Doubles recommendations for a small framed women?

[cool_hardware52]

Er, Tobin, when I've weighed a full Luxfer 80 it came in at about 38 lb., not 33.5. IIRR empty weight with valve is given as 31.8 lb., so adding 5.8 lb. to that would bring it to 37.6 lb. I don't think doubled Al80s make a lot of sense around here, given drysuits and the amount of weight we have to wear - I've always read of them being a warm-water rig (I should be so lucky).

Guy

Oops. I shouldn't post math examples when I'm pressed for time. I was using the empty weights, not full.

The concepts still holds, i.e. aluminum makes poor ballast, and 2 x al 80's result in a heavier rig then 2x steel 100's when one includes the required ballast.

As others have mentioned al80's do have some pro's, cheap, and a future as stages, but for smaller diver they don't reduce the "Standup and stagger through the surf weight"

Tobin

 

[kathydee]

Don, Kathy has great mentors. I'm sure nobody is rushing her. But she DID take Essentials recently, and those of us who are advising from afar can only guess at the total package she's dealing with.Kathy, LP85s. 'Nuff said. Wish you were up here, and I'd taking you diving in mine.

Lynne & Don thanks for the support & generous offers!

Lynne I really look forward to meeting you one of these days. Doc has a pair of 85's that he's offered to let me try.

You are correct, nobody is rushing me - Actually, everyone here knows I've been playing it super conservative in the new gear & have scaled WAY back from my normal warm water diving for the last 3 mos/50 dives while I've been adding all of this gear. Now I'm starting to expand & my local mentors have been generously providing lots of little challenges and nudges to help me with that .





I really appreciate all the advice and discussion here. I love this forum. It seems I should clarify my intentions with doubles. I totally agree - I definitely want & need more dives in the single tank rig before moving to doubles.

I'm about to spend 5 weeks living/diving full time in Monterey and plan to toss a few days in doubles in the mix to add a challenge. The goal will be to check out your different tank suggestions before buying. I anticipate it will take a while to figure out the right rig & find a good deal on a set of tanks/wing/etc.

So I really doubt I will do anything remotely ambitious with doubles before Fundies class in Feb (which should give me another 50+ dives between now and then in my single tank rig). I'm just planning ahead & really appreciate all this great advice.

 

[kathydee]

Allison, I imagine it's a question of the personal challenge. I've got about 270 dives and, like Kathy, I'm getting bored with the typical recreational dive despite my inventing navigational challenges or doing mapping. I expect Kathy and I both enjoy going places that the majority can't/won't, stretching our physical/mental limits.

So, it's not surprising that someone like Kathy gets bored with recreational diving fairly fast. I don't know about her, but I knew from the start that I wanted to go tech, because just swimming around looking at fish, slugs etc. palled fairly soon. I knew I wanted to dive deep, cold, wrecks and/or caves because of the higher level of skills/knowledge/experience required, and because those environments were more interesting to me. Same for Fofo I imagine, which is why we're looking to take Fundies with Rob come April Guy

Hi Guy, You're local? It would be nice to meet you or have we already met? Yes I am attracted to wrecks and caverns, but I have to admit the slugs and fish of Lembeh Straights and even Lobos are deffinately a draw too ;-).

 

[kathydee]

Just an aside;

Kathy, I have a set of bands and a manifold that came off of my LP98 tanks when I bought them and converted them to singles use. PM me if you want them.

BTW, it was great diving with you this weekend. You did look really good in the doubles, even if your trim was a bit off. You made me feel like a fool compared to how solid you looked in the water.Peace,Greg

Looked good in doubles?! Greg you're a sweetie ! You did great in your Essentials class! I was so impressed that you traveled from the warm waters of Hawaii to our 51F water, slapped on a 7mm and went for it! I just loved watching your skills improve and really look forward to your class report! Let's keep in touch.

 

[b1gcountry]

What kind of tanks do you already own? Why not try doubling those up and seeing if you like them.

 

[*dave*]

I'd go with the HP100 set, but I'd get it ASAP or consider pushing Fundies till you can get some doubles time. You'll be progressing to tec, so why take Fundies with the intent of walking away with a rec pass when you'll need the tec pass to progress?

 

[TSandM]

Well, Kathy's in an enviable situation -- she has a GUE instructor local to her, so setting up a tech pass checkout dive isn't a big issue at all. I'm a big proponent of getting the basics right in a single tank setup before moving to doubles. But depending on how her diving goes, she might be ready to do Fundies in doubles, or not -- She's got some good, knowledgeable people to give her feedback on that decision.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

A connection? Well to keep it simple, basically both sports require an absurdly large pile of heavy expensive gear and tons of technical skills that enable you to do stuff & go places that otherwise would be impossible for 99+% of the public. Walking out of one world into the other, it makes sense that cattle boats & shore diving won’t entertain forever.

... or, to quote a line from a Grateful Dead tune ... "Too much of everything is just enough" ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Peter Guy]

I don't know about her, but I knew from the start that I wanted to go tech, because just swimming around looking at fish, slugs etc. palled fairly soon.

Anyone who has seen me attempt an ascent knows I am NOT a "tech diver" despite the gear and the cards, but I do, now and then, strap on a deco bottle and stay down "beyond recreational limits."

Why?

To look at the pretty fishies, fans, sponges and other things that are there. "Technical diving" is merely a tool for expanding one's diving range IMHO. I don't understand the idea of doing a "technical dive" just for the purpose of going deeper or staying longer -- if indeed that is the poster's intent. Just about everyone I know uses the techniques to go see something -- NOT just to do it.

If you are bored with fishies, etc. at 60 feet, you'll be just as bored at 150.

 

[BobbyT22]

I thoroughly enjoy diving a set of AL63 doubles for recreational profiles. They trim beautifully, have better bouyancy characterisitics at the end of the dive than a set of AL80's, and don't weigh a ton on land either. It is so much nicer having 126 cuft of gas than 80 when doing rec dives, but not so much gas that you get yourself into trouble with deco (still doable, but less tempting). It is not hard to get 3000 psi fills, and the 7.25 inch circumference makes the bands and manifold usable with a wide variety of tanks later on if you want to go bigger. And, they are cheap to boot. One drawback is they are on the short side, so to reach the isolator I have to push up on the bottoms while reaching behind my head , but not so hard once I got the hang of it. Overall I am really happy with my "baby doubles".