Doubles - dilemma

[Scared Silly]

If I remember correctly they were HP80s. Her major complaint was the amount of mass she had on her back and controlling it. She never went turtle but I am sure it was not too far away. She also felt her buoyancy sucked the big one and normally she has prety decent skills. BTW my wife is all of 125 lbs.

Maybe to add the future is to able to dive a bit deep, a bit longer, explore a cavern, poke inside a ship - all safety. She has done most of that on a single. (We spent a week in Chuuk this spring - she did that on a steel 110?? and an h valve and was very comfortable).

 

[Mo2vation]

If I remember correctly they were HP80s. Her major complaint was the amount of mass she had on her back and controlling it. She never went turtle but I am sure it was not too far away. She also felt her buoyancy sucked the big one and normally she has prety decent skills. BTW my wife is all of 125 lbs.

Maybe to add the future is to able to dive a bit deep, a bit longer, explore a cavern, poke inside a ship safety. She has most some of that on a single. (We spent a week in Chuuk this spring).

They are a bit different in that regard. As Red said, I can't imagine going in with 95's in a wetsuit - especially if she's all of 125 and a size 4 or 6. No way.

I have no desire to go caving, or go into the belly of a wreck and go stem to stern. My deal is I want to dive deeper in open water and see the stuff we have around here in the 130 to 160 depths. I want to do it safer. Getting the practice on doubles is only the first piece. Training is the next.

You're going to enjoy it, I believe. But just go slow, go shallow and be wise.

---
Ken

 

[TheRedHead]

If I remember correctly they were HP80s. Her major complaint was the amount of mass she had on her back and controlling it. She never went turtle but I am sure it was not too far away. She also felt her buoyancy sucked the big one and normally she has prety decent skills. BTW my wife is all of 125 lbs.

Maybe to add the future is to able to dive a bit deep, a bit longer, explore a cavern, poke inside a ship safety. She has most some of that on a single. (We spent a week in Chuuk this spring).

I weigh 129 and I'm 5'10. I practically had to wrestle a pair of HP 100s but got used to them because I had spent a lot of time in a pool with AL 80s (which I thought I was going to be able to rent, but couldn't). I don't see why she couldn't dive AL 80s with practice. I personally prefer 72s or 63s, but I don't have any problems with 80s. It sounds to me like your wife is trying to make a decision as to whether she wants to get more into technical diving.

 

[Vicente]

If I were going to play with something JUST FOR FUN it would be doubled 40's.

Yeah I know sounds wacky, but my air consumption is quite good so 80 cubes is all I need. Doubling smaller tanks would give the redundancy I crave without too much added mass and gas I really don't need. Smaller diameter tanks should mean lower profile and less drag.

 

[TheRedHead]

You could go with an H-valve, Vicente.

 

[Vicente]

Yes but an H-valve wouldn't be oddball enough for me

"You're diving DOUBLE-PONIES ??? Dude, that is whack !"

 

[TheRedHead]

Yes but an H-valve wouldn't be oddball enough for me

"You're diving DOUBLE-PONIES ??? Dude, that is whack !"

The stubby 50s would look weirder. I've even thought about those.

 

[Mo2vation]

The stubby 50s would look weirder. I've even thought about those.

So funny. Way tiny. She needs at least 5 or 6 pounds of tail weight to get them to remotely trim out.

H valve... I dunno. Reaching the valve on my single tank is doable, but requires some effort. Having one valve pointing stright back would make it next to impossible to reach for me. Can you easily reach it?

---
Ken

 

[TheRedHead]

Having one valve pointing stright back would make it next to impossible to reach for me. Can you easily reach it?

Sure, because it is jammed into the back of my head.

 

[TSandM]

You know, the little steel 72s I'm diving are a reasonable compromise. I couldn't cope with doubled Al80's -- I had to wear 36 pounds of weight to sink one of them. In fresh water, with less exposure protection, that would be different.

I can understand your wife's feeling about the mass attached to her. I felt that way the first dive with the 72s. The second dive was totally different. I had added 2 lbs to my waist, and I was really a happy camper. They feel different. I had much more of a sense that I was balancing myself underneath the tanks, rather than balancing the tanks on my back. It was odd, and foreign, and definitely a huge change from my singles rig.

What was really funny was doing three dives in the doubles, and then going back to my singles rig and feeling unstable and "tippy" in that.

I think your wife can probably get a set of doubles that works for her, and that she can trim out and use for skills. But there is a significant question in the works: If you buy tanks that trim out for her, what's going to happen when you go somewhere where you are going to rent doubles, and all they have is Al80's? That's what I'm facing going to Mexico for cave training. Either ship my doubles down there, or learn to dive what they have.