First set of doubles looking for advice

[adrisen]

Hi I want to get my first set of doubles. I want to keep then as light as possible if that is even possible. I currently have a 2 OMS (I believe they are PST tanks they are HP 80's and love them.) I will them as singles. I like that they are not super heavy when they are full and not over powering when I carry both of them together. Do I get a second pair of them.

Now I am 5'2 so they fit perfectly along my back. As for the type of diving I plan to do with them I have no idea. I am strictly into rec right now but that can change.

 

[skdvr]

My vote would be for HP 100's or LP 77's. I think that HP 80 would be pretty hard to trim out if you bought another set to double them up...

Phil

 

[adrisen]

I was looking at the 100's they were just a little fatter then what I have. I believe they were about the same height. not sure about the weight. i will have to check it out.

 

[aquanuts...]

You being so short they might actually work well. If you're doing rec diving, you probably will not need another set.

 

[Chris Brown Tech]

I am vertically challenged (I.e. short) and years ago made the mistake of buying short tanks for my first set of doubles. Therefore I would go for tanks that are roughly the same length as a standard AL80 as these trim you out nicely and have good buoyancy characteristics. HP80's are usually too short and you will end up hiking them up your back to get the manifold high enough, which will in turn ruin your trim.

I would also go for a nice 300 bar manifold and a set of decent bands such as Highland Mill or Halcyon. These will keep the distances between the tanks just right and make them perfectly symmetrical. All this does wonders for trim & buoyancy once in the water

 

[Gilldiver]

Hi I want to get my first set of doubles. I want to keep then as light as possible if that is even possible. I currently have a 2 OMS (I believe they are PST tanks they are HP 80's and love them.) I will them as singles. I like that they are not super heavy when they are full and not over powering when I carry both of them together. Do I get a second pair of them.

Now I am 5'2 so they fit perfectly along my back. As for the type of diving I plan to do with them I have no idea. I am strictly into rec right now but that can change.

A set of old 72's might be what you are looking for. They ballance out nicely if you put a 2 or 3# weight at the bottom between the tanks and will be just about neutral at 300 PSI. For your size, they should be much better then larger tanks as you will most likely be reaching the surface with 1,000 to 2,000 PSI after each dive.

You should be able to pick up a set for much less then using new tanks. If you can't find a set already set up, a used manifold from ebay will run around $100 and a set of custom bands about $120 delivered. Figure the tanks at $50-75 each.

Next question, why do you want to get doubles? Either you want to go deeper, longer, or both. Both bring on DECO problems quickly. Are you ready for that?

 

[adrisen]

I want a set of doubles because I know my diving patters are slowly changing in different directions. I am not sure where I really want to go but have the options and I know I would use the gear. I am still prepared to dive within my limits and training I am not changing that.

 

[TSandM]

Well, the reason people are saying you need to know what you want to DO with doubles is that it impacts what size tank you buy.

If you are planning on going into technical diving, and need the doubles for redundancy and big rock bottoms, but only plan on doing one dive off a set (or one deep dive and one shallow second dive), you can get away with a little bit smaller set than you can if you're trying to get two long recreational dives off the tanks without refilling.

My experience with doubles is that what you can trim out is really just about as important as capacity, and the difference in weight among the mid-sized tanks just isn't that significant. Diving our 72s, my 85s, the 95s we rented in Florida, or my husband's 100s is not that different in terms of the effort required (although the 95s were beasts). But the tanks trim out quite differently, and I just don't like the 72s at all. I'm quite sure I'd loathe HP80s, and I'm 5'4". Long tanks trim out better, and fighting the tendency to do a headstand through the whole dive is really annoying.

I'd highly recommend the LP85s, which have turned out to be a beautiful choice for me. Plenty of gas (I routinely get three recreational dives out of a set before filling them), manageable weight, good trim, and inexpensive.

Have fun with the transition -- Once you get past the "oof" factor, doubles are really nice to dive.

 

[adrisen]

I think I might like to go towards the technical side but not sure. I do know that I would like to perhaps enjoy a longer deeper dive for now. I did at one point own E-119HP tanks and they were too heavy for me to manage as a single. They height alone was insane. A shop suggested the where I bought mine to get the same and double or get the 100's.

 

[micklock]

You can get a set of ultimate velcro double bands for 200 bucks and use the two tanks you already have. If your bc has grommet holes or you have a bp they will bolt right up, and they a lot easier to haul around than manifolded doubles.