My good friend dsteding, for whom the only joy greater than buying himself new gear is enticing others to do the same, lent me an argon setup for our dives this weekend. Having done a completely non-blinded comparison test with an n of 1, I am now convinced that I need argon for winter diving. So I went to my LDS and inquired about the costs of putting together an argon rig for myself, and left aghast.
One of the options on which I could not decide is whether to go with the unbalanced Salvo first stage which is designed for argon rigs, or the balanced, somewhat larger and more expensive Salvo 1st stage that would allow an SPG. I did not have an SPG on the setup I used this weekend, and I got two dives out of the 6 cu ft bottle, which suggests to me that I could routinely do that at home. I would have the ability to gauge the bottle before diving, by putting our spare gauge on it. Do I really need an SPG on the setup?
I'd like to know what other people have decided, and why, and what your experiences have been.
Another $300 or more . . . BOY did my original LDS lie through their teeth when they told me that when you put your original gear together, this sport was actually pretty cheap.
One of the options on which I could not decide is whether to go with the unbalanced Salvo first stage which is designed for argon rigs, or the balanced, somewhat larger and more expensive Salvo 1st stage that would allow an SPG. I did not have an SPG on the setup I used this weekend, and I got two dives out of the 6 cu ft bottle, which suggests to me that I could routinely do that at home. I would have the ability to gauge the bottle before diving, by putting our spare gauge on it. Do I really need an SPG on the setup?
I'd like to know what other people have decided, and why, and what your experiences have been.
Another $300 or more . . . BOY did my original LDS lie through their teeth when they told me that when you put your original gear together, this sport was actually pretty cheap.