Well, I decided to post on here again as a thank you to everyone who chimed in to help me. Aside from the GUE bantering, maybe someone else will find this useful some day.
I kinda wish I had first tried doubles in a wetsuit. But a mentor (who was then C2T2) advised me that if I wanted to master the full GUE configuration for a future tech route, I might as well bite the bullet and learn doubles and drysuit together. So I took a combined Doubles and Drysuit Primer (with Kyle Harmon). I found it difficult to learn both at the same time. Oh, eventually after a couple of years I got the hang of it, but it took, well, close to three years before my skills reached tech level. One thing I have discovered as I continue on the GUE path is that I learn best in small increments. In hindsight, I am curious whether I would have progressed faster had I taken the Doubles Primer in a wetsuit, spent maybe a dozen dives getting used to that, and THEN acquired the drysuit and continued from there. I definitely don't think it would be a good idea to get TOO cozy with the doubles-and-wetsuit configuration; best to move on as soon as possible.
I ended up taking the drysuit and doubles course at the same time, and I'm really happy I did. I learn well when drinking through a fire hose, and my instructor put me in a rental Santi and a set of HP133s haha. Even though I got REALLY seasick on the 2nd day, I feel that I was able to understand how the drysuit and doubles work together (buoyancy, trim, etc) much faster by learning both together. That would have taken me ages if I spread the courses apart or did it by myself.
And I'm really grateful he gave me heavy steel tanks, as that forced me to understand how the tanks interact with your buoyancy and trim simultaneously. In other words, with a single HP100, let's say, if you're a little negative in may not affect your trim that much. With double HP133s, if you don't have enough air in your wing, and you're not careful about your leg and foot positioning, you start to go head down pretty much immediately! Ask me how I know...Must have been hilarious for him to watch...
At any rate, that was the best choice for me. I ended up loving those HP133s! Can't wait to own a set (or something similar).
No…I’m waiting on my Nova to ship. You most likely won’t always be using AL80’s, so might be a good idea to get a Drysuit so you can transition to different cylinders and before prices go up. I think mine was under $1,100 shipped and got pretty much every upgrade and option available.
Yeah, the Nova will be my first drysuit, hands down. I'm saving up for one now.
Diving dry was fantastic! Should have invested in a drysuit when I started diving. The things you know...
