GUE-F gear choice: all-in on Halcyon?

[ginti]

Hi @Edwaty, where do you live in France? Are you already an insider in the (small) GUE French community?

It would be a pleasure to have a quick chat, for the equipment but also about diving (which is more fun than buying equipment )

P.S. Is the site you contacted this one? https://www.gue-france-belgique.com/

 

[jale]

Hi @Edwaty, where do you live in France? Are you already an insider in the (small) GUE French community?

It would be a pleasure to have a quick chat, for the equipment but also about diving (which is more fun than buying equipment )

P.S. Is the site you contacted this one? https://www.gue-france-belgique.com/

good to see there is some gue teaching in France but I have been told that to get pay to teach in France you need the BE (a kind of professional diploma like car mechanic and so on). Is it still in force or ot is just a law with a lot of loop holes?

 

[ginti]

good to see there is some gue teaching in France but I have been told that to get pay to teach in France you need the BE (a kind of professional diploma like car mechanic and so on). Is it still in force or ot is just a law with a lot of loop holes?

It is still in force, indeed it is quite complicated.

Basically, there are many cave courses, because cave diving is outside regulations and instructors do not need BE. For fundamental, I think the only way to do it in France without the BE is to teach in the natural pools just outside the caves, be use they are kinda part of the cave. But I am not sure, I should ask.

 

[jale]

It is still in force, indeed it is quite complicated.

Basically, there are many cave courses, because cave diving is outside regulations and instructors do not need BE. For fundamental, I think the only way to do it in France without the BE is to teach in the natural pools just outside the caves, be use they are kinda part of the cave. But I am not sure, I should ask.

thanks for the details.
Again one of these French "différences"

 

[Ayisha]

Exactly! My actual reason is that on my first set of doubles the retaining bolts were a little long so I kept the back pad to make sure there was a protective layer between the ends of the bolts and the drysuit. I still haven’t gotten around to shortening them and you can just feel them poking into the pad.

Oh no. You could shorten them or just buy shorter bolts at a hardware or maybe marine goods store?

 

[Edwaty]

The bp can be used with a single tank (with an STA) or doubles. You could interchange singles and doubles, but that would require switching them out.
The STA is also great with the 6 lb STA weight inside it. The weight is right over your torso where you will likely need it.
If you got the Traveler Pro and later decided to transition to doubles, you would have to re-buy.
If you already had the bp, you would just buy a doubles wing.

Also make sure that the travel rig has enough lift, and definitely run it by your future instructor. I know my GUE Instructor was not fond of the travel rig when it first came out, and prefers metal and more lift.

I'll have my instructor check the rig I'm planning to buy. What I'm understanding from a discussion with Halcyon guys is that the Eclipse hasn't these four slots to attach the single tank so it requires the STA. The Traveler Pro has these slots so it doesn't requires any STA with most of BPs (it looks like only the small BPs don't have slots and require a STA whatever the wing is), but you can still use one if you want to add the STA weight for example. That makes the Traveler Pro wing very interesting (it's compatible with all the BP and can be used with or without STA).

If I consider moving from single tank to doubles in the future, I would probably buy a new Evolve wing as it will provide more space for the doubles and more lift (isn't the maximum of 40lbs lift on the Eclipse a bit short with doubles?)

Hi @Edwaty, where do you live in France? Are you already an insider in the (small) GUE French community?

It would be a pleasure to have a quick chat, for the equipment but also about diving (which is more fun than buying equipment )

P.S. Is the site you contacted this one? https://www.gue-france-belgique.com/

I live in Paris, far from any interesting place to dive in, so I'm mostly diving in the Mediterranean Sea or abroad while traveling.
Not yet part of the GUE community, but I'll probably take the Fundamentals class (with Marc Aznar, from the website you mentioned) in a month or two so I'm yours soon I suppose that the GUE community is very small so it would be a pleasure to discuss and meet fellows I'll be joining soon, feel free to PM

 

[rongoodman]

If I consider moving from single tank to doubles in the future, I would probably buy a new Evolve wing as it will provide more space for the doubles and more lift (isn't the maximum of 40lbs lift on the Eclipse a bit short with doubles?)

The Evolve is too wide to use with a single tank, and the Eclipse is too narrow for doubles. Use the appropriate wing for the tanks you have. I would be surprised if your instructor allowed you to do otherwise. (40# is plenty for doubled Al80s or LP85s.)

 

[Ayisha]

...(isn't the maximum of 40lbs lift on the Eclipse a bit short with doubles?)

The 40 lb Evolve is very common with 80's or 85's. Unless you have much bigger doubles, stages, etc., any more lift will just be more to manage.

The larger your wing compared to your rig, the more the wing will taco around the tank, trapping gas, and making it more challenging to release the gas. It's all about the right tool for the job.

Is there a reason you want a lighter (travel) rig? Usually, people who dive in cold water want a heavier rig, often a steel or at least aluminum bp, to offset some of the ballast.

IMHO, the Infinity or Eclipse would be a much better choice than the Traveler Pro if you're getting a single tank rig.
I use an AL bp 1.3 lbs (small) and I travel easily with it. (1.7 lbs for standard size).
Many people don't mind traveling with the steel bp, which is 5 lbs (small) or 6 lbs (standard).

The best advice that might save you from buying something and then replacing it with something more appropriate will come from your future Instructor.

 

[ginti]

If I consider moving from single tank to doubles in the future, I would probably buy a new Evolve wing as it will provide more space for the doubles and more lift (isn't the maximum of 40lbs lift on the Eclipse a bit short with doubles?)

Even the Evolve comes with a lift of 40lb (or 60, but that's usually too much). A 40lbs lift is perfectly fine if you go for a "bi12", which is probably what you will do here in France.

I am not sure if the eclipse has the right shape for the kind of double-cylinders we have here in Europe. On the halcyon website, the eclipse is listed as a single-tank wing... that doesn't necessarily mean that you cannot use it for doubles, but better check with someone expert before to purchase

I live in Paris, far from any interesting place to dive in, so I'm mostly diving in the Mediterranean Sea or abroad while traveling.
Not yet part of the GUE community, but I'll probably take the Fundamentals class (with Marc Aznar, from the website you mentioned) in a month or two so I'm yours soon I suppose that the GUE community is very small so it would be a pleasure to discuss and meet fellows I'll be joining soon, feel free to PM

I am from Lyon, a bit far But there are some friends in Paris, and they are very active. I am sure they would like to meet you, even for a dive. If you have the right equipment (e.g. drysuit and cold diving stuff), there are some quarries close to Paris where you could dive with them.

Marc is the administrator of the local GUE group on Facebook, GUE France. Ask him to add you to the group, or just request to be added on your own (I think you can do it because the group is public - if I remember well). Then just post there that you are from Paris and, if you would like to meet someone, just ask

About fundamental, if you are interested in taking it with a drysuit, consider going to Belgium.

As soon as I find a bit of time I will send you a PM

EDIT: Marc is amazing, good choice!

 

[Edwaty]

Is there a reason you want a lighter (travel) rig? Usually, people who dive in cold water want a heavier rig, often a steel or at least aluminum bp, to offset some of the ballast.

I think there might be a little misunderstanding. I'm not talking about the Traveler Pro system that's built around a Nylon backplate (or a CF backplate for the Adventure Pro system). The products I'm talking about are stand alone wings: Eclipse or Traveler Pro. It seems that the only difference between these two stand alone wings is that the Eclipse requires a STA to be used with any kind of BP for single tanks, while the Traveler Pro has four slots allowing the use of a single tank without any additional STA (those being already built in the long / standard BPs), though it's still possible to use one to benefit from a weighted STA.

Edit: Halcyon sales just told me that the TP wing can be used with all BPs, but only the Carbon fiber Pro won't require an STA. All other BP require an STA, wether it's with the Eclipse or TP. So that finally means that the difference between both wings is very small.

Regarding the BP, I'm not really sure because the kind of dives I'm planning to do is very diverse but I'll probably go for a stainless steel one first and I'll still be able to buy a second BP if I really need a very lightweight system for long travel and/or dives with very thin wetsuits.

Even the Evolve comes with a lift of 40lb (or 60, but that's usually too much). A 40lbs lift is perfectly fine if you go for a "bi12", which is probably what you will do here in France.

So I suppose that if 40lb is enough for doubles, I could use a 20lb wing for single tank diving? Or is the 30lb wing better?

I'm still not sure about taking the course in doubles. I've never used those so it might be a little bit challenging to learn doubles + drysuit + all the fundamentals skills. I'm quite confident about my ability to learn, but that still represents a lot of new skills. Should I take it in doubles, I'd certainly buy an Evolve 40lb wing so.