2 Topics way off eachother.

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TravisT

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Instead of making 2 seperate threads, i figured I would cram both of these into this one.

1) What size of BC do I wear?

I am planning on purchasing my BC online as I am seeing them much cheaper than at my LDS where he has $499 price tags on everything he has.

Basically, let me describe my body shape to you. I am very tall, 6'11" to be exact. I'm quite thin, weigh about 210 and wear a 34 waist pants size. So I'm trying to figure out if i should go with a XL BC to compensate for my height or if I should go with somethin smaller to make sure it fits around me properly. Any suggestions?

2) Equalizing...

First of all, i'm not sure if this is a normal thing or not... I was toying around with my new basic equipment (Mask, fin, Snorkel) at the local lake this weekend (really muddy one, but just wanted to check out how my mask worked and stuff...)

Anyhow, one of my fins came loose and it sank straight to the bottom which was about 15 foot deep.

My father, who used to go scuba diving fairly often but hasn't in 20 years and is finally getting certified.... he believes that you should be able to go to the bottom of 15 foot without your ears hurting... is this true?

Me and my brother both were having some problems getting down that deep to find my fin without our ears throbbing. (btw, we ended up finding it after about 4 hours of searching)

Is this normal? I found that I had to equalize (which was also sometimes a problem for me). I just want to make sure that before I go into this class that we don't have some kind of problems with our ears. Are you supposed to have to equalize in that shallow of water?

Another thing that had me wondering this, while i was in Florida at Blue Springs, there were several smaller kids who were going about 30 ft deep into the spring with a single breath of air. It appeared to me that they never once had to stop to equalize or anything like that....
 
On the BC question, you'll have to wait for a more informed answer. (My opinion would be to deal more with chest size than height for a BC, but to try (borrow/rent) one before you buy.)

For #2, you can certainly equalize for 15-20 ft at the surface just like beginning a dive. However, when I took two of my kids on a Discover Scuba in April, my son thought the equalizing thing was great. They are both competitive swimmers and occasionally dive to the bottom for fun (or to retrieve goggles) and he apparently just figured that your ear hurt when you dove deep (12ft). I know that I can free dive without fins to at least 20ft on a breath and I'll equalize before descending and usually again at bottom.

-Rob
 
renting, for me, is going to be somewhat on the verge of impossible. Just to give you an idea of my scenario, and I really want to go frequently and continue in my understanding of scuba diving.... But the thing is, is that the closest lake worth scuba diving in (clearer water) here in Oklahoma is no less than 2 hours from where I live. The Scuba shop is atleast an hour in the opposite direction where I could rent scuba gear. So i would REALLY like having my own equipment fairly soon after getting my certification. I know if I had to rent, it would limit the times I would be able to go and gain the experience i'm looking to get.

I can fill up my tanks at a specific place closer to home, so filling up isn't a huge issue, but renting would be. :(
 
1) I would not even think of buying a BC without finding a way or another to try it. Proper size also depends on the brand, and on what you wear under it. For example, with the BC we use in the pool I take a size M (just swimsuit), with my 7+5 wet suit I need a L, same model.

2) equalizing: at 15ft, if you have not equalized a lot earlier, you already have a huge risk to hurt your eardrums. I already equalize at 3ft, often less deep. To go to 15 ft, I would equalize several times.
There is no need to stop for equalizing, it can be done when moving. And there are several methods to do it, for some noboby would notice.

Equalizing is easier if you do it early and often. Once the ears are painful, it is already too late, the equalizing process can be painful by itself at this deep.
 
Equalize early and often.
 
Do yourself a favour and look into an extra-long Fred T backplate. Ask BCSean about them on here - the beauty of a backplate and wing is that it's infinitely adjustable, no matter your body size or shape.

And I couldn't dive to 15 feet without equalizing - heck that just increased atmospheric pressure by 50%. Your father, God bless him - is wrong. Do that often enough you risk injuring an eardrum.
 
As weird as it may sound, i'm actually glad to hear that my father was wrong about that. I was worried that it may have been my ears causing problems...

After doing some web searching, it sounds as though there is a small dive shop just a few miles from where i'm sitting here at work. I'm going to go check them out at lunch time to see if maybe they have rental gear. That'd save me lots of trouble and wouldn't be to far fetched to rent nearly all my stuff there for a while if things work out well...

Thanks for the additional tips, you guys are EXTREMELY helpful for this newbie. :)
 
Ditto the backplate and wing.

For people who need unusally sized gear, owning your own is the way to go. Sounds like you may be a candidate for a custom wetsuit and BC.

For BC fit, I suggest sizing for the chest first, but on a off-the-rack BC you may find that shoulder straps are then too short for comfort. A backplate is set up with custom webbing to fit you perfectly. It's worth the trip to get some help getting this set up right.
 
Yeah, i've already ordered my wetsuit. A custom made Henderson Hyperstretch....

I DEFINITELY, at some point, want to own my own gear. It's just a matter of timing and I want to make sure I don't get the 'cheap stuff'... I would like to get something that would last me a while and that i'd be happy with, but without spending a fortune for it.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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