Doubles recommendations for a small framed women?

[kathydee]

I joined my instructor to observe another Essentials class last weekend, he surprised me by slapping doubles on my back for the first time - on all six dives. Needless to say, it was quite an interesting weekend. Turns out I was able to hike Worthington 100hp’s down to the beach and do the surf entry/exit- even though they were pretty heavy. I tried a few different tank/wing combos with HP 100’s and 80’s with varied success.

He said to dive as many types of rigs as I can before I purchase. A few people have recommended different tanks to try, but since I’ve always received fantastic advice from you all here on the DIR forum, I thought I’d toss it out for ideals.

I’m petite: 5’4” 117lb gal & diving a dry suit in 50F +/- water. But I hit the gym quite a bit, so up to a certain point (the steel HP100’s are probably the max) strength isn’t really the issue. Any suggestion which tanks the gals are diving?

Thanks again for all the ongoing great advice!

 

[JeffG]

and why do you want doubles?

 

[Rainer]

With practice, you'll be able to pretty much dive whatever doubles you want. I know women smaller than you routinely diving AL80s, LP104s, HP120s, and HP130s.

As a first set of doubles, however, I'd recommend: AL80s, LP80s, LP85s, or HP100s.

I'm assuming (nod to Jeff) that you have a reason for wanting doubles (i.e. future sights on C1 or T1).

 

[Docc]

Bamamedic is one of my regular dive buddies. As long as I've known her she's dove 95s and 85s and she's a little bitty thing.

 

[Blackwood]

I know women smaller than you routinely diving AL80s, LP104s, HP120s, and HP130s.

Ay.

Kathy - Try to get ahold of Kim. She dives LP119 doubles (or some other set that's nearly as ridiculous).

I've done beach dives with her during which I have no doubt her gear weighed at least as much as she does.

 

[cool_hardware52]

I joined my instructor to observe another Essentials class last weekend, he surprised me by slapping doubles on my back for the first time - on all six dives. Needless to say, it was quite an interesting weekend. Turns out I was able to hike Worthington 100hp’s down to the beach and do the surf entry/exit- even though they were pretty heavy. I tried a few different tank/wing combos with HP 100’s and 80’s with varied success.

He said to dive as many types of rigs as I can before I purchase. A few people have recommended different tanks to try, but since I’ve always received fantastic advice from you all here on the DIR forum, I thought I’d toss it out for ideals.

I’m petite: 5’4” 117lb gal & diving a dry suit in 50F +/- water. But I hit the gym quite a bit, so up to a certain point (the steel HP100’s are probably the max) strength isn’t really the issue. Any suggestion which tanks the gals are diving?

Thanks again for all the ongoing great advice!

Keep in mind that aluminum doesn't make very good ballast.

A pair of full Luxfer S80 (with valves) is about 2 x 33.5 = 67 lbs.

These tanks will be almost 9 lbs positive when empty (per pair)

A pair of full E7-100 (with valves) is about 2 x 36 = 72 lbs.

These tanks will be about 2 lbs negative when empty (per pair)

If you add the ~11 lbs of additional ballast you need to dive the S80's vs the E7-100 your total "stand up" weight for the 80's is 67 + 11 = 78 lbs vs 72 for the larger capacity Steel tanks.

Tobin

 

[JohnB47]

Be careful with those doubles if you decide to do a surf entry on a steep beach, such as Monastery Beach (near Carmel). I used to dive with double 72's in the early 1970's when I lived in Ohio. They were great for cave dives in Florida and deep wreck dives in Georgian Bay, and they were not a problem in the local quarries. Then in 1975, I moved to California, and decided to dive at Monastery Beach. As I attempted to enter the surf, I got knocked down by a wave, and the weight of those doubles made it hard for me to even get back out of the water. A couple of local guys dragged me up the beach. I didn't dive that day. The next day, I went to the local dive shop, and bought two K-valves, and turned my doubles into a couple of singles. Shallow beaches are not a problem with doubles, but steep beaches can be difficult. (My 2 psi.)

 

[kathydee]

and why do you want doubles?

Hi Jeff the manic cat ,

I think I have a good answer for you.

As you know from our past conversations, I was a technical rock climber for many years before scuba, so it makes sense that I am getting a bit bored with the local easy diving. The local UTD/GUE divers have been mentoring me in the conversion from warm water diver to drysuit diver & now they are requesting doubles to keep me engaged in the shallows and extend my future dive range.

Lots to learn, but so far I enjoy how stable the doubles are in the water & the new challenge. I've taken UTD Essentials, I'm diving with DIR divers, Fundies (rec pass) is scheduled for Feb, 2010. Perhaps if/when I get the hang of the new tanks I’ll be ready for another training step next Fall? Still have a few things to dial in singles, so not in a rush. I'm diving a lot so just taking it one step at a time & mixing it up to keep it interesting.

It's not a secret that I am inspired by future more aggressive diving. That’s the reason I am here. But skill will determine if I ever go there. At this point, I have no idea. It’s just fun to learn new challenging gear and technique one piece at a time - even in the shallows !

 

[AndyNZ]

I’m petite: 5’4” 117lb gal & diving a dry suit in 50F +/- water. But I hit the gym quite a bit, so up to a certain point (the steel HP100’s are probably the max) strength isn’t really the issue. Any suggestion which tanks the gals are diving?

That's roughly the same size as my better half - she dives a set of steel Faber 10 liters (72 cu ft?) and loves them.

Our gas consumption (in bar per minute) is roughly the same when she's diving twin 10s and I am diving twin 12s (95 cu ft?), which is great for multi-level, minimum-deco dives but it becomes a killer for us doing more aggressive diving - minimum gas on her 10s for our combined breathing rate is crippling.....

 

[alwaingold]

As you know from our past conversations, I was a technical rock climber for many years before scuba, so it makes sense that I am getting a bit bored with the local easy diving.

I don't see the connection. I highly doubt you have come even close to exhausting the local diving available in single tanks (e.g. on boats).

But, that's not what this thread is about. Back to that topic. I would look at something in the range of LP85s to HP100s. Those tanks will give you a very reasonable range, from 2 medium-length recreational dives to 1 really long recreational dive, to pretty much anything in the T1 range. If you get something smaller (like 72s), you will find that in order to do two decent length recreational dives in a day, you will end up wanting a stage. And anything bigger is overkill, in my opinion. You are small enough that you don't need the gas, you aren't going to be doing dives that strictly require the bigger tanks for a long time (if ever), and your back/neck will thank you for it.

I dove Faber LP85s pretty much exclusively until after I took T2. I now have 72s (which I truthfully hardly ever use, but I like to have them for the theoretical Monastery doubles dives that I no longer do, plus they are good for one long Lobos dive), 85s, and HP120s. I only use the 120s for > T1 dives, and I have never used them on a shore dive. (And I also have singles for Breakwater night dives and some recreational boat diving.) Overall, the 85s are the most versatile (so versatile that I own two sets).

While I am sure it is true that there are many ladies out there diving big burly man tanks, I don't see a reason to do it on a shore dive if you don't need to

Faber LP85s seem to be very popular with the ladies around here, though all of the ones I can think of are probably a bit taller than you. So a shorter tank (like the HP100s you tried) might work fine for you. I think Don has a set of Faber 85s too, so maybe you could give those a try and see how they compare to the 100s (they aren't going to make a difference getting in/out of the water, it is more of a trim/stability in the water thing).

Allison