Short guy - Short Tank?

[travelrider]

I have only been in the water with standard AL80 tanks so far (very new diver). Thinking about buying my own tank and I saw something that looked quite appealing to me at an LDS the other day. It was a HP80 steel tank and it was significantly shorter than the AL80s. I'm wondering if I would notice any benefit in the water being a smaller person. I'm only 5'5" and 140 pounds. I also thought the negative buoyancy of the steel tank might be a nice improvement over the slight positive buoyancy of the aluminum tanks. Thoughts?

 

[Tyler2142]

One reason i just bought my HP100. There was like a 4 or 6 inch difference between them and the al80's. Plus i can drop almost all my weight from my BC and the pressure on the steels can be filled up to 3442. Some shops around me fill them to 3600-3800, so there are some pros to the steels.

 

[Tyler2142]

There could possibly be an 8 inch difference between the Al80's and the HP80 for you. (depending what type of al80 and hp80 you get)

 

[melanie.]

I can tell you I bought my tanks based on their length, and I am short at 5'2. It makes a huge difference as far as comfort in the water.

Personally, like Tyler2142, HP100 is the way to go. Gives you more air then an hp80, weighs little more then an aluminum, and is still much shorter.

Before you buy see if you can rent some different sized tanks. That will give you an idea of what works best for you in the water.

 

[Tyler2142]

I can tell you I bought my tanks based on their length, and I am short at 5'2. It makes a huge difference as far as comfort in the water.

Personally, like Tyler2142, HP100 is the way to go. Gives you more air then an hp80, weighs little more then an aluminum, and is still much shorter.

Before you buy see if you can rent some different sized tanks. That will give you an idea of what works best for you in the water.

Definitely try different tanks if you can. In my case, i happened to have friends with both HP80's and HP100's so i used theirs for a dive and figured out which was more comfortable in the water. It just so happened that the HP100 was perfect for me.

 

[travelrider]

Thanks everyone! I've heard that Steel tanks can be hard to find to rent, but I'll definitely see if I can scope out some HP80 and HP100s to rent before buying one.

 

[melanie.]

Even if you can't rent, make sure to ask at your LDS who might have one. Lots of divers are cool with lending a tank out for the day for you to try, especially if your LDS will vouch for you. I have tried many a tank this year but only one actually came from the shop, the rest were borrowed from members of the club.

 

[Scared Silly]

If yer not an air hog I would also look a used LP72s. They are a great little cylinders.

 

[eelnoraa]

I will also advice against HP80. It is simply too short of a tank. It won't work well with all BC, particully BP/W setup. I am 5'6", the shortest tank I prefer is HP100. anything shorter, the tank will have a good chance of pinching the wing.

 

[Hatul]

For shore diving I changed from an HP100 to an HP80 and it makes a big difference in comfort. These two are the same diameter and interchangable. The buoyancies are close as well but the 80 has better trim and is easier under water for me.

For deeper diving the 100 is better for the extra air. Get one HP80 and one HP100 and you're all set.

Adam