Wow, doubles really are easier to dive than singles

[divad]

......Ideally, I would like a set of LP 85's.

What brand?

 

[Tortuga68]

Warm water, short walk to the boat/shore? AL80 twins always

 

[Jerry_]

Indeed for balance reasons (but also for total air supply) they are a definite improvement; how much depends however if you have been diving with a BCD or a BP/W before.

If you are diving with a BCD and a single bottle all of your balance depends on how the jacket is adapted for the body; ie the rigid structures of he BCD. Basically not an issue as this is the standard config for beginners, however subject to improvements when progressing.

Once you move to a BP/W and while diving with a single bottle, the backplate already gives an improvement as the backplate and the harness provide a different possibility for stabilizing the bottle, as well as wearing it when being out of the water.

When opting for doubles, the issue is to pay attention for the total weight to wear outside the water, as you have two bottles and eventually (due to the extra volume) need also to add weight (depends on whether you opt for steel or CarbonDive bottles in your doubles set).

But totally agree that diving doubles adds to the comfort of diving.

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Wait till you try sidemount doubles. ;-) Similar trim/buoyancy benefits, and much easier than back-mounts to manage on boats and out of the water.

 

[BluewaterSail]

I love AL80 doubles. I only dive singles these days when either doubles aren't available, or I am diving on a boat with a difficult ladder.

 

[divad]

When opting for doubles, the issue is to pay attention for the total weight to wear outside the water, as you have two bottles and eventually (due to the extra volume) need also to add weight (depends on whether you opt for steel or CarbonDive bottles in your doubles set).

As of the second dive, still slightly negative, I'm adding zero weight @ 500 PSI wearing:

SS BP
300 to 400 gram (?) temperate fleece/ DUI TLS 350
LP Faber 85s/ DR bands and manifold
Zeagle DSV first stages
2 lb LM canister
Jets/spring straps
2 small Dorcy back-up lights


In a single 85, I actually have to add weight to the above.

 

[boulderjohn]

I love doubles now and do find them easier to dive, but I would have to admit that I did not think so the first few times I used them. Of course, I was using steel HP 120s, and I was trying to learn to use a dry suit and a BP/W, all new, as well. Maybe it was all of those factors combined, but I felt like they were throwing me around. I made the mistake of tightening my harness much too much to try to deal with that, and it took me a long time to figure that all out. I'm more than OK now, but it was certainly not how I felt at first.

 

[j2s]

If you like doubles, you'll love rebreathers....Mo' air, Mo' air, Mo' air.........

 

[divad]

I was using steel HP 120s, and I was trying to learn to use a dry suit and a BP/W, all new, as well. Maybe it was all of those factors combined, but I felt like they were throwing me around. I made the mistake of tightening my harness much too much to try to deal with that.

"All those factors combined" would have been overwhelming for me. Thanks for the tip re tightening of harness; I only felt a little "thrown around" by the shifting of the tanks when I turned 90 degrees from horizontal, but I was able to ignore it as I'm using the play in the straps to fiddle with the positioning of the manifold. I did try to let myself go face-up in trim , but some autonomic scissor-kick occurred resulting in an in-trim (I like to think) barrel roll.

 

[TSandM]

Sidemount is even MORE fun -- in the water. But you add the nuisance value of two tanks to the complexity of the gearing up, and it may even be less appealing than backmounted doubles, depending on the diving circumstances.