LP85 with wetsuit

[lukeb]

I dived double Alu 80s prior to diving the steels, and although I never tested them like I did the steels, I was definitely lighter with the ALU 80s than with the steels!

I am in a similar boat to you. I own a pair of double Alu 80s already, but I was encouraged by my instructor to use steels for my tech classes due to the increased capacity. So for now I am renting them from the shop. I have been using HP 100s but my instructor now wants me to give LP 95s a try (with cave fills they have even more capacity!).

Just to reassure you, I was nervous about diving wet with the HP 100s, but aside from the swimming then up issue, I was able to achieve pretty good trim and buoyancy with them.

 

[WinfieldNC]

If you have a buddy with you and have a wing failure with steel doubles they can give you a hand getting to the surface. If I’m diving solo with steel doubles and a wetsuit (or no suit) then I carry two reels and a two large DSMBs.

I’m also diving in NC where charters have an anchor line that could be used to help haul yourself up.

 

[Lorenzoid]

A buddy might be able to help, as could a lift bag, but keep in mind that if you have a wing failure you may find yourself plummeting--accelerating. If you're already deep, then the increasing depth plus CO2 retention because now you're getting anxious might lead to narcosis, potentially making deploying a lift bag or getting help from a buddy that much harder to do. And if you were on the hairy edge of a gas MOD when you started plummeting, well, there's that too. Ideally, you want to be able to arrest that descent as quickly as possible. A quick blast on a drysuit inflator button is the better choice to have available.

 

[ofg-1]

Damn, guess I am just lucky to be alive, all those years of diving lp104's with a wetsuit and horsecollar bc.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Damn, guess I am just lucky to be alive, all those years of diving lp104's with a wetsuit and horsecollar bc.

Out of all the things that can go wrong on a dive, total failure of a wing to hold air seems to be pretty far down the list in order of likelihood. There was a thread asking how common it was, and there were no first-hand accounts in that thread of it happening: How common is a wing failure, and how would you handle it?. One comment in that thread mentioned a fatality due to an inflator elbow coming off the wing, which I guess would be the most likely failure mode out of all the unlikely failure modes. I witnessed someone with a loose inflator elbow having difficulty floating at the surface and starting to become anxious because she couldn't figure out what was wrong, but her buddy was able to tighten it. So it is not unknown to happen. Ever since then, as part of my pre-dive gear check, I make a point to check that the inflator elbow and rear dump/OPV are screwed on securely and seem to work properly.

 

[rvojr]

I dived double Alu 80s prior to diving the steels, and although I never tested them like I did the steels, I was definitely lighter with the ALU 80s than with the steels!

I am in a similar boat to you. I own a pair of double Alu 80s already, but I was encouraged by my instructor to use steels for my tech classes due to the increased capacity. So for now I am renting them from the shop. I have been using HP 100s but my instructor now wants me to give LP 95s a try (with cave fills they have even more capacity!).

Just to reassure you, I was nervous about diving wet with the HP 100s, but aside from the swimming then up issue, I was able to achieve pretty good trim and buoyancy with them.

For about 10 lbs more overall weight, 4" longer and about 1 lb more negative buoyancy, is it worth it to start with HP120s if I get a drysuit or redundant buoyancy. I'm trying to learn good trim and buoyancy with doubles prior starting further training such as AN/DP or similar classes. I'm 6'1" 240lbs. I dive single HP100s now.

 

[lukeb]

If you have a dry suit or redundant wing, I feel like 120s would be a good choice as you would have a lot more gas. I am just starting to get into tech and so have very little knowledge on this, but I am quickly learning that one of the keys to tech diving is gas, gas and more gas!

I am seriously considering buying a pair of 133s when I finally take the plunge and buy steel doubles for myself. I feel that otherwise I will always be wishing I had just a little bit more backgas capacity.

 

[kensuf]

Damn, guess I am just lucky to be alive, all those years of diving lp104's with a wetsuit and horsecollar bc.

It used to be fun to freedive down to 30' and pull the CO2 cartridge for the ride up to the surface at the end of a summer diving vacation.

 

[ofg-1]

It used to be fun to freedive down to 30' and pull the CO2 cartridge for the ride up to the surface at the end of a summer diving vacation.

Ah yes, back in the day when a dive computer was a set of Nu-Way tables, a scooter was a Farallon, and a primary light was a 30 watt sealed beam.

 

[kensuf]

Ah yes, back in the day when a dive computer was a set of Nu-Way tables, a scooter was a Farallon, and a primary light was a 30 watt sealed beam.

Wait, you mean they're not???