Noob entering room, Need to select equipment

[highflier]

FYI I am still reading and following thread.

1st off, I e-mailed the local dive shop (2 miles from house) and they stated they rent both DIN and Yoke tanks.

2nd, I never said 7k, That was somebody suggesting a Rebreather. I am hoping to be in the area of 1k per setup.

3rd In a ideal world I would get to try all the gear in the water, However that is not really possible unless I limit what gear I can choose from.
- HOG/Edge have no dealers in the keys that I could find
- I really doubt the shop would order the BCD in the sizes we require, and just how many brands do they carry, 2-3. So how does a diver get to try out this equipment?

I would however like to see how the Tank and a Yoke Adapter fit on the BCD with head clearence as I have heard that can be a big issue.

Highflier


BTW Jim what brand BCD's do you offer, Besides the EDGE/Hog gear.
BTW.... I have talked to several friends that dive, Nobody ever agrees on this stuff.

 

[highflier]

Oh one other thing, I went to a dive shop up north.. Pa. Anyways they were very opinioned agaist a BP/W.

We are leaning towards a BI BCD that has integrated weights. This way we can hand them up to the boat. I suspect that we will have to take gear off to board the boat. Ladder is not the best.

Highflier

 

[Blue Sparkle]

We are leaning towards a BI BCD that has integrated weights. This way we can hand them up to the boat. I suspect that we will have to take gear off to board the boat. Ladder is not the best.

Just a note: Depending on how much weight you are wearing, and who you are handing your rigs up to, you might need/want to remove your integrated weights first anyway. Reason I mention that is that I have been handing my rig up for the last 50+ dives (knee problem), and I think the DM is glad that some of my weights are on a separate belt. Not that I'm wearing SO MUCH weight, but still, 6-8 pounds (or more?) on an already heavy, wet rig might be un-desirable.

That's not to say that you shouldn't get weight-integrated BC's, if that is what you want. I just mention it because if a main reason you are choosing them is because you won't have/want-to remove the weights before handing your rigs up, and then you do, well, that might be a bummer.

I can see reasons why people might want a vest BC, a back inflate BC, or a backplate-and-wing BC. I can't see any reason for a shop to be "against" a bp/w just on general principle, and that would make me suspicious that they don't know and are just saying that. I mean, to my mind all of them can work for the right person/reasons.

It sounds as though you would like to try out some gear. When I wanted to try out a bp/w, I rented one from Silent World dive shop in Key Largo, so that might be something to consider if you want to try one for yourself. They have Halcyon Eclipse rigs. When I rented, they only had the standard "one size fits all men" size, but I was easily able to "extrapolate" that a smaller plate/wing would work well for me (and they have).

I'm not sure about renting the other types of BC's, but you may be able to do that in the Keys. I like to thoroughly research and understand things before I purchase them, but on a couple of things I just had to do my best research here and then take a bit of a leap within my (hopefully) best choice from that research (for example, my regs, which I had no way to try out prior to buying).

I tried to do as well as I could, knowing that it was unlikely that I would hit it all just right on the first try, but also knowing that there was an active Classifieds section here on SB for my possible "mistakes." There is a bit of a Catch 22 where you have to buy gear and dive it to develop a taste for what you like, so that you can buy the right gear the first time....

But I found that research and knowing myself helped

Blue Sparkle

 

[highflier]

The desire for the integrated weights is a comfort thing. I found the weight belt to be very uncomfortable. On the Mares BCD, the integrated weights can be removed just as easy as a belt. I would think this is the same for all integrated bcd's as for a safety reason. Thus I would plan on removing and setting them on the boat each time getting out of the water. As I said earlier most of our dives will be done off our own boat. Its a 25' Center consel. It's not the easiet boat to board since it has twins therefore the ladder is towards the outer edge and you have limited ability to center your weight over the ladder, My shoulders tend to want to hit the port engine. Without gear it is not a issue but I expect with gear it could be a struggle that I would rather avoid. The plan would be to inflate the BCD and then use a line with hook or Velcro, to keep it boat side while I board. Then just hoist them up after we have boarded the boat. I am sure I can figure out a good system. I'll have to do that with the wife's gear also. If the sea's were kicking up a little I think my wife would stay in the water and hold the gear away from the boat until I was ready to hoist it up. then board the boat herself. I can see why a catermaran style boat would be good for diving, Big ladder between motors and a smoother ride so the gear does not get beat up as much. Speaking of which does anybody have a pic of how they stow the gear (tanks expecially) on there smallish style boat.

Highflier

 

[highflier]

OMG had to type the post 3 times. SB kept crashing when i hit post. Anybody else have this issue, The saved version only had 25% of the msg.

Highflier

 

[orenbvip]

I too vote for teh Edge. In fact I switched from an Apeks flight to the new Edge /HOG sale ($165!!!!). for the money they cant be beat. Spending extra money on a reg is not needed if it is just for rec.

HOWEVER for the BC, go straight to a BP/W setup.

I and many people here love the Zeagel Express tech which can be had for under $250. I travel and dive out of a carry on bag so it is ideal. If you are not traveling a lot get a HOG 23lb wing and back plate.

FYI there are many deals to be has. MSG me and ill teach you my thrifty ways. I just picked up an Oceanic Atom 2.0 brand new from a store for $350....

and buy some force fins on ebay for under $100 used....

 

[halocline]

As I said earlier most of our dives will be done off our own boat.....The plan would be to inflate the BCD and then use a line with hook or Velcro, to keep it boat side while I board. Then just hoist them up after we have boarded the boat. I am sure I can figure out a good system.

Are you planning on diving off of a boat with nobody in the boat while you dive? I'm not sure that's a good system.

Anyhow, you're probably not going to need much weight to begin with, so I don't think having weight integrated BCs will make your water exits and gear hauling significantly easier. One thing that would is tank choice; using LP72s would help a lot. They only weigh 26lbs empty and they're neutral. That's almost 10 lbs off using AL80s right there. Since as you said in an earlier post you're planning mostly very shallow dives, I think you'll find LP72s to be excellent tanks for this.

BTW, you can certainly get detachable weight pockets for BP/Ws, or you can get pockets on waist belt that you simply take the weights out of and put 'em on the boat one at a time. Very easy....

 

[highflier]

Well if I go BP/W. I think I need a supportive Dive shop to help make sure I get it all setup right. First shop is definitly not going that route. Although I do want to call another shop, The one near the keys house. See what they have to say.

Highflier

 

[TSandM]

These guys would be able to give you good advice: Silent World

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Also, just so you can get an idea of what's involved, here is the link I used to get my bp/w fitting properly. I mail-ordered it so it came as a plate, a roll of webbing, a couple of cam bands, etc. It seemed pretty straightforward, especially if you resist the urge to think "backpack" and crank down on the shoulder straps. Of course I tweaked it a bit as I went along (a luxury to have the ability to do).

BAUE How To Size a Backplate

I'm not saying you should get a bp/w (even though I like mine a lot; other people like their back-inflates or vests), but I will say that you probably shouldn't expect that very many "typical" dive shops are going to support you in that decision. I have found that most either don't have them or think they are for "tech" diving only. Well, I took my (refresher) OW class in one, at which point I don't think I was a tech diver

So, if you do decide you want to try one, you may have to expect to just "go against the flow" a bit (vis-a-vis your corner dive shop). As Lynne said, you can (or could, anyway) rent them at Silent World - although you also then need to dive with them (i.e. you can't rent one and take it away to dive).

Of course everyone is different, but just to give you a basic idea on weights (and I am very buoyant), with a 3.8# steel plate (lighter than is typical because it's a Small), I only wear 4# of additional weight for summer Keys diving (no exposure protection) with an AL63 (AL80 around the same). I could imagine many people wouldn't wear any additional weight (I'm really floaty).

halocline: I have been thinking I'd like to try diving with a steel 72, as it looked intriguing, size/buoyancy-wise, for Keys reef diving. (On the other hand, since I'm commercial boat diving, it's pretty simple to just use their AL63... but if I were on my own boat.....)