NorthWoodsDiver
Contributor
rather than make a suggestion I'm going to tell you what I have implemented.
For dives down to 60 feet in good conditions- 19cuft bottle on my back using the "quick draw" bracket with mk17/S600 reg on short hose and a second stage necklace to secure the second stage.
For dives down to 100 feet in exceptional conditions- see above
For dives below 60 feet in good conditions- aluminum 40 slung at a stage cylinder with mk17/S600 on a 40" hose and second stage stored in a dive rite reg pocket which is fixed to the tank with a hose clamp.
For dives below 130 feet (and if at all possible for dives below 100 feet) in any conditions- Dual backgas tanks with a manifold.
For dives in exceptionally poor conditions no matter the depth I will go dual tanks if at all possible but the aluminum 40 at a minimum.
so what do I consider "good" conditions? I live in minnesota so bottom temps rarely exceed 41 degrees and visibility rarely exceeds 15 feet so thats my baseline. If its colder or I know the vis will be poor I reach for the larger gas supply. Good to me is anything warmer than 41 degrees and better than 15ft vis.
I go one step beyond a pony and carry a redundant inflation system even on single tank air dives. This is a new thing for me but in the event of a catastrophic failure or series of failures I dont want to be forced to manually inflate my bc so I have my drysuit plugged into an aluminum 6 or 14. We will see how it goes but so far I am pleased with it.
For dives down to 60 feet in good conditions- 19cuft bottle on my back using the "quick draw" bracket with mk17/S600 reg on short hose and a second stage necklace to secure the second stage.
For dives down to 100 feet in exceptional conditions- see above
For dives below 60 feet in good conditions- aluminum 40 slung at a stage cylinder with mk17/S600 on a 40" hose and second stage stored in a dive rite reg pocket which is fixed to the tank with a hose clamp.
For dives below 130 feet (and if at all possible for dives below 100 feet) in any conditions- Dual backgas tanks with a manifold.
For dives in exceptionally poor conditions no matter the depth I will go dual tanks if at all possible but the aluminum 40 at a minimum.
so what do I consider "good" conditions? I live in minnesota so bottom temps rarely exceed 41 degrees and visibility rarely exceeds 15 feet so thats my baseline. If its colder or I know the vis will be poor I reach for the larger gas supply. Good to me is anything warmer than 41 degrees and better than 15ft vis.
I go one step beyond a pony and carry a redundant inflation system even on single tank air dives. This is a new thing for me but in the event of a catastrophic failure or series of failures I dont want to be forced to manually inflate my bc so I have my drysuit plugged into an aluminum 6 or 14. We will see how it goes but so far I am pleased with it.
