Worthington X7 or X8?

[LG Diver]

I think I've narrowed down my tank selection to one of the following three tanks:

Mfgr Dia Length Empty Buoyancy Buoyancy
Weight Empty Full

Worthington X8-119 8 24 42 -2 -10.9
Worthington X7-120 7.25 28 38 -2 -11
Worthington-X8-130 8 25.5 43 -2 -11.7

(specs thanks to TDL)

I'm 6'0", 170 lbs, and dive a bp/w and drysuit. I plan to use these initially for single tank diving, so I'm looking for something that will give a sizeable increase in gas over an Al 80. However, I'd like to buy something that I can later double up. My questions are:

1) which will trim out better as a single tank, the long skinny tank (X7) or fat shorter tank (X8)?
2) which will trim out better as doubles, the long skinny tanks (X7) or fat shorter tanks (X8)?
3) Are any/all of these too heavy for doubles? Currently my diving is 80% beach and 20% boat diving. I suspect that it will shift more towards boat diving as I get into doubles, but I still want something that I can carry down the stairs and across the beach without getting a hernia. If all of these are ridiculous choices, please feel free to recommend others.

Thanks,
John

Edit- sorry that the specs look so bad. It looked OK when I was typing the post. The short story is that the X7's are narrower and longer, while the X8's are shorter and wider. Buoyancy is nearly identical among all three tanks.

 

[Mo2vation]

I can't imagine, given the choice, why you'd ever go under with anything less than the maximum possible amount of gas.

The only choice in my mind is the 130.

I'm not a big guy (5-8, 165) and I dive the 130 with no issue. Shore, boat, hill, rocks, whatever. Most of trim is comes from your body position (legs position, hand position) anyway.

I can't offer a stronger recommendation for the 130 other than you'll get more BT. Ant the reason we dive is for the BT.

---
Ken

 

[GlazierB]

I recently picked up a couple of the X8-119's

I like the tanks but in retrospect I would of liked to buy a taller tank, I am 6'2 perfer the weight distributed over a larger span of my back.

I would honestly recommend any of these tanks, but keep in mind who your buddies are... If they only dive with a Al80, would you really need the 130's? Also if you do plan on twinning them down the future do you really need 260cf of back gas?

 

[LG Diver]

Purely for single tank diving I'd agree with you Ken that the 130 is the way to go, but a set of double 130's sounds like a hernia waiting to happen. Given that doubles are a ways off for me at the moment, maybe I'll just focus on the immediate need and not worry about getting tanks that are good doubles candidates. As far as buddies go, Glazier, yes the guy I dive with mostly nowadays dives Al 80's, but that's not so say I won't dive with other people in the future or that he won't see the error in his ways and buy larger tanks after I do.

 

[PerroneFord]

We're about the same height. The 130 or the LP108 make the most sense to me. The 119 was a bit short for me, and the 120 is the wrong diameter.

Good luck.

 

[lamont]

I've got double X8-119s and double E8-130s,. and have also dove a variety of 130s/LP104s and 119s/LP95s as singles. IMO, there's no real difference in the "backstrain budget" for any of these. The 119s don't dive significantly differently from the 130s. I'd go with the 130s. The only reason why I've got 119s is that they were a deal. I don't know about the 120s, they are long tanks and it probably depends on your body type, and I've never dove them in singles or doubled up -- they're not very popular among anyone I dive with.

 

[LG Diver]

Thanks Perrone and Lamont. Sounds like the X8 130 is the way to go. Just out of curiosity, what's "wrong" with the 7.25" diameter? Is it just that it's not as common or widely accepted in the tech community as the 8", or is there something technically inferior with it?

 

[lamont]

Thanks Perrone and Lamont. Sounds like the X8 130 is the way to go. Just out of curiosity, what's "wrong" with the 7.25" diameter? Is it just that it's not as common or widely accepted in the tech community as the 8", or is there something technically inferior with it?

nothing wrong with it, AFAIK, unless you're staring at a set of 8" bands and wondering how to get them onto a couple of 7.25" tanks...

 

[limeyx]

nothing wrong with it, AFAIK, unless you're staring at a set of 8" bands and wondering how to get them onto a couple of 7.25" tanks...

one good thing for cold water can be that the X7 is for the same size tank usually more negative empty, so you can use a bit less weight.

However the X7-120 is so darned long that when I rented one, it was hanging down to my knees (well it felt like that)

and agreed on the 130 vs 119 -- maybe 1.5 pounds in it.

I just got a set of double 130's but haven't dived them yet ...

 

[bertschb]

I agree with Mo2vation - you can't have too much air. I dive E8-130's and although I rarely use more than 80-90cf of gas it's nice to know I have a reserve. It's come in handy more than once....