skyking
Contributor
Paul,
I'll add my two cents worth and try to cut to the chase a bit.
Suggest the following:
Use environmentally sealed ballanced or over-ballanced regulators with heat exchangers in the second stages (both primary and octo). Don't worry about what brand -- They're mostly all good. These features will let the regs breathe nicely at 5 atmospheres and keep the moisture/water out and help prevent a freeze-up/free-flow.
Doubles are not for everybody - dive deep a lot then decide if they're right for you. But do replace your Al 80's with PST steel HP 100's because on the surface (full) they are only a couple or 3 lbs heavier than a full AL 80 and you've just upped your available gas supply by about 30%. And since you get to take 5-6 lbs of lead off your belt due to the better buoyancy characteristics of the steel tank you've lost about 2-4 lbs off your total dive system weight so it's also less stress on your back. When things get a bit puckered while deep you'll go through gas pretty fast and the extra 23 cubes could be a life saver.
The pony bottle argument is one of the most religious arguments on scubaboard. What I've found is that there are 3 camps - those who don't use them, those who use them wisely for good technical and safety reasons, and those who project their personal insecurities on everyone who will listen. To me it's simply a systems engineering decision - anytime 2-3 kicks won't get me to a buddy or the surface then at least some redundancy is my friend. Best trade-off on size/bulk/etc for the pony seems to be 30 cu ft. That's the size I use because the math based on my SAC and planned profiles tells me I can use it on the bottom for 2-3 minutes at 130 ft to clear a problem, then make a safe ascent and safety stop. Your bubblage may vary.
Dry suits are nice, but ... another religious discussion. Not strictly necessary from a safety point of view.
Didn't catch if you are Nitrox certified. If not, then that's a gotta - you can do it in an afternoon. Granted, at 130 ft the lean mixes of Nitrox that can be safely used don't buy you much - usually the equivalent of 10 -15 ft or so of equivalent depth and/or a pressure group or two. On the other hand, that few extra minutes of bottom time is one more little margin of safety to add to the others.
From the nice-to-have point of view: Deep=Dark - get an HID light - either a (expensive) canister light, or at least a (not too bad $) light cannon.
Enjoy the deep!
Tom
I'll add my two cents worth and try to cut to the chase a bit.
Suggest the following:
Use environmentally sealed ballanced or over-ballanced regulators with heat exchangers in the second stages (both primary and octo). Don't worry about what brand -- They're mostly all good. These features will let the regs breathe nicely at 5 atmospheres and keep the moisture/water out and help prevent a freeze-up/free-flow.
Doubles are not for everybody - dive deep a lot then decide if they're right for you. But do replace your Al 80's with PST steel HP 100's because on the surface (full) they are only a couple or 3 lbs heavier than a full AL 80 and you've just upped your available gas supply by about 30%. And since you get to take 5-6 lbs of lead off your belt due to the better buoyancy characteristics of the steel tank you've lost about 2-4 lbs off your total dive system weight so it's also less stress on your back. When things get a bit puckered while deep you'll go through gas pretty fast and the extra 23 cubes could be a life saver.
The pony bottle argument is one of the most religious arguments on scubaboard. What I've found is that there are 3 camps - those who don't use them, those who use them wisely for good technical and safety reasons, and those who project their personal insecurities on everyone who will listen. To me it's simply a systems engineering decision - anytime 2-3 kicks won't get me to a buddy or the surface then at least some redundancy is my friend. Best trade-off on size/bulk/etc for the pony seems to be 30 cu ft. That's the size I use because the math based on my SAC and planned profiles tells me I can use it on the bottom for 2-3 minutes at 130 ft to clear a problem, then make a safe ascent and safety stop. Your bubblage may vary.
Dry suits are nice, but ... another religious discussion. Not strictly necessary from a safety point of view.
Didn't catch if you are Nitrox certified. If not, then that's a gotta - you can do it in an afternoon. Granted, at 130 ft the lean mixes of Nitrox that can be safely used don't buy you much - usually the equivalent of 10 -15 ft or so of equivalent depth and/or a pressure group or two. On the other hand, that few extra minutes of bottom time is one more little margin of safety to add to the others.
From the nice-to-have point of view: Deep=Dark - get an HID light - either a (expensive) canister light, or at least a (not too bad $) light cannon.
Enjoy the deep!
Tom
