Which tanks to bring to LA?

[hantzu701]

I am moving from Chicago to Los Angeles in a few weeks. I have two sets of doubles - HP100's and HP130's. Because of limited space, I am planning to take only one set of the doubles and eventually ship the other several months later. Which of the two am I going to be the most happy with? Do I bring the HP130's, split them into singles for shore dives or bring the HP100's?

Thanks,
Hotsoup

 

[FrankPro1]

I am a much less experienced diver then you and I have no knowledge of doubles and their use, but I can tell you what I know about single tank diving in Los Angeles. There are an abundance of great dive sites in the Greater Los Angeles area. Many of them "especially the ones I dive often" require extensive hikes/walks to get to entry. Unless you are in top physical shape, I would take the 100's. My buddy uses a HP130, but he's the Thor body type. I use a HP100 and can easily get an hour dive or more at most sites, while still leaving a good amount of reserve. I'm sure double 130's would be great for some of the more remote deeper wreck/oilrigs/off shore reef systems, but if you plan on doing lots of shore diving it might be over kill.

 

[ligersandtions]

Doubles for shore diving can be a PITA (especially if you're at a site like the ones Frank is talking about in PV). Most of the time (not always, as there are a number of places you can get deep from shore), doubles are overkill for shore diving. However, there are lots of boat dives, and lots of tech trained divers, that will make the doubles worth it. But if you're going to be doing primarily shore diving, I'd stick with singles for now and wait till you can ship down a set of doubles.

Personally, I dive HP130's. I was choosing between 130's and 100's and went for the 130's. I like them because they trim out nicely and hold enough gas that I can generally do two dives (or even more at some locations, like Laguna) without violating rock bottom. But 100's are nice and will definitely serve their purpose down here.

It will be a crap shoot which one you want to break into singles....either is probably an equivalently good choice.

 

[mark99]

The only reason that I see to use doubles for shore diving is for training. So, if your primary diving is recreational and shore, I'd bring the 100's and split them- you get 2 dives per shore trip (1 each). If your primary diving is boat, I'd bring the 130s and leave them doubled-up. You can get a mix at your local LDS and use it on the boat for 2-3 dives without a fill. Don't plan on routine use of the doubles for fun-type shore diving here, it's more trouble than it's worth.

 

[TSandM]

As you come from Seattle diving, I suspect you are going to find learning to do surf entries to be challenging, and I would NOT recommend starting in doubles. The 130's are manageable single tanks, and give you flexibility to do anything you would want to do from shore (and there are sites that get deep fairly quickly). I borrow 130's from friend when I am down there, and I don't always need all the gas, but sometimes it is nice to have.

Doubles are great for boat dives, but the double 100s, once you ship them, will be great for T1 dives on the oil rigs and some of the deeper wrecks. If you eventually get into the heavy wreck diving circle, you can always put the 130's back together.

Shoot me a PM (I'm Lynne) and I'll give you some names and contact information for some good divers and good people to hook up with, once you are there. And all of them can do an air-share in the dark

 

[hantzu701]

Hey Lynne,
I just realized that you did figure out that it was me.

It sounds like you're arguing that I should bring my trusted pair of HP130's and break them apart. I prefer a set of doubles when we're talking cold and deep, but I'm not too happy with surf and doubles either. It sounds like the general opinion is to go with singles in LA.

Charles

 

[cool_hardware52]

Hey Lynne,
I just realized that you did figure out that it was me.

It sounds like you're arguing that I should bring my trusted pair of HP130's and break them apart. I prefer a set of doubles when we're talking cold and deep, but I'm not too happy with surf and doubles either. It sounds like the general opinion is to go with singles in LA.

Charles

I shore dive routinely with 2 x lp 85's. Not a big deal if you pick your spots. I say bring 'em all. The 100's as doubles, and the 130's will be useful as singles until you have a real need for 2 x 130's.

Tobin

 

[drbill]

Doubles are for air hogs. Just teasing. There are plenty of dive boats you can "easily" dive doubles off (although some may not fill them while out). If you are teaching and doing shore dives, are you teaching BOW and AOW students or tech? Certainly for the former you don't need doubles, but for the latter you would.

Personally I found shore diving in my old HP120 to be a PITA when surf was up, but I'm an old geezer.