I have never understood the appeal of X8-119's. X8-130's are only 1 pound heavier and 1 inch longer, but carry 131.4 cu ft of gas versus 123. When doubled, that is only 2 pounds more weight for 17 cu ft more gas. Given the minimal differences, why go with the smaller tank?
Because when I bought my 119s I didn't have the extra $120 to upgrade them to 130s. :mooner: Looking back I should have just paid the money, but....oh well.
The 119s make decent doubles, although they might be slightly head-heavy if you are a tall guy. They are essentially equivalent to LP95s in physical dimensions.
Worthingtons are the best tanks out there. Hot-dip galvanized external finish I have never heard of rust on them. And the ways they are made with pressing the size are the same.
While this is your opinion, it might not be 100% correct for everyone.
Plenty of people prefer Faber cylinders, especially for cave diving -- fresh water, no rusting issues, and they tend to be lighter (Worthington LP95s weigh 42lbs empty, Faber LP95s weigh 37lbs empty) so you aren't walking down to the water wearing as much. In the example above, the cylinders hold ~equivalent amounts of air but a set of double Faber LP95s would weigh 10lbs less than the Worthington LP95s.
PST cylinders have a fantastic hot-dipped galvanized finish but unfortunately they are no longer in business. Grab 'em if you can find them!
Worthington makes great cylinders if you can get them in the same size. If you watch the video they have on how they manufacture cylinders, you'll see they actually cut the pieces of steel after pressing in an attempt to make them a uniform length. Even so, they are still sometimes off by as much as 1/2" in height for the same size cylinder.
When I bought my X8-119s, the dive shop specifically told XS Scuba that they were for doubles, but they did order 3-4 of them if I recall. We went through them all to try and find the two that were best matched in height.
