Well, if you want to use one set of doubles for two dives off a boat and have thirds for the second dive, the 100's or even 80's do make sense for no-deco dives in the 120-130 ft range.
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
FreeFloat:Hm, I view this thread with some interest. I too am a dedicated wetsuit diver doing non-deco dives. However I'm quite small therefore not only have a reasonable SAC rate but am short in stature.
Firstly: why does nobody use double 72's anymore? There has to be some obvious reason that I'm simply missing.
Secondly: would double AL80s be the best weight/gas/buoyancy combination for someone like me?
Thirdly: if I were to go with steel tanks instead, what size would likely be best? Or would you recommend against steel in wetsuits altogether?
scubafanatic:Hi FreeFloat,
.....don't give up on double steel 72's......they are readily available for sale as brand new/ galvanized tanks from PST.....they currently sell an "MP-72" steel tank rated at 72 cu. ft @ 3300 psi.....admittedly not quite identical to the 'classic' 72 cu. ft. tank that was rated somewhere in the 2200--2400 psi range, but not a bad approximation for the good-'ol-days.
Presently I've got 2 twinsets ( OMS/Faber steel LP 85's and ScubaPro/Faber steel 76's) both of which are pretty close to the 'classic' steel 72's.....and I enjoy both twinsets. They're big enough to be useful, but not too heavy/bulky out of the water.
Karl
scubafanatic:Hi rescuediver009,
...in answer to your question about my '76's'......they are Scubapro/Faber LP steels, they are "+" rated, meaning the max official fill pressure is 2640 psi. They're the same height as my LP 85's, namely 26" tall...the Faber 66's are only 21" tall. Both my twinsets use Highland bands, and both sets are nice and 'compact' , very enjoyable to dive, and not a pain in the butt to handle on land.
Karl
scubafanatic:Hi rescuediver009,
...you 'see' correctly......they are 'tall and skinny'...the same length as an AL80, and a slightly smaller diameter, as an AL80 is 7.25" wide......my tanks are about 7" wide......long enough to distribute their weight along more of the torso, so easily balanced, and the right height for me such that's it's very easy to sit down with them and gear up, without them being too tall or too short. I will probably buy another such twinset later this summer, so I'll then have 3 twinsets dive-ready.
Karl