New to diving!!! Live in Santa Barbara County

[fnfalman]

I like the ranger for its durability, but the nekton is easy for travel. Its still a toss up.
My uncle lives in Redondo Beach, He tells me the dives in PV are good. Do you post when your going to go dive? I'm really interested in exploring all that California has to offer. Thanks

You owe it to yourself to check out a backplate/wing setup for traveling. It's a lot more compact and the weight is probably the same if not less.

PV is awesome, but it's a bit of a hassle to get out to the good spots. If you're in good shape and don't mind humping your gears over long distances or up & down hill slopes, PV is great.