Trim with Steel 120s

[trogloxene]

Stretch your arms out in front of you a bit more, not quite like Superman but elbows out, arms front. Bend your feet at the knees. Both of these should bring you a bit more horizontal.

This has really helped me get horizontal. I also ditched the scubapro jet fins in favor of the OMS slipstreams and that helped also.

The tank is an XS Scuba steel 120, -2lbs when full, so -1.4 is about right at 500 PSI.

The XS HP120 is -11 lbs when full, -2 lbs when empty


Sean

 

[FritzCat66]

I dive the Worthington/XS X7-120's all the time as my primary tank and find they trim out great, but that's with about 4# in the trim pockets and 6# ditchable weight, using a 2mil suit and 3mil boots. But in your case where no ballast is needed, all I could recommend is to drink a few more beers & eat some more pastries, then you can happily add some lead.

 

[dave4868]

Skinny legs?! Its tall dark and handsome...Thanks for the input, I dive 3mm boots, do you think 5mm boots would be enough to get the feet up?

Hey, ScubaSloan, you've got a thread hanging down from your shorts.... oh, sorry, that's your leg....

It's an old joke, but I just had to use it....

It's hard to tell how bad your imbalance is, but it wouldn't cost anything to borrow some thicker boots and see if they do the trick. You could try a larger size of thicker boots and neoprene socks, too.

Don't forget to consider the buoyancy of your fins; some can be pretty heavy.

Dave C

 

[svs]

I found steel 120 (single) not very practical for warm water. I don’t know how it works with BP/W but with BC and no extra weigh I always felt unbalanced. Each time tank shifted slightly on a side (making turns or looking under ledge) I had to keep it from turning me face up. Though it was comfortable swimming on a back it wasn’t always practical. I don’t see any other solution besides lots of rubber and extra weights.

 

[Slonda828]

I found steel 120 (single) not very practical for warm water. I don’t know how it works with BP/W but with BC and no extra weigh I always felt unbalanced. Each time tank shifted slightly on a side (making turns or looking under ledge) I had to keep it from turning me face up. Though it was comfortable swimming on a back it wasn’t always practical. I don’t see any other solution besides lots of rubber and extra weights.

In all honesty, this is usually inherent to a jacket or regular type BC. With a BP/W, the plate keeps the load pretty balanced. When I guide dives with a 120 and a drysuit I can literally swim on my left or right side to watch people in a BP/W and not feel like I am going to get pulled tango uniform.

 

[Mayor]

I dive with a single HP130 sometimes and don't need any weight with a 7mm / hood / boots etc. The tank is fat not long like the 120. It really was never an issue to trim out but make sure you test yourself swimming that tank up from a deep dive. I can from 80ft but it's really not fun. For any warm water diving I would switch to a smaller tank. In a 3mm I will really need to fill the wing up with air and this will just waste the extra gas I have. Kind of like a double edge sword.

 

[Buoyant1]

How tall are you? I tried 120's and they seemed to be a bit long and really made me foot heavy so I went with a 119 (which is more squat like the aforementioned 130) and I felt better (but still needed to move some trim weight to my cam band..even with the steel back plate) A friend had a 119 and tried using a 120 and it felt better for him (he's at least 4 inches taller than me) and decided to sell me his 119 so he could buy a 120. (I got a great deal on it) But...I guess it depends on how tall you are, how much room you have to move it up, OR moving some weight up to the cam straps....(you gonna double these bad boys???)

 

[rongoodman]

Those are just long tanks, 28" on the chart that I have. Why did you choose them over a shorter tank, such as the 130? Can you exchange them for something shorter?

 

[FritzCat66]

How tall are you? I tried 120's and they seemed to be a bit long and really made me foot heavy so I went with a 119 (which is more squat like the aforementioned 130) and I felt better (but still needed to move some trim weight to my cam band..even with the steel back plate) A friend had a 119 and tried using a 120 and it felt better for him (he's at least 4 inches taller than me) and decided to sell me his 119 so he could buy a 120. (I got a great deal on it) But...I guess it depends on how tall you are, how much room you have to move it up, OR moving some weight up to the cam straps....(you gonna double these bad boys???)

Yup - The success in using an HP120, perhaps moreso than other tanks, seems to relate closely with the diver's physiology. They work perfectly for me, although while I am average height (5'10"), I have shorter legs than normal, which means my torso is more proportional to someone of greater height.

Nevertheless, with my BC and 120 I trim out great, I can swim comfortably sideways, upside down, and in all the kinds of weird positions us photographers get into while diving.

The 120's are not for everybody, but for some of us they're ideal.

 

[Slonda828]

Yup - The success in using an HP120, perhaps moreso than other tanks, seems to relate closely with the diver's physiology. They work perfectly for me, although while I am average height (5'10"), I have shorter legs than normal, which means my torso is more proportional to someone of greater height.

Nevertheless, with my BC and 120 I trim out great, I can swim comfortably sideways, upside down, and in all the kinds of weird positions us photographers get into while diving.

The 120's are not for everybody, but for some of us they're ideal.

You raise a good point. I'm 6 feet tall and I trim out great in a 120. I also dive with my legs bent though (freefall position).