First Double Hose Dive In THIRTY YEARS!!!

[DrakeAndrews]

After a thirty year affair with a SCUBAPRO MK5, last month I made my first dive in over THIRTY years using a DOUBLE hose rig! I had forgotten what an enjoyable experience it can be. It took place at Lake Berryessa Cal. I spent about an hour at 30 ft. with about 15ft. vis. My 1958 DA Aquamaster worked flawlessly. My equipment included 74 cu ft. USD aluminum tank (yellow), 1962 USD "Aqualung" back pack w/ yellow D-ring harness, Voit Polaris mask w/ equalizing levers, Voit Viking fins , USN MK3 Dive knife w/sheath, Sportsways Navy depth gauge, US Divers safety vest, US Divers SEA DIV SPG w/ Chuck Tenge Banjo fitting.
Thanx to all who provided my new parts:
Vintage Scuba for the new yellow hoses,
Vintage Double hose for the hookah adaptor, duckbill, yoke and screw, body clamp and hose clamps;
Ebay for the Safety vest and bacpac.
Even though it was a fresh water swim I encountered plenty of fish and even saw TWO spearfishermen on this dive.
VINTAGE DIVING LIVES!!!!!!

 

[drbill]

I did my first since the 1960's, but used a non-vintage Mistral. It was a PITA. I'm glad that reg technology has improved since then. The only thing vintage about my diving today is... me!

 

[Nemrod]

I did my first since the 1960's, but used a non-vintage Mistral. It was a PITA. I'm glad that reg technology has improved since then. The only thing vintage about my diving today is... me!

It has improved since then and it is called the Phoenix Royal Aqua Master.

Really now DrBill, you know that you are a caterpillar waiting to spread your wings. Your long dormancy playing with girhly mahn single hose toys is coming to an end. It is why you responded to this post, it is in your blood, you dream of it, your bones ache for it, imbued within your psyche, you know your one of us . Throw down all that plastic and step across the line, you know you want to. You know you want to be a frogman again.

BTW, the new Mistral is only good for target practice, what a dork of a regulator.

N

 

[duckbill]

Congrats, Drake! With a couple more like you, we'll be ready to start a Northern California vintage dive club.

 

[Luis H]

I'm glad that reg technology has improved since then.

IMHO the use of less expensive plastics does not constitute a technological improvement.

From a mechanism stand point, there has being no significant change in the last 30 years. There are several regulators from that era that are basically mechanically identical (and share many of the same parts) to some of the best today and if properly tuned the perform the same. At least the Conshelf and the Poseidon second stage are still the exact same as in the early 70's.

A double hose regulator is definitely a different piece of equipment as compared to the now main stream single hose regulator, but you should not judge a double hose from the performance of the new Mistral. I own several new Mistrals and tested them a few times and they are not good performers as compared to a Royal Aqua Master, a Phoenix RAM, or even an Aqua Master

 

[Luis H]

After a thirty year affair with a SCUBAPRO MK5, last month I made my first dive in over THIRTY years using a DOUBLE hose rig! I had forgotten what an enjoyable experience it can be. It took place at Lake Berryessa Cal. I spent about an hour at 30 ft. with about 15ft. vis. My 1958 DA Aquamaster worked flawlessly. My equipment included 74 cu ft. USD aluminum tank (yellow), 1962 USD "Aqualung" back pack w/ yellow D-ring harness, Voit Polaris mask w/ equalizing levers, Voit Viking fins , USN MK3 Dive knife w/sheath, Sportsways Navy depth gauge, US Divers safety vest, US Divers SEA DIV SPG w/ Chuck Tenge Banjo fitting.
Thanx to all who provided my new parts:
Vintage Scuba for the new yellow hoses,
Vintage Double hose for the hookah adaptor, duckbill, yoke and screw, body clamp and hose clamps;
Ebay for the Safety vest and bacpac.
Even though it was a fresh water swim I encountered plenty of fish and even saw TWO spearfishermen on this dive.
VINTAGE DIVING LIVES!!!!!!

I am glad you are having fun!

 

[Luis H]

It has improved since then and it is called the Phoenix Royal Aqua Master.

Really now DrBill, you know that you are a caterpillar waiting to spread your wings. Your long dormancy playing with girhly mahn single hose toys is coming to an end. It is why you responded to this post, it is in your blood, you dream of it, your bones ache for it, imbued within your psyche, you know your one of us . Throw down all that plastic and step across the line, you know you want to. You know you want to be a frogman again.

BTW, the new Mistral is only good for target practice, what a dork of a regulator.

N

Notice the girl in the center of the picture with the single hose regulator. They have to hold her hand.
I guess a few things have changed since 1962.

Also notice the huge three sided mask in both of the guys.

 

[BSea]

I did my first since the 1960's, but used a non-vintage Mistral. It was a PITA. I'm glad that reg technology has improved since then. The only thing vintage about my diving today is... me!

Last year I had the chance to dive the new mistral and my RAM on back to back dives. I dove the new mistal 1st. It had to be the worst dive of my life. My RAM on the other hand was perfect. I couldn't have been happier with it's performance. If you want to read the full review, look here.

The best part of that weekend is that the new mistral was a loan from my LDS, so I at least don't own the thing. I'm sure there will be some value to collectors, but from a diving standpoint, the new mistral never should have happened. It should never be compared to the properly designed vintage regs.

 

[JohnW]

VINTAGE DIVING LIVES!!!!!!

Oh..yeah! it sure does......:banana: Any Pics from the Dive?

 

[drbill]

IMHO the use of less expensive plastics does not constitute a technological improvement.

A double hose regulator is definitely a different piece of equipment as compared to the now main stream single hose regulator, but you should not judge a double hose from the performance of the new Mistral. I own several new Mistrals and tested them a few times and they are not good performers as compared to a Royal Aqua Master, a Phoenix RAM, or even an Aqua Master

I don't dive the new stuff either... agree on the plastic parts issue. My current regs might be considered "vintage" by some.

Keep in mind.. I said I did my first double hose reg dive in nearly 40 years. I used to dive what is now referred to as vintage equipment when it was state-of-the-art back in the 60's!