Having the "Exact Same" equipment as your partner

[TravisD]

My wife is my almost-exclusive dive buddy. We have similar gear, but not identical. It hasn't been a problem.

• BC's: She has a DUI back-inflate. I have a BP/W.

• Regs: Both have Atomic B2 primaries, but she has an SS1 octo; I have a Z2 octo. Benefit here is that they're on the same maintenance schedule, and can be serviced at the same place. She likes the one-less-hose config of the SS1; I prefer a traditional octo and inflator.

• Computers: I picked up a pair of Atmos 2's when Scubatoys had them on sale back when we started diving. Main benefit is that we can share a computer interface, and use the same logging software. She saw the Liquivision Keon at BTS last month though and fell in love with it, so i suspect she'll be changing that out at some point. She never quite got the hang of the 2-button Aeris interface.
• Exposure protection - we both started diving wet, and we've kept that pretty much aligned so we're compatible with water temps. I just bought a drysuit, which she's not ready for, so things may get interesting there
• Fins - personal preference, but we did both upgrade to spring straps.

At this point I'd say that we probably know each other's gear as well as our own (including swapping gear in the pool at times just for something to do). We certainly know it better than if we end up buddied with someone different for some reason.

 

[beaverdivers]

This idea is used by Global Underwater Explorers (GUE). I'm obviously not Do It Right (DIR). However, I do agree with this method of keeping your team's gear the same.
We use all the same gear in training & rental.

Scubapro MK25/S600
Scubapro Glide Pro w/AIR2
Scubapro Galileo Sol w/ heart rate monitor

We do have SubGear XP-10's for rental. We do have a variety of demo gear. Scubapro Pure Tek, KnightHawk, Bella, etc.

On our group trips, almost everyone has similar gear. It makes packing a repair kit w/ spare parts much easier.

 

[Lund0529]

I'm the brother-in-law.

The comment about the same gear being susceptible to the same failure, I agree, is a rare circumstance and less likely with high quality gear. We are in MN and could get in some ice diving, so freezing/free-flow was a thought, but not the primary reason for the statement. More though, I was thinking the human factor and manufacturing. You have the same tech doing the same service at the same time with the same kits on four identical secondary stages and two firsts. Any breakdown in parts or process would potentially impact more than just one piece of equipment and at the same time. It's probably very unlikely, but hey, I carry safety gear I never plan to need too.

And yes, with identical gear, it's hard to explain how some new piece of equipment ended up in the dive locker.

 

[TSandM]

BTW, my husband and I do not dive exactly the same equipment any more, although we bought the same when we finished OW.

I have a Deep Outdoors doubles wing; he uses a Deep Sea Supply one. (I'd have a DSS one, too, if Tobin made them in bright yellow ). Right now, I have ScubaPro regs on my doubles setup, and he has HOG regs. (I will be changing when these need service.) I have a Fusion dry suit, and he has a Bare and a DUI. I go back and forth between Dive Rite EXP fins and yellow Jets; he has the yellow Jets and a set of Turtles. I have a simple brass-and-glass SPG on both of my rigs; he uses a Cobra computer.

But we have everything set up exactly the same, and there are no real functional differences between our equipment sets, so each of us is fully familiar with the gear the other is using. Furthermore, I live in a diving world where I can go almost anywhere you can think of, and arrange a dive buddy whose gear is identical to mine (or arrange to borrow familiar equipment -- when Diver0001 came to dive with us, all he had to bring from Holland was his mask!). And yes, that is the DIR world. It has its advantages.

 

[kelemvor]

Will you really be diving with only the one buddy? When I got certified last year I thought that's what I would do. It turns out that several people I know are divers (and I didn't know they were). Also, I seem to want to go diving more than any of my other buddies do. The result is there's 4 people I've been diving with, and so if I had matched my original buddies' gear load-out it would have been a waste.

 

[Divealpha]

My wife and I have certified together, bought equipment together, so we have identical equipment, except the wings. Guess that's going to change, because I got an Oxycheq 40, which is much smaller than her Hollis 38..... the colors on the Oxy harness is the different, same for the suit colors. We don't have mainstream brand wetsuits(Camaro's), done deliberately, so we can easily spot each other on crowded trips... Our spare masks are different...and it's easy packing spares going abroad, and as others mentioned, we service regs at the same time. Both have Suunto's D-series, with an 1 Suunto backup computer. Same lights, LFM & DRIS, saves weight for chargers. Heck, even our smartphones are identical ! The newest addition differs, because we've upgrade our cameras. I'll do the video with Gopro, and she the stills with PM1(yeah, the incredible housing offer from Olympus)....We both like to browse the online stores for things we can't buy locally, and end up with the same gadgets... The main difference is our 4Elements baselayer underwear ....

 

[TSandM]

There are downsides to buying the same equipment. Quite a few years back, we were on a boat in the Virgin Islands, and I heard Peter cursing a blue streak as he tried desperately to get into his wetsuit. We were all teasing him about gaining weight from eating too much on the boat. Turned out the wetsuit in question was mine . . .

 

[rlynch]

I also live in that small corner of the diving world where we all have the same configuration of gear. It makes life easier not having to deal with other configs and knowing exactly where and how something works on your buddies kit.
Of course this does not apply when I'm working in the PADI world or with new members but usually a quick briefing and q&a takes care of that.
We do not have the "same" gear but the same setup, the manufactures are different if your wondering. Just what we have and how it is rigged is the same.

 

[islanddream]

Hubby and I have the same computers. Real advantage, I think, because of having the same algorithms. Also, if one of us forgets how to change something, the other usually remembers. Other than that....everything else was bought according to fit, personal likes, etc.

 

[rlynch]

Oh and it's not always the same buddy for us in our small corner, there is a core group that dive together and with other folks as well. We done discriminate on gear choices but it seems people come over for the cookies