doubles

[simbrooks]

Just a question here, why do you prefer the AL over SS for double AL80 tanks? Surely due to their positive buoyancy (+8# combined when empty) you need a little more lead (4# lets say for the extra tank), so the SS BP would shift that up onto your back whereas the AL is ~4# lighter than the SS and so you would have to put that on your belt (or elsewhere). I find the SS BP very nice with AL80 (singles) - what is your take? Due to me diving wet for a good while longer, this is the option i am looking into eventually (also due to the ridiculous steel tank prices and availablity at the moment helped in the decision) when i need that extra redundancy at intro to cave level and beyond (rather than wasting money on an H or Y valve set-up) - eventually drysuit and steel doubles - but that is a way down the road when i have some cash and more experience! But in the meantime single 80's and later this year, or early next double up those AL's - but i would imagine i will continue to use my SS BP with that to offset a little weight.

 

[WaterDawg]

SimB,

Let me start by saying that for singles I dive SS and AL 80's and I think its perfect.

WHen I first started w/ my doubles I used the same BP (as I do for my singles) changing was a bit of a PITA but nothing I couldnt handle. But no matter how much I moved the bands up I would always (if I relaxed) assume a vertical position HEAD DOWN! So folks told me I needed more weight on my belt...wrong! It was soo bad that I stopped diving them for a lil while cause I really dreaded doing so, after all it was WORK.

What I did to fix it was this: switched to an AL BP (1.5lbs instead of 6lbs) and attached a #5 soft weight to the bottom band of my doubles. So I still have the equivallent of a SS BP but the weight is redistribued and offsets the weight of the manifold and extr reg. BTW I got rid of the weight belt alltogether.
W/ a 5mil I use a 3 or 4 lb soft weight attached to the top bolt by way of a Zeagle weight pouch tucked in the channel between the tanks.

Once I did this my doubles diving experiance changed over night (litterally) sunday I sucked, monday I didnt. I would have never thought of that myself my friend helped me (and sold me an AL plate).