Signed up to take my OW certification dives this weekend!

[tplyons]

Spare air won't give you enough air for a proper slow ascent and safety stop from depth.

I use a 40cf pony bottle on all my dives. Barely notice it in the water.

 

[Six Feet Under]

How much did the pony setup cost you? Just curious.

 

[jbark]

good luck with your dives this weekend,

being fairly new myself I share your desire not to go too deep too soon. I am taking the AOW this spring just to get the deeper experience that this affords. I am staying in the 30 foot or less range with my usual buddy but have gone a bit deeper (48) with another friend who has tons of experience and great buddy sense/skills.

My advice to a fellow new diver: there is a lot to see in 30' of water, go enjoy it and build your experience and confidence. Don't press beyond your gut instincts.

Right now mine tells me to get some more training and prepare for a couple of deeper sites that I would like to dive by the end of this year. I have 15 dives now and I already am a much improved diver over what I was right out of OW. I also know that I have to work more on my basic skills: mask clearing/on/off, sharing air, bc on/off things like that.

Cheers,
Jerry

 

[Six Feet Under]

First day went well. I got a little antsy during the mask clearing drills on the first OW dive, the full mask flood and clear took me two or three breaths to get all the water out and the first breath I inhaled while doing it had a little water shoot up my nose, but I stayed on the bottom and got through it. I think my buoyancy is probably the best in the class as far as controlling it with only my breathing, which surprised me (I figured I'd be terrible at it the first time). There ended up being six people in the class but not a problem at all... and I may have found a new dive buddy. Now I'm going to sleep soon cause I've only slept about five hours in the last two days (going from getting home from work at 8am to being at the dive shop at 8am was kind of rough).

 

[spectrum]

That's sounds like a great day!

Don't be afraid to use your BC to be neutral at a depth range. Then use your lung volume to fine tune as you rise and fall over terrain. Unless it's an objective it's no fun making the first half of the dive with full lungs and the second half running on empty. You can't have a nice relaxed cycle that way.

In all fairness that is how it's done in a true vintage situation but it can get old after a while. Doing what you did however dis give you a great sense of what that sweet spot feels like.

Pete

 

[tplyons]

How much did the pony setup cost you? Just curious.

Retail would be somewhere around:
~$200 for the Aluminum 40 Tank and Valve
~$350 for the ScubaPro MK2/R195 regulator
~$50 for the Pony Bottle Sling Kit
~$50 for the Pony Bottle Gauge

These are just ballpark retail prices from the big online guys. Your LDS could charge you more or less, and of course the regulator is a big variable. The size of the tank and the mounting options will vary as well. Some prefer having their pony mounted to their tank. I prefer mine slung. I can also hand it off in an OOA situation as well.

Since I intend to move into tech diving eventually, I want gear that I can utilize then.

So, how were your OW dives???

 

[Six Feet Under]

Great! I did good with buoyancy again, underwater navigation was easy as pie. Still not really a fan of mask clearing, but I'll work on that more in my own time. Exploring the bottom was pretty neat, I can't wait to go again.