites, with new buddies, building a strong well of experience, and (3) have FUN. Doubles can/should come later. The gear really is the most minor issue that needs addressing before "advancing".

Doubles obviously have a place in (DIR and other) diving, but IMO it's gotten a bit out of control (especially among newer DIR divers).

A+!!!!

 

[OkiMike]

What "DIR" divers are you diving with??? I can't think of any of the DIR locals who don't own a single (and singles gear) and dive it when appropriate.

Doubles are really pretty dumb for a lot of our local shore dives (most of which are quite shallow)... It's also a rare recreational boat dive where a single HP130 won't suffice. Honestly, I can't figure out why many are diving doubles locally for <100' NDL dives, especially with no aspirations of moving on to tech/cave courses. I guess doubles must be "cool"...

While I do have single tanks that I enjoy using on specific dives, I tend to dive doubles on most EVERY other dive, regardless of depth, for a few reasons:

1.) Doubles offer me more gas. Since my tanks are always filled with Nitrox 32%, I can do one long dive for up to 2 hours or so rather than have to come ashore and swap out tanks.

2.) On a boat, doubles also free up the hold for other divers to carry more single tanks depending on how many of us are aboard. As in reason #1, I also don't have to do any work during my surface interval since my gear has at least another dive on it. Depending on the length of each dive (usually determined by how many recreational divers are also aboard and the depth of the sites), I can even get in 3 dives with a set of double AL80s (and easily so with a larger tank size).

3.) Since I am a tech diver, doubles give me a chance to stay "fresh" on my buoyancy/trim/valve failure skills.

4.) Similar to #3, it's alot easier to weight myself for drysuit diving with doubles rather than single tanks, thus I can also bring along a drysuit which keeps my drysuit skills fresh and helps me stay warm even towards the end of a day where we have put in 3 or more dives.

5.) Doubles ARE cool (), and in our area where there are limited numbers technical divers, wearing doubles acts as a sort of a "business card" for our group since they almost always invite inquiries from those interested in the setup who wish to pursue technical diving for themselves.

Don't get me wrong, I love single tank dives and after enough of the double tank ones, I've since started calling them "invisible tank dives" since, by comparison it feels as if there's nothing there, but they tend to be specific dives usually involving near-shore research, near-shore scootering, or quickie dives with others who happen to have an hour free to dive right before or after work.

Lastly, single tank dives are entirely appropriate for times when the doubles gear is out for servicing.

 

[ligersandtions]

While I do have single tanks that I enjoy using on specific dives, I tend to dive doubles on most EVERY other dive, regardless of depth, for a few reasons:

I think Rainer's comment was geared toward socal DIR divers....doubles are absolutely not necessary (or ideal) for surf entries/exits over rocky beach leading to 20' surgey reef dives. Doubles plus a scooter make for a lot of extra weight shore diving. Doubles make zipping around on scooters less fun due to the drag.

We often set up DIR charters....and on the last one, out of 12 of us, only one person was in doubles (and that was because his tech charter got cancelled and we happened to have an open spot on ours, so he jumped on it with the cylinders he had available). We have another (recreational) DIR charter this coming weekend, and I think pretty much everyone will be diving singles.

When appropriate, we dive singles....when appropriate, we dive doubles....when appropriate, we add stages, deco bottles, etc. to the mix. But you won't catch me lugging around doubles and a stage just to look cool when singles would suffice. And that's pretty true about the majority of socal DIR divers we dive with.

 

[HenrikBP]

I guess doubles must be "cool"...

Of course it's cool. To paraphrase a skiing joke: "It doesn't matter how you dive. What matters is looking cool walking to the water."

(that said I love diving doubles just for the fun of it, and have in the last year+ only dived singles on a Caribbean trip )

go haring off after dives in the "dark and scary" (as my friend Laurynn would put it).

... that's pretty darn funny.

 

[lamont]

sorry, every time i heard this argument that people in doubles are posers, it just seems to me more about the poster needing to cut on people with less experience, and it does nothing to invite newer divers into technical diving. its the opposite of outreach, and it really belongs with the dick measurement games over on TDS. we'd be better off we all stopped judging other divers like this.

and i know when i first strapped on doubles i would have said i only wanted to dive 'techreationally' with helium in the 100-foot range and would never take a tech or cave diving course. that has a way of changing over time.

 

[ScubaFeenD]

Doubles obviously have a place in (DIR and other) diving, but IMO it's gotten a bit out of control (especially among newer DIR divers).

I agree. You should have been on the GUE adventure dives in January. Easily recreational profiles and not one person there dove singles (except for Dan, his wife, and Bill Mee). Absolutely ridiculous in my mind, and shows a real lack of diving flexibility.