Dive Rite Travel-Pac + HOG D1 or BP2 first stage/regs good starting gear?

[gstrek]

If you are using a 3 mil shorty and aluminum 80 diving tropical locations with warm water, I would take an educated guess and say you should be using no more than 12 lbs. The camera system is most like neutral to a tad negative so that really has no impact.

If you were to wear thicker a thicker wetsuit or use steel tanks, that would be my decision point to go with a larger wing.

Seeing as you are a new diver (0-24 dives), perhaps you want to rent a BCD for a few dives at the locations / conditions / wetsuit you plan to frequently dive. That will give you a good sense for how much weight you need.

For me, tropical diver with minimal protection and AL80, the Travelpac is just about perfect. Enough lift but streamlined and solid feeling as compared to my jacket BCD.

 

[deskdiver]

That makes sense but I'm still not 100% on choice..

At what point would one need 35lbs of lift vs 25lbs other than a dry suit?

Say for example:
- 5mm steamer
- Steel LP85 or something big like say HP100
Could I still use a travelpac?

What is the downside of using the voyagerpac and not utilising the extra 10lbs of lift? Say if I use it with a AL80 and a a really thin wetsuit.. Is it that bad (in OW context) with more lift than you need and a slightly bigger BCD?

I fear getting to a site where the only tank I can get is steel and I can't dive it with my own BCD or need a calculator or worse get stuck on the bottom with a fully inflated BC. One of my flatmates went nitrox diving here which I would assume is done with a larger steel tank (assumption only) and a thicker wetsuit.. So trying to find the point where I would 'out grow' a travelpac as my main BCD.. Did I mention this was going to be my main piece of kit?

(I've been diving locally just can't remember what bcd, wetsuit or weights I used. Perhaps I should just buy my regs and go out with rental stuff again and take note of weights and models.)

 

[gstrek]

On the Dive Rite website, read up on the Travel Pac. It is designed for a single Aluminum 80 and 16 lbs max weight. Here is a link to the user manual: http://www.diverite.com/downloads/diverite_264.pdf so you can be informed.

Frankly, if you haven't got your weighting locked in yet, I would hold off on buying a BC until you know what you need and what you are going to wear.

For what it's worth, I would look at the DR Stainless Steel XT Lite backplate and get the wing(s) you need. This will give you much more flexibility. For me, I only dive tropical with AL 80s and with a camera.

The TravelPac works for ME but maybe not so much for others who need more flexibility. Most of my diving is drift diving in Cozumel or diving in the Cayman Islands.

 

[phork]

If you're still having second thoughts about it or questioning if it will be sufficient, don't buy yet. Dive gear isn't cheap and it's better to know what you need rather than just diving in and having to buy again later. Have you even used a TravelPac? What if you don't like the fit? What if it's uncomfortable to you? What if, as you said, it isn't enough? Take your time. See if there is someone on here in the regional forums that has some excess gear and is willing to let you try out some other stuff.

Just because something looks good on paper doesn't mean it's what will work for you. Try out as much as you can before buying so you don't have to re-buy in the future because you jumped the gun. If you're like me and like to jump in head first, I understand. It's no fun having to wait. In my case though, I've spent well over $1500 on equipment that I've had to re-sell because I didn't like it. Had I waited and taken my time buying, I would have saved a lot of money.

 

[deskdiver]

Thanks gents this was useful for me.

So you know I actually had a look at the site and clicked off on something I thought was the technical documentation but it wasn't as detailed as the one you posted- thanks.

I get the sentiment about trying things etc but I'm not that precious, nor do I have the inclination or access to borrow other peoples stuff. I'll go ahead and order a set of BP1's and hold off on the BCD till I know exactly what weight I'm diving with with my instructor and what lift is in the BCD he gives me. That'll give me a baseline.

I'll report back for posterity, though it may take a few weeks. Thanks for everyone's input, I really appreciate it.

 

[abyss_scuba]

One thing I would ask is can you get that reg set serviced? You can take a reg overhaul class once you are tech certified but until then you will be taking it to somdone fir service. Also if you travel to dive look at whether you will be able to get any reg serviced where you usually travel to. Larger name brands have largsr distribution networks.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Many destinations also have rental regs that might be a better and wiser option than allowing some unknown quantity in shop in a third world country to tear down your reg. Check it before you leave, dive it a couple times and don't worry about it.

If something happens to a reg I usually have a spare or two. Carrying an extra first stage and second stage is not burdensome. Leave the shampoo and extra shoes at home and you now have plenty of room.

Or parts to rebuild mine. But rather than waste time doing that depending on the dives and location. I'd just rent one and wait til I got back to rebuild it.
As for the rebuild class TDI Nitrox is all you need. Or any cavern, ice, or other overhead cert. Intro to Tech with a real nitrox class (uses tables, calculates MOD's, best mixes, and covers all the gas laws) works as well. Not a set your computer and dive one though.

 

[abyss_scuba]

So you agree that Hog does not have the distribution of a larger company. Since the op is a new diver looking to maximize his purchase I do not think buying a second regulator makes much sense right now. Also bad mouthing some tech because they do not live in the USA or Europe does not seem very kind, many of them are even expats living the dream away from home. A lot of techs in dive destinations do more overhaul and repairs than your average tech. I mentioned that eventually the op could take a class. Lets not put the cart before the horse. I think the op would do well to dive first and worry about taking a regulator class second.

Whatever you choose enjoy your gear and go dive.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Agreed. And did not bad mouth anyone. Just said I would not trust any tech I don't know. No matter what their experience level. Especially since a problem may crop up later on due to that service after returning home. Then what do they do?
Just buy the reg you want that meets your needs and budget. Brand is immaterial. Unless it's a used Dacor, then you are screwed. Don't worry about service in a far off location. It is extremely rare that any properly cared for reg will need it anyway. Most common problems are a leaky hose or HP spool. Those are indeed pretty much universal. Otherwise part of the dive plan for dives in far off locations should be if my reg does fail do I want to wait for a shop there to find time to service it? For me no. Better option is to rent a reg from them, keep diving on schedule, and have my own known tech, or me, rebuild it at my leisure when I get home so that if there is an issue it can be taken care of easily.
Do regs fail? Yes. But it is not the horror story some use to scare people into things they don't want, need, or can't really afford.

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[Searcaigh]

I have been using a DR TravelPac for about 2 years now and it works well with a single HP100 plus a AL30 stage in a 3mm suit.

What you need to be aware of is that if you are using an AL80 (common in the tropics) it is useful to have a 2lb/1Kg weight on a cam band lower down the tank to maintain decent trim as the tank pressure drops