Going Doubles

[Pearldiver07]

Colliam7's advice on training is key, IMHO.

And it's for several reasons. First, you'll learn from many others' mistakes rather than having to make them yourself. This will be safer also, as you'd otherwise not know the "why" behind a lot of configuration and methods.

Also, you'll find that diving doubles will be far less frustrating, with a much quicker learning curve.

And after your training? Practice, practice, practice. Make the S-drills, and diving with doubles second nature. You'll wonder why you ever had doubts about doubles.

Enjoy diving, hope this helps....

 

[battles2a5]

Even though I discouraged him from diving doubles in my post,I havent dove a single tank in the last 50 dives.And if Im ocean diving I use a single tank,but cavediving was the reason for my switch to doubles.I havent seen a need for multiple sets myself as stated above.I get a topoff during my surface interval unless Im diving Manatee or Madison where no dive shops are close,then I just carry a stage bottle and breathe it on my second dive.Remember maintanence on doubles and multiple regs are more costly as well.

No need for multiples?? I have 4 sets now and I don't feel like I have enough. Always have at least two sets when cave diving (plus people always claim the others). On a multi-day tech trip, you can't have too many sets. Then there are the deco bottles, stage bottles, argon bottle... It's a nightmare

 

[plclark196]

Hi Folks,

I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice/information on making the move to doubles. Im a big guy and would love to make the move to doubles. Im just not entirely sure on what equipment I will need and what I need to be aware of. I would like to reuse as much of my gear as possible. This is uncharted territory for me and would love to know as much as possible before jumping head-on into this.

Currently I have some stuff I would like to reuse such as:
- Suunto Cobra (would like to re-use if possible)
- Scuba Pro Mk25

I think many divers move to doubles not out of need but rather out of fashion. And I think lots of doubles divers would rather not dive than be seen diving singles. However, once you feel you have sufficient reasons to move to doubles my advise would be to rent prior to investing. See what you can handle and are comfortable with and are best in the water with. This is not a one size fits all thing.

 

[JamaicanMon]

Hi Folks,

Alright, so one thing has become crystal clear is that doubles isn't the answer to my problems. Ill give th larger tanks a shot. Ill see if I can find some HP 130s.

Im not sure how technical Im going to get in my diving just yet so maybe Ill put the doubles thing to bed until I know for sure what Im doing.

THanks for all your advice its greatly appreciated!!!

Happy Diving!!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Darn...take a day off to go diving and I almost miss a chance to post the dissenting opinion.

If I had a choice, I'd dive a small set of doubles before I dove a single 130 - since they trim better in the water.

A small set of doubles with manifold and bands are slightly heavier, but not so much if you add a pony to the single 130.

I agree a single 130 is lighter and possibly cheaper than a set of doubles, but there is really no validity to the "doubles are less safe" argument. You do double the risk of a burst disc or neck o-ring failure, but those are extremely rare if you replace the neck o-ring with each VIP and the burst disc with each hydro test. Similarly, there are a couple more o-rings that could fail, but again that is exceptionally rare with proper maintainence.

On the other hand, you gain redundancy and managing a set of doubles is not rocket science and is not hard to learn.

Capacity is a double edged sword. On the one hand, it gives you more gas to get into trouble, but on the other, it gives you more gas for emergencies as well.

People tend to forget that 25-40 years ago, many divers preferred a set of double 45's double 50's, double 72, or double 80's to a single tank and little of it had to do with air capacity.

Personally, I think there is value in diving the same configuration, so my rec dive configuration looks a lot like my tech dive configuration, the basic configuration is the same the difference in in the accessories required or not required for a given dive.

Plus with double 100's on a two tank rec dive charter, I never have to worry about changing tanks between dives.

Steel 72's and AL 80's are commonly available used at good prices and a set of double 72's or a set of double AL 80's may not be any more expensive than a steel 130. I paid $250 recently for a set of double AL 80's that were out of hydro and after hydro, VIP and fill, the cost was still less than the cost of a new 130.

 

[Luis H]

People tend to forget that 25-40 years ago, many divers preferred a set of double 45's double 50's, double 72, or double 80's to a single tank and little of it had to do with air capacity.

What do you mean 25 to 40 years ago? These pictures are from just two month ago.


Those are double 45 I am wearing…they are one of the most comfortable sets of tanks ever made.

Dan

Dave

Who needs doubles when you can go for triples?