I'm putting this in Basic because this falls under trying out new things for noobs.
If you have an opportunity to check out gear at a demo day, do it! TDI has this Mission Tech thing going and they had it this past Saturday at my home quarry. All certification levels welcome. There were rebreather demos, scooters, SM, BP/W, all sorts of gear and manufacturers. I got to hang out with my peeps from DRIS all day.
Also met Chris from DeepSix. No Lil Pete in tow, sadly. . LOL
I was definitely doing SM and would have tried a scooter, but viz was about 3ft and I didn't want to crash!
Tried the Hollis SMS 75 as a number of friends use it and love it. First try was a bust due to too much weight on the shoulders (6lbs) and a new mask that decided to flood completely immediately on descent.
Second try was much more successful (someone loaned me a mask that barely leaked) and no additional weight on the rig. Tanks were steel LP95s. It felt very odd walking into the water with no weight (I carry 12lbs with a 5mm on top of steel BP and a weighted STA, 24 lbs total) and no tank on me. I always otter back with an inflated wing to get my fins on. Realized I didn't have an inflated wing right before I went to float on my back to put fins on! I'm also used to my wing keeping my chin a few inches above the surface. The SM rig kept my chin right at the surface. Just felt weird.
Once we were down on a platform, and I got my buoyancy set, I swam around the large platform for about 15 minutes before the demo instructor signaled to ascend. I kept to the platform as vis was so bad (3ft as previously noted). There were a large number of OW classes at the quarry. Once I was used to the rig, I had fun. The whole thing was very stable. It also slowed my flutter kick down (I'm a speed demon from my splits and all my time doing pool laps), which in turn improved my air consumption. I went through 500 psi in those 15 minutes. I was just about to switch to the other tank when it was time to ascend. Instructor said my trim was about 45 degrees, but that could be fixed by tank placement, etc. Said I really need to learn frog (no kidding, I'm working on it).
SMS 75 was very comfortable and fit me.
SM is something I definitely want to do in the future, as the deeper Great Lakes wrecks are calling my name!. I have two bum knees and sciatica in one hip, so BM doubles are not an option.
Almost forgot, I got to try out a Perdix on the second dive, in rec mode. It wasn't AI, but I wanted to see how it was underwater. It was fab! I'm already planning upgrading over the winter.
So if you ever get the chance for a gear demo, jump at it! It was a ton o'fun!
If you have an opportunity to check out gear at a demo day, do it! TDI has this Mission Tech thing going and they had it this past Saturday at my home quarry. All certification levels welcome. There were rebreather demos, scooters, SM, BP/W, all sorts of gear and manufacturers. I got to hang out with my peeps from DRIS all day.
Also met Chris from DeepSix. No Lil Pete in tow, sadly. . LOLI was definitely doing SM and would have tried a scooter, but viz was about 3ft and I didn't want to crash!
Tried the Hollis SMS 75 as a number of friends use it and love it. First try was a bust due to too much weight on the shoulders (6lbs) and a new mask that decided to flood completely immediately on descent.
Second try was much more successful (someone loaned me a mask that barely leaked) and no additional weight on the rig. Tanks were steel LP95s. It felt very odd walking into the water with no weight (I carry 12lbs with a 5mm on top of steel BP and a weighted STA, 24 lbs total) and no tank on me. I always otter back with an inflated wing to get my fins on. Realized I didn't have an inflated wing right before I went to float on my back to put fins on!
I'm also used to my wing keeping my chin a few inches above the surface. The SM rig kept my chin right at the surface. Just felt weird.Once we were down on a platform, and I got my buoyancy set, I swam around the large platform for about 15 minutes before the demo instructor signaled to ascend. I kept to the platform as vis was so bad (3ft as previously noted). There were a large number of OW classes at the quarry. Once I was used to the rig, I had fun. The whole thing was very stable. It also slowed my flutter kick down (I'm a speed demon from my splits and all my time doing pool laps), which in turn improved my air consumption. I went through 500 psi in those 15 minutes. I was just about to switch to the other tank when it was time to ascend. Instructor said my trim was about 45 degrees, but that could be fixed by tank placement, etc. Said I really need to learn frog (no kidding, I'm working on it).
SMS 75 was very comfortable and fit me.
SM is something I definitely want to do in the future, as the deeper Great Lakes wrecks are calling my name!
. I have two bum knees and sciatica in one hip, so BM doubles are not an option.Almost forgot, I got to try out a Perdix on the second dive, in rec mode. It wasn't AI, but I wanted to see how it was underwater. It was fab! I'm already planning upgrading over the winter.
So if you ever get the chance for a gear demo, jump at it! It was a ton o'fun!
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