Dude, I got an Aqualung,

Zznola · Mar 27, 2014

So excited. I Just finished playing with my brand new aqualung dimension I 3. Omfg! It's my first bcd and I love it. Can't wait to get it in the water! I love that it's feature loaded and I liked one feature even better then the next and then they kept on coming! Love all of the routings of the hoses, from the octo pocket to the sleeved location for the gauges.
I fact Im now willing to get a full triple console for spg, compass and depth because it's such a nice compact area to hold it and i think it will be well trimmed . I thought I was going to get just the single pressure gauge console and then a wrist or retractable compass so I wouldn't be so bulky but I think this solves that. It really seems tight.

Also has the octo pocket, although the used octo I bought has a too short hose to fit right but. I'll just get a new hose. The way the octo fits seems perfect for a buddy in trouble as it is folded over right where you want it, easy to grab and it expands with just a light tug. The oral inflator is also in a grab able position but it's also folded and held with more Velcro and expands with just a tug as well! And then of course you already have one less hose withy the i3 because your power inflator and deflator are operated by a lever by your side pocket. The power inflator hose is tucked into the jacket and routed behind your back. It comes out at just the right position and hooks up to the valve by your side. the disconnect of the power inflator is easy to do one handed in an emergency as well.

Anyway enough advertisement. I still haven't dived it and I know some of you hate the I 3 anyway. in principle at least.

Now,the big issue is the fit. I would like for the shoulder straps to sit a little more towards my heart, right in that sweet spot between your shoulders and the collarbone. Im 6ft, 220lbs with a 37 waist. The sizing chart called for a large which is what I got. The problem may be that I'm not broad shouldered for my size. So, do you think the width of the shoulder straps is one of the characteristics of sizing? It feels good height wise and around the waist. I've adjusted the chest strap to nice tightness as well as the position of the strap which is yet another adjustable feature.
Anyway, of course LP will exchange it and pay for the shipping but first Im gonna go to the lds and try on a couple of sizes. I'll always buy a couple of small things from them just to compensate for the free advice.

After that, a couple more pieces and I'm set..... For now!
.

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redt1de · Mar 28, 2014

Zznola:
So excited. I Just finished playing with my brand new aqualung dimension I 3. Omfg! It's my first bcd and I love it. Can't wait to get it in the water! I love that it's feature loaded and I liked one feature even better then the next and then they kept on coming! Love all of the routings of the hoses, from the octo pocket to the sleeved location for the gauges.
I fact Im now willing to get a full triple console for spg, compass and depth because it's such a nice compact area to hold it and i think it will be well trimmed . I thought I was going to get just the single pressure gauge console and then a wrist or retractable compass so I wouldn't be so bulky but I think this solves that. It really seems tight.

Also has the octo pocket, although the used octo I bought has a too short hose to fit right but. I'll just get a new hose. The way the octo fits seems perfect for a buddy in trouble as it is folded over right where you want it, easy to grab and it expands with just a light tug. The oral inflator is also in a grab able position but it's also folded and held with more Velcro and expands with just a tug as well! And then of course you already have one less hose withy the i3 because your power inflator and deflator are operated by a lever by your side pocket. The power inflator hose is tucked into the jacket and routed behind your back. It comes out at just the right position and hooks up to the valve by your side. the disconnect of the power inflator is easy to do one handed in an emergency as well.

Anyway enough advertisement. I still haven't dived it and I know some of you hate the I 3 anyway. in principle at least.

Now,the big issue is the fit. I would like for the shoulder straps to sit a little more towards my heart, right in that sweet spot between your shoulders and the collarbone. Im 6ft, 220lbs with a 37 waist. The sizing chart called for a large which is what I got. The problem may be that I'm not broad shouldered for my size. So, do you think the width of the shoulder straps is one of the characteristics of sizing? It feels good height wise and around the waist. I've adjusted the chest strap to nice tightness as well as the position of the strap which is yet another adjustable feature.
Anyway, of course LP will exchange it and pay for the shipping but first Im gonna go to the lds and try on a couple of sizes. I'll always buy a couple of small things from them just to compensate for the free advice.

After that, a couple more pieces and I'm set..... For now!
.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Congratulations on your purchase. Building your own set of gear is not only fun but will help improve your trim if you work at it and allow you to quickly conduct routine tasks, since everything is always in the same place.

While gauges are certainly a personal choice, I would carefully consider whether you really want a triple. I started with a triple and it's bulk and inconvenience frustrated me. I now dive a single naked SPG clipped off to my left hip with a wrist mounted computer. It is more streamlined and the data I need is always in my face, never have to reach down. It is a personally choice but just wanted to share my story in the event it can save you a few hundred bucks down the road that could have be spent on getting in the water. Enjoy the gear!

divad · Mar 28, 2014

Re the console......think stereo:

Do you really want something like that in your house........... or hanging off of your regulator?

rivers · Mar 28, 2014

Congrats on your new gear. But don't use your LDS as a fitting room to try on gear and buy from elsewhere. It's a p*sstake. And buying small ticket items doesn't make it better. If the medium is a better fit, see if they'll come close to matching LPs price and return the large to LP for a refund

AfterDark · Mar 28, 2014

evad:
Re the console......think stereo:

Do you really want something like that in your house........... or hanging off of your regulator?

Does a triple console make gages less accurate or obsolete? I like being able to see my gas pressure, depth and direction with one look; and as a bonus my slate is on the back with a list of NDLs! One stop monitoring.

Nothing like having you're own BCD OP! Dive the heck outa of it!

Mustard Dave · Mar 28, 2014

I always think of one of these when I see a console:

You don't need a big chunky crab hammer hanging off your hip and ploughing through the sand. A simple SPG is enough with a compass and computer/bottom timer on you wrist.

AfterDark · Mar 28, 2014

Mustard Dave:
You don't need a big chunky crab hammer hanging off your hip and ploughing through the sand.

Ploughing through the sand!? Mine would not have lasted 35 years banging off rocks and ploughing through the sand. No, it is clipped to my harness on a retractor that keeps it nice and snug against my torso no ploughing through the sand and such that's for amateurs; and it allows me to extend it out in front of me for use.

The unreliable retractor is on its 5th year now. Considering I check my direction countless times during a dive each time extending the retractor, and I make 50-75 dives per year the unreliable retractor should be breaking any year now. One stop monitoring for the safety.

Zznola · Mar 28, 2014

Sill looking on the gauges. Have to hook one up and see but man it seems like it would be really tight to the body. Probably right about the triple though. Thanks red. So,naked means no housing at all? I think I'd like that but then

Rivers, I will definitely give them a chance to match. But again with that old argument? even going into the shop at all makes me a customer. I know they couldn't survive on me buying booties and only small items but I'm not sure selling bcds is their main business either. Now they'll also get my repair or maintenance business down the line as well so I'm not sure it's a p**sstake as you say. Lots of store owners would agree with me and hey I'm not in there every day bothering them. In fact when I just wanted to look around, they insisted on engaging me and I waved them off because I knew I was " just looking".

After dark, that's how I'm thinking about it. By having at least two on the console it's one less moving part to lose, forget, check. Although I'm really liking the one dial pressure gauge and I already have the depth on my zoop. The decision lies with the compass which so far in my diving I haven't needed but that's going to change. I'm going to be diving a lot in pompano and they do mostly drift dives and sometimes without a DM or tour guide.

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AfterDark · Mar 28, 2014

Zznola:
Sill looking on the gauges. Have to hook one up and see but man it seems like it would be really tight to the body. Probably right about the triple though. Thanks red. So,naked means no housing at all? I think I'd like that but then

Rivers, I will definitely give them a chance to match. But again with that old argument? even going into the shop at all makes me a customer. I know they couldn't survive on me buying booties and only small items but I'm not sure selling bcds is their main business either. Now they'll also get my repair or maintenance business down the line as well so I'm not sure it's a p**sstake as you say. Lots of store owners would agree with me and hey I'm not in there every day bothering them. In fact when I just wanted to look around, they insisted on engaging me and I waved them off because I knew I was " just looking".

After dark, that's how I'm thinking about it. By having at least two on the console it's one less moving part to lose, forget, check. Although I'm really liking the one dial pressure gauge and I already have the depth on my zoop. The decision lies with the compass which so far in my diving I haven't needed but that's going to change. I'm going to be diving a lot in pompano and they do mostly drift dives and sometimes without a DM or tour guide.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I have a depth on my computer too, the one on the console is backup, also have a watch so if the computer goes south my diving doesn't. This happened on a trip to NC the 1st dive the battery died so it was watch and analog depth gage. Almost all my diving is compass guided. I usually go under and don't surface again until I'm in 5fsw where I can stand up. There's a lot of boat traffic around most of the diving sites in RI.

With my compass on my console I glance at my spg every time I use my compass which is often. In about 1500 dives since I bought a spg I've never run out of gas, not once. Part of the reason is I'm looking at my spg a lot as a matter of course. Of course planning a diving and bringing enough gas to dive the plan is the main reason I don't go OOG.

In the end it's what you're comfortable with and what enhances your diving experience. You may go thru several configurations before you hit on what works for YOU.

herman · Mar 28, 2014

Nothing wrong with a console, too many of the objections to them are nothing more than personal preference based on a different mindset. I like having a 3 gauge console. In one look I can see my SPG, depth and compass if needed rather than looking at my SPG, clipping it back off, looking at one wrist to see depth and then the other to do a compass check. Then there is convience, it's always there, I never leave it on the dock.....anyone who uses wrist mounts have left one or the other on the boat or sooner or later they will. I do use a wrist computer but my analog depth gauge is my backup when the computer dies. When navigating I like being able to check pressure, depth and keep tabs on my compass is one easy motion, much easier than doing a constant 3 way swap between the gauges. Like most things in diving very little is wrong but rather it's simply personal preference. The one thing that is wrong is telling someone their preference is wrong just because you happen to have a different preference.

Dude, I got an Aqualung,

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