Worthington 130 review

[bubble-head]

I was lucky enough to receive a new Worthington HP 130 for Christmas from Scuba Toys and was able to try it out last weekend. I've been diving aluminum "Compact 80's" I purchased new, from well, probably back in the 80's. They have served me well but I wanted the opportunity to have extra gas and lose some lead from my weight belt. The first thing I realized about the tank was that it was a few inches shorter than my aluminum tank and of course larger in diameter. It feels like it weighs about 10 lbs heavier. The galvanized finish is really nice, had a Scuba Toys VIP sticker on it, and made a very good surface for my BC band to cling to. The valve has a removable center that will convert it from standard yoke to DIN. I have not gone the DIN route, yet, but if an adapter for my old MK 10 is still available, I will go that route. I tried the tank in a local quarry for a polar plunge sponsoring DAN. From the beginning, decided to try dropping 10 pounds from my weights and this trimmed me out perfectly. I did not feel like the tank was too bulky and was very comfortable with it. I plan to order a second 130 in the next couple of weeks and highly recommend the tank to anyone wanting more capacity. The only negatives I can think of concerning the tank is that you definitely need to be cognizant of your dive time and be able to handle the extra weight above the surface.

 

[deepstops]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the compact 80 is negative by .2 lbs and the Worthington 130 is about 1.5 lbs negative (both stats are when empty).

Unless you were overweighted to begin with, there's no way you could drop 10 lbs from your belt.

 

[bubble-head]

The Compact 80 always seemed to be bouyant at the end of the dive but I'm not sure about the exact weight either way. Part of me dropping 10 pounds was being a little bit "overweighted" around my waist which has recently came off. This just happened to come about during the same I tried the tank out for the first time.

 

[Curly]

The 10 pounds shed doesn't sound far off.

The Worthington 130 is -11.7 lbs. full and -2 empty.

I have Worthington x100, which is -10 full and -2.5 empty, and I ditched 10 of 24-25 lbs. immediately. The 24 is a lot of initial weight, but I was diving a 7mm FJ (14mm @ core) and empty-tank weight checks have verified this as ideal weighting. Now I carry 10 hard and 2-4 soft on a tank strap pocket.

That 130 is a big can. I'm thinking of adding a x120 -- just slightly taller than that 8" 130, but with the 7.25" diameter. A friend doubled up the x80s with smaller wings for a real nice compact unit.

 

[limeyx]

The 10 pounds shed doesn't sound far off.

The Worthington 130 is -11.7 lbs. full and -2 empty.

I have Worthington x100, which is -10 full and -2.5 empty, and I ditched 10 of 24-25 lbs. immediately. The 24 is a lot of initial weight, but I was diving a 7mm FJ (14mm @ core) and empty-tank weight checks have verified this as ideal weighting. Now I carry 10 hard and 2-4 soft on a tank strap pocket.

That 130 is a big can. I'm thinking of adding a x120 -- just slightly taller than that 8" 130, but with the 7.25" diameter. A friend doubled up the x80s with smaller wings for a real nice compact unit.

Doesnt make logical sense. The empty buoyancy is almost identical.
So for a given gear setup either:

1) your weighting should be the same
2) the tanks specs are incorrect (but probably not by 10 pounds?)

 

[stoddu]

It could also be that he hasn't emptied his tank yet. He might be bouyant at 500psi.

 

[limeyx]

It could also be that he hasn't emptied his tank yet. He might be bouyant at 500psi.

yes, that was my suspicion -- very bad news if you breathe it down (or go OOA) -- a very fast ride to the surface.

 

[bubble-head]

Anyway, I meant for my post to praise the XS line of tanks, the 130 in particular, because when I was researching the tank I didn't find many reviews on here and thought it might help anyone else wanting to purchase it. It was not my intention for this to turn into a under/over weighting discussion. For what it's worth I did drain the tank to 500 PSI.

 

[Rainer]

Then you were seriously over-weighted to start...

 

[Divmstr223]

bubble-head - I bought a Worthington 130 from Scubatoys last year also. Huge Tank with lots of gas indeed! I've only taken the tank on one trip (4 dives) because I do very well on air and don't need the extra gas except for deeper dives I suppose.

I think I had the extra $$ at the time and just wanted to shell it out for something cool. I probably would have been better off with a 100. In any case, it's a great tank and you can definitely shed a few lbs off the belt with it.