The latest technical diving regulator the Phoenix

[Luis H]

This weekend we did four training dives and I am exhausted. The water temperature was a nice 49F and the air was also in the 40’s to maybe 50’s. The winds were calm and it was sunny…very nice for November.

We did all kinds of drills including valve shot off drills, air sharing drills, buoy (SMB) deployment, deco simulations, etc.

The other three divers (including the instructor) are using modern tech (Hogarthian) configuration and I am using my modified hybrid configuration with a Phoenix RAM, and we are working very well together. I have been using my mouthpiece plug to park my double hose and it works great.

The equipment works just fine in the water, but lugging three tanks on shore is not fun.
Today’s for the surface interval between the two dives, we just went to shore and stood in three feet of water and talk about the dives. Then we just went back out, no need to change any tanks…plenty of air in our doubles and plenty of air in the AL 80 stage bottle.


More later.

 

[Luis H]

I made my last deco dive on Saturday (Nov. 15) to 100 ft at place called Rachael Carson salt pond. The entrance at low tide becomes a closed in pond, but the tide and seas were so high that the outer rock reef was totally submerged (I have never seen the water this high before, some of the barrier is always visible). This was a wrought water entry and exit scenarios. The kind of stuff that as a kid, with a single tank, and no stage bottle, used to be fun. Actually, now looking back with no injuries, it was fun.

I got to use the PMDSV (Poor Man DSV) while I was breathing out of the deco gas and it worked great and was very helpful. There was so much surge at all deco depth that holding the mouthpiece in place so it would not free flow was very convenient.

As shown in the early pictures, I used the Phoenix in the Sherwood manifold center post. My drysuit hose was on one of the Phoenix LP ports. On the left post pointing back was my modified Conshelf first stage alternate with a Scubapro Balanced Adjustable on a medium-long hose. The alternate was on an easily pulled (but secured) rubber keeper on my right shoulder.

The regulator on the stage bottle (also a modified Conshelf with a Scubapro BA 2nd stage) has a 40 inch hose. When I deploy the hose I just go over my left should around my neck to my mouth. By just passing it over the double hose it also control the hoses. There is no interference and everything works great.

Personally, it seemed as I had a lot less confusion with hoses (there is no mixing up an LP hose with a double hose) and somewhat cleaner set up that the other divers with the full Hogarthian set up. I need to actually see some pictures of my setup in the water, but it felt very clean and streamlined.

Everything worked out great, but I lost a flash light, which really bums me out. It just slipped out of my arm when I was distracted deploying a surface buoy. Replacing the flash light is not a big deal, it is just the principle of loosing something. Oh well... Over all it was great.

I hope to post some more pictures of the dive soon.

 

[Luis H]

Here some shots from Saturday dive.
The visibility was not too good due to the surge... too many suspended particles in the water.

I am diving with my number two Phoenix (first generation). The water temperature was 48 degrees. It was nice using my dry gloves.

I had to add a couple of 1 inch D rings to the shoulder straps of Allan's harness in order to hang the stage bottle on the left and on the right side the alternate second as well as the PMDSV. I thought I might have trouble with the small D rings, but they were easy to find and hook to.

I don't know were the those bubbles came from, it could have been from the stage regulator

This may look like a night dive, but it is actually around noon.

This shot is looking straight out, due East. You can see deep water (about 10ft) channel we had to find to coma back in. The water breaking on the left is going over what is normally a small island that closes this little bay and at low tide it actually becomes a small pond.

This shot is from the same spot, but looking North.

 

[james croft]

Luis,
Good info and nice pics but it looks a bit chilly...

 

[Luis H]

Luis,
Good info and nice pics but it looks a bit chilly...

It wasn't that bad...even for a Caribbean guy like me. There wasn't even snow on the ground.


At first I was very concern about the entry and exit. The funny thing is that my biggest concern was my nice chromed Scubapro Balanced adjustable hanging on the stage tank. That was the most exposed to some rocks.

As a kid in our advanced class we did a lot of rough water entry training. We actually did two days were we took Scuba gear to do multiple shore entries and exits, but never actually went diving (kind of like practicing touch and goes). I learn to grab on to anything on the bottom if possible and let the waves break over you. This was a rocky bottom with lots to grab on to. It worked great.

I also rode the surge and grabbed on to the bottom when it surged back. Made really good progress with little effort like that.

The real hard part was walking out with the doubles and the AL80 stage bottle when it was shallow enough to stand up. By the time I was coming out, it worked out great that there was someone else that was able to help with my stage bottle.

Again, after that fact, now I can say that it was fun.


:vintagediver:

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Any new improvements lately Luis?

I now have a navy harness and my old and largely unused Rec wing to donate to a similar tech configuration - mostly for off shore wreck diving. I'd get booted out of cave country with a DH.

In terms of the rebreather and side mounts divers I have dove with in caves, a long hose, if used, is bungeed to one of the sidemount or bailout bottles so that it can be pulled out to its full lenght if needed - and the diver can restow in on a slung bottle. That is not real ammenable to a back mounted double hose tech rig.

I noted in one of my old cave diving manuals that they show the long hose stowed bungeed on the tank, as mentioned previously, which works ok, but is hard to restow as well as showing it stowed bungeed to the manifold, which I think would make shutting off either post very difficult and would be impossible to restow on your own.

So at this point, the long hose difficulty is the major obstacle that prevents me from moving in tht direction. Maybe I need to grow another neck on one of my shoulders to route the long hose around.

 

[Luis H]

Well, as far wing BC, the Zeagle horse shoe style wing I got at ScubaToys is the deal when used with a vintage style harness and bands. I always like doubles with no backpack so therefore this all fell right into place. At this point it just doesn't seem to need any improvements.

I will be using my small doubles a lot with that set up even for recreational shore dives Personally, I can't see any advantage or need for a back plate with doubles. Well, I guess the back plate is a universal interface that can add flexibility in configuration, but the way I have it set up it works great.

The wing is also real easy and quick to move from one set of doubles to the next; the harness is of course fixed.


Next week I am actually going to try a couple of different single tank rigs in the pool. These are also very interesting hybrid rigs that I may use for traveling, etc.

I have only used a 5 foot long hose and that seem to work just fine by tucking it under my right arm and under my right waist belt. I used a snorkel holder to hold the mouthpiece on my right shoulder D ring. I was able to deploy it and stowed it faster than my buddies or the instructor and it was very secure in place when not in use. A 7 ft hose would be a bit more challenging.

The mouthpiece plug is still my best solution to shutting off and parking my double hose when I was on my deco gas. I routed the hose from my deco bottle around my head, just wrapped it over my double hose and it worked great.


I can understand the apprehension by some, especially in cave country, but there are a lot of things I like about this set up. It still has lots of room for improvement, but what set up doesn't.

 

[Nemrod]

Once you go wing, you never go back. You might go without, , but otherwise not.

N

 

[Luis H]

Once you go wing, you never go back. You might go without, , but otherwise not.

N

I don't really agree with that.

The way I have set up and modified my vest, the harness is just as stable (or more stable) as compared to any good harness, the bladder is actually better form fitting to my body (with less drag, but in reality, drag tends to be minimal at the speeds we normally swim anyway), and the most important part of a vest is that on the surface it can float me a lot higher for much better visibility.

I tend to put minimal amount of air on any BC, but a wing even with minimal air tends to force you into a horizontal position with no roll. I like to have the freedom to roll or swim in any position including on my side, but again with minimal air this is not huge issue.

The side portions of my vest air bag are very low and only get any air when I fully inflate it on the surface.

The major advantage on a wing is the clean vintage feeling one gets from not having anything but a harness on the front. That clean look on the front gives a really cool look... and looks is very important. :cool2:

The Zeagle wing is also the only (non horse collar) BC that I have found to work with a traditional double tank harness and it works extremely well.

Another important advantage of the wing is that it allows easy access to the heavy harness to place "D" rings for attachment of stage bottles, etc. The harness, specially the waist belt in my vest is not as accessible and therefore not good for extra attachment points.

I can dive either and have as much fun with either... I try not to be "gear dependent" (if you know what I mean).

Just like most tools... there is a job, a time, and a place for either.

 

[Nemrod]

You have sold me, if I was not already sold thirty plus years ago . That is why I have always liked a wing, the harness is the same as vintage, the lack of equipment and cumberbunds and straps and buckles is vintage concept, the feel of the wing in the water is the same as being without a BC and some are so small that they are virtually invisible. As well, they just fit thanks to the old style single piece harness, they don't slip and slide and flop, the secure fit is just like a vintage SnugPack. You should try some small wings like the Oxy 18 and 30.

The wing is the thing, once you go wing, you don't go back. Vintage looks and feel but with more buoyancy control to handle lights, cameras, exposure gear. Beats picking up rocks and abandoned buckets and bottles.

N