Hi all,
I went out with the Sanctuary on Saturday. I did two trips - the morning was Inner Pinnacle and Mono Lobo, the afternoon was Mono Lobo and me heading home early (we dropped two divers off after the first dive and since it was a long ride I decided to call it a day as well)
This was the first trip out with my new BP/W setup and it was great.
First off, I was able to shave off 2lbs from my rig, and I think I could probably get rid of 2 more. Here is the rig setup:
Halcyon SS backplate, 30lb capacity wing (super compact!), full hog harness and two weight pockets that fit on the waist strap. I have a backup light clipped off on the right D-ring and a clip on my long hose 2nd stage.
Diving single tanks, so I have a single tank bracket adapter with a 6lb weight insert.
total weight setup:
6 lbs with the steel plate
6 lbs in a tank bracket
5 lbs of lead in each strap pocket for a total of 22 lbs of ballast.
I think I can go to 4 lbs in each pocket and still be good. its nice not to have to carry 24lbs of lead in pockets.
Trim: my trim was rock solid and it was very easy to get horizontal. Maintaining neutral buoyancy was also a breeze. It was a little harder to get vertical for some photos, but I am sure I will get used to it.
Gas: My SAC rate was a lot lower. I'm not sure if that was because of the streamlining, better trim, less weight or a combination, but my back gas seemed to go a *lot* longer.
now for some of the things to get used to:
1. I went long hose with a short 2nd on a necklace, but I think I tied my necklace a little too short, I kept bumping my chin on the necklaced 2nd when I tried to look down.
2. Donning the bp/w is a little harder since the straps dont adjust. I needed a hand to get the straps over my drysuit shoulder dump and the other arm into the straps.
3. I miss the padded shoulders on the zeagle, but I'll toughen up.
Thats it for now. Heading out in the morning with Brewski and the gang at BW for a monday hooky dive.
It was pretty amazing how the conditions changed from the morning Mono Lobo (50 foot vis 48 degrees, dead still) to afternoon's 20-ish feet of milky vis and 52 degrees with some surge.
Thanks for reading. Now for the pictures!!
Inner Pinnacle:
Hydro coral everywhere!
Whats this thing?
Mono Lobo life
switching to wide angle for mono lobo
I went out with the Sanctuary on Saturday. I did two trips - the morning was Inner Pinnacle and Mono Lobo, the afternoon was Mono Lobo and me heading home early (we dropped two divers off after the first dive and since it was a long ride I decided to call it a day as well)
This was the first trip out with my new BP/W setup and it was great.
First off, I was able to shave off 2lbs from my rig, and I think I could probably get rid of 2 more. Here is the rig setup:
Halcyon SS backplate, 30lb capacity wing (super compact!), full hog harness and two weight pockets that fit on the waist strap. I have a backup light clipped off on the right D-ring and a clip on my long hose 2nd stage.
Diving single tanks, so I have a single tank bracket adapter with a 6lb weight insert.
total weight setup:
6 lbs with the steel plate
6 lbs in a tank bracket
5 lbs of lead in each strap pocket for a total of 22 lbs of ballast.
I think I can go to 4 lbs in each pocket and still be good. its nice not to have to carry 24lbs of lead in pockets.
Trim: my trim was rock solid and it was very easy to get horizontal. Maintaining neutral buoyancy was also a breeze. It was a little harder to get vertical for some photos, but I am sure I will get used to it.
Gas: My SAC rate was a lot lower. I'm not sure if that was because of the streamlining, better trim, less weight or a combination, but my back gas seemed to go a *lot* longer.
now for some of the things to get used to:
1. I went long hose with a short 2nd on a necklace, but I think I tied my necklace a little too short, I kept bumping my chin on the necklaced 2nd when I tried to look down.
2. Donning the bp/w is a little harder since the straps dont adjust. I needed a hand to get the straps over my drysuit shoulder dump and the other arm into the straps.
3. I miss the padded shoulders on the zeagle, but I'll toughen up.
Thats it for now. Heading out in the morning with Brewski and the gang at BW for a monday hooky dive.
It was pretty amazing how the conditions changed from the morning Mono Lobo (50 foot vis 48 degrees, dead still) to afternoon's 20-ish feet of milky vis and 52 degrees with some surge.
Thanks for reading. Now for the pictures!!
Inner Pinnacle:
Hydro coral everywhere!
Whats this thing?
Mono Lobo life
switching to wide angle for mono lobo
You're going to love it. 
