Diving doubles recreationally

[OldNSalty]

First, if this isn't the correct place for this then sorry.

I'm not a tech diver but I am tech curious. I have a few extra bits of kit in the house and I was talking with a friend who said "Why don't you set up one of those double tank configurations?". Now I am sure I would need to spend a little (maybe a little more) money to do it but I am also wondering if you tech people use this configuration on just a normal, non-penetrating, not too deep, recreational dive?

If so, (and I am not sure that you would need to) do you swap out the tanks between dives? How much of a pain would that be? I ask because I've got some older small tanks that I would use for this purpose so together on a deep dive I might not be able to do 2 full dives.

I know the first thought would be to take an intro class but I don't have a week to spend away from the fam.

Thanks

 

[OldNSalty]

My apologies. I found this thread...
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tanks-valves-bands/228847-doubles-recreational-diving.html
I am still not sure about enough gas for a second, comfortable dive with say 72's-I use a lot of air.

Maybe this isn't the route for me.

 

[ucfdiver]

I use singles for non tech dives. I'm 23 and don't want to start chiropractor visits any earlier than I have to...

 

[Jaydubya]

I don't even own singles that are not stage-rigged so its dubs every time for me. I can easily do a 3 tank rec trip on one set. I'm more than twice ucf's age and my back is just fine, thank you.

 

[Lobzilla]

There is no free lunch in life.

Doubles are heavier for the same volume, more expensive, and trickier to trim out.
The advantages are increased redundancy, cleaner hose routing, better roll stability, and the fact that you can carry your reserve gas from the first dive into the second dive. (With singles you leave a 1/3 full tank on the boat).

My favorite shore diving rig are LP45 'baby' doubles. If I want to go a little longer/deeper, I add a stage. After that, the 'big boys' come out. Same harness, same wing, same regulators, same hoses. I have a tub with my standard diving gear that goes on every trip and the only variable are the tanks I add depending on the 'mission'. Makes life simple and saves surprises at the dive site.

The training for doubles does not have to take a week. Find an active group of GUE divers and/or a GUE instructor. They can square you away in day or two and you can try before you buy.

 

[Captain12Pk]

I'm with Jaydubya.
All I own are doubles (and stage singles). So for me it's doubles or nothing. The only choice is which doubles. For "recreational" dives, likely take the 85's. For "technical" dives, 120's or 133's. And on the rare occasion I DM anymore, 45's, or 85's; depending upon the class and location.

 

[Rainer]

I'm with James. No point hauling doubles when they aren't needed. Just not worth the hassle. IMO, singles are just a lot more fun. When the dive dictates doubles (either for gas capacity or redundancy, or just to get in some practice), then I'll pull them out.

 

[ianr33]

The training for doubles does not have to take a week. Find an active group of GUE divers and/or a GUE instructor. They can square you away in day or two and you can try before you buy.

If you search really,really hard you might even find non GUE divers that dive doubles!

 

[Dry_Diver]

One more consideration to think about is the comfort factor.

Do you want to just be getting comfortable with the dubs on the "deep, scary" dives? Or would diving them in say a very low stress dive and get supper comfortable with them so the only time you use them is NOT on the dives that you really need to. I have been diving my dubs exclusively to get really dialed in on them. now when I throw them on to go deep or long, it is no big deal. It doesn't feel like new gear, just the same ol' gear that I am used to.

Just my $.02

 

[Lobzilla]

If you search really,really hard you might even find non GUE divers that dive doubles!

That may work too if you carefully avoid those who move the tank bands for trim and then adjust the harness to be able to reach the valves and then have to add ankle weights and dive like a seahorse...

While you can find many non-GUE divers that got it right, there is the guarantee that no GUE instructor will encourage or endorse hack jobs.

The comfort factor that Dry_Diver mentioned is greatly enhanced by picking the right tanks for your body style and setting them up correctly. Not every LDS employee has the knowledge/experience to do this. Even fewer understand the concept of a 'balanced rig' that does not turn into a death trap (due to weight) when your primary buoyancy compensator fails.