How to move double tanks around easily and safely---DIR needs to address this!

[ScubaFeenD]

I disagree that there is some obligation for DIR divers, who push for safer dives with more appropriate gas managment, to also help teach everyone on earth how to lift and do daily activities. Most people I know have heard to lift with your knees and not with your back. Does everyone do that? No. Some are predisposed to back issues due to body build, some others are sedentary and will have back issues due to that. In addition, I feel like some people just dont have the muscle to lift specific sets of doubles and equipment. The fix would be to exercise or design some elaborate device to leverage mechanical advantage. Trying to teach people every little thing they may need to do to dive seems a bit ridiculous, and if it isnt apparent to people that the extra weight in doubles requires some strength then I think a little more than just advice on lifting is needed to actually help those people.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

I squat in front of the tanks and bear hug them. Your back will be in a straight alignment because you're hugging the tanks.
Just stand up and carry the tanks, I usually hold my right wrist with my left hand. The manifold will be just below eye level making walking easier.

-Mitch

 

[knowone]

Walk the block with some bricks on your back in a pack

Burdens of man...


And you will wash that jello right outta those thighs

Walking doubles is only for walking doubles and for
boot camp or inevitable eventual spine compression


Get a friend, crane, steel worker, lots of friends, kids
trench digger, toy person, ramp, trolley, or a sherpa.

or start an egoless tank filler excercise campaign that
excludes the only fairer sex tank carrying only system

Do they always have the forward facing leg, forwards?

 

[Jax]

Walking doubles is only for walking doubles and for
boot camp or inevitable eventual spine compression

+ 10 ! ! !

 

[knowone]

And how could I omit Jax World

 

[gsk3]

if my doctor saw what I was lifting he would be none too pleased

Haha. I had a similar thought as I walked out of the quarry this past weekend (double AL80's, AL40 over shoulder, 18lbs plus 5lbs plate, bands, manifold, 3 first stages, 3 second stages, wet drysuit, undergarments, jetfins...it all adds up to I'd guess 130lbs on a 145lbs person). Good thing it's a short walk.

 

[TSandM]

Dan, as a very small woman who has had to learn to handle very heavy gear, I think you have a lot of good points.

One thing with doubles is to look around and figure out how much you can minimize having them change altitude. I think it was Rick Inman who built a bench in his garage, so that he could take his doubles out of the truck and wear them over and set them on the bench. Never having to lift them off the ground, or even worse, lower them TO the ground, is a GOOD thing.

Actually walking in doubles is not that bad, and to my surprise, stair climbing isn't that bad if the rise of the stairs is small.

The hardest part of handling doubles, for me, is swallowing my pride. I've just finished my second day of diving Grand Cenote, and the ladders there are AWFUL. I have finally just accepted that I can get out of the water and onto the platform, and then I have to get out of my gear, and Peter helps me carry it to the stairs, where I can get back in it (or he can, dear man; he tries to keep me from carrying them). I watch a lot of guys stressing their back and their joints doing things by themselves that would be a lot easier with help, but when I offer to help, nobody will ever take me up on it. Believe me, what you can ask from your joints when you're 25, you will pay for when you are 55. And no amount of training or strength is going to make that cartilage come back.

 

[Chief Dave L]

This is what I do, your mileage may be different. I got a Husky X-Workhouse Workbench and put it up in one of my bedrooms. I have my wing on my double steel 100's and have them siting on the workbench. I put them on and at first just did one tour around the house (a ranch house). I do it every other day. I've increased my trips to 5 times around the house and started to include a trip up and down the steps to the basement. I'll slowly increase the number of trips up and down the steps.

This has been a huge help to me. Conditions me to walking and climbing with them. This past weekend I was easily able to walk about 500 yards uphill after dives at Dutch Springs, Pa with my doubles and everything on. It has also helped me to climb up dive ladders on boats off of New Jersey even with a sling bottle attached on one side of me.

I'm almost 64 and feel this is like weight training except it is for diving. Seems to work for me.

Dave

 

[boulderjohn]

Here is by far the best way to handle heavy doubles.

1. Back down the driveway of Cave Adventurers. Be very careful not to hit the edge of the lawn.

2. Show Edd where your doubles are.

3. Watch as he casually picks them up and puts them in the tank for filling.

4. Watch as he casually pulls them out when full and puts them wherever they need to go.

Simple--no pain involved for anyone.

 

[danvolker]

I disagree that there is some obligation for DIR divers, who push for safer dives with more appropriate gas managment, to also help teach everyone on earth how to lift and do daily activities. Most people I know have heard to lift with your knees and not with your back. Does everyone do that? No. Some are predisposed to back issues due to body build, some others are sedentary and will have back issues due to that. In addition, I feel like some people just dont have the muscle to lift specific sets of doubles and equipment. The fix would be to exercise or design some elaborate device to leverage mechanical advantage. Trying to teach people every little thing they may need to do to dive seems a bit ridiculous, and if it isnt apparent to people that the extra weight in doubles requires some strength then I think a little more than just advice on lifting is needed to actually help those people.

Since GUE instructors are now telling everyone ( which includes recreational divers) that if they are doing 80 or 100 foot deep nitrox dives, they need doubles---there is a danger that some will LISTEN and end up getting doubles

If these recreational divers get the double tanks, and then hurt themselves due to the large increase in weight and need for special solutions in transporting--I think this IS going to be our fault if we dont help with this.
They were doing fine for many years with the aluminum 80's, and suddenly, they UNDERSTAND this is unsafe at nitrox durations by GUE thinking ( and the arguement is STRONG), AND suddenly scores of these converts begin getting serious back and related injuries..... Whose fault is this? If we say nothing about the special solutions, then I will argue it will be our fault.

Just because it is easy for me, or easy for you, is not a valid reason to ignore the injury potential for the TYPICAL RECREATIONAL DIVER....it is huge....potentially worse than the potential for OOA injuries the double tanks are being used to prevent!!!

Its also easy to have a body of knowledge on this the new convert can read through, and learn enough to prevent injury.....easy enough for us to argue about the best ways to do this long enough, for a lot of good material to get out there on this.