Lahaina Divers has AL100s and nitrox as well.....not steel, but at least they're 100s.
Sounds like Molokai wouldn't be a problem for you...but whether or not it's worth it is really going to be your call. We haven't done Molokai yet, but in talking with a friend who is a captain with LD (and who tells us the brutal truth), the Molokai dives are fantastic about 90% of the time, with hammerhead and other shark sightings. He says that sometimes the dives get ruined by air hogs since doing live boat dives they must dive as a group, coming up when the first person is down on air. Fortunately that doesn't happen often (according to him) since they try to screen very carefully.
As far as bottom time is concerned, you're going to find yourself with limits regardless of which operator you choose. Because the crossing to Lanai can be rough starting around noon, the surface interval between dives is usually shorter than an hour, thus limiting your bottom time due to NDLs. For S. Maui and Molokini charters, dives are usually limited to about an hour, again in order to get all diving done before the trades pick up and the water gets rough.
Also, if you've never been diving in Hawaii, you'll find that all dives are group dives with a DM leading. The amount of "supervision" will depend on who you go out with. Lahaina Divers typically cater to the vacation diver and beginners, doing a fabulous job with safety and supervision, but it can be a bit annoying to a diver used to being independent. They do try hard to group divers based on experience, and for the past 2 years we've always been part of a more advanced group, meaning less "supervision" and more simply group type diving. Extended Horizons are more often recommended for more experienced divers who require less supervision.
Since we dive with Ed Robinson's every year (multiple charters), they know us well and we find that diving with them is more like diving with friends who know the area.
