Do you travel with tanks?

[fjpatrum]

The post about AL80s and depth got a lot of comments from people about 80s not being sufficient for a lot of dives that some of us would like to do. As such it got me wondering. I'm still very new and have only dived on travel while in Kona, HI. I dived with two separate shops and they both had AL80s as their rentals. All the shops local to me in the DC area also use AL80s as their rentals.

So my question is, for those that prefer bigger tanks or deeper dives, do you travel with your own tanks or do a lot of shops make provisions for larger tanks for some customers? How do you deal with the vacation dives that are deep?

EDIT: I'm making the assumption that most people dive singles on vacation, even scubaboard folks...

 

[ReeferBen]

I was unable to find anything but 80's on my last trip. Next time I plan to go with a sidemount setup so I can use two 80's.

 

[Kilili]

With practice, meditation, yoga, controlled air breathing, etc., your air consumption can improve dramatically. I've always found AL80s to be fine whilst travelling. For last 400 dives, average dive time 75 min, for max depth 70 ft.

If you really wish to use double whilst travelling, you can get rig that employs independent doubles [separate reg sets], then hook up to AL80s, or whatever, that you rent. I have seen, but not used. Some places, with more focus on tech diving, will actually have standard double sets for rent. One such I know is Puerto Galera, in the Philippines.

I've not paid a lot of attention to all of this, as it tends to get rather cold after being down for 2 hours or so taking photos.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

The post about AL80s and depth got a lot of comments from people about 80s not being sufficient for a lot of dives that some of us would like to do. As such it got me wondering. I'm still very new and have only dived on travel while in Kona, HI. I dived with two separate shops and they both had AL80s as their rentals. All the shops local to me in the DC area also use AL80s as their rentals.

So my question is, for those that prefer bigger tanks or deeper dives, do you travel with your own tanks or do a lot of shops make provisions for larger tanks for some customers? How do you deal with the vacation dives that are deep?

EDIT: I'm making the assumption that most people dive singles on vacation, even scubaboard folks...

It depends. If I'm going someplace I can get to by car, I always take my own tanks.

When that's not an option, I'll make an effort to rent or borrow something larger.

When that's not an option I'll use AL80's and put limits on my dives accordingly. I've been known to skip what some would consider "signature" dives because I felt either the size of the tank or the available type of gas wasn't within my comfort zone.

Bottom line is that you don't always have control over what tanks you get to use ... but you DO always have control over your dive plan. And no matter what the circumstance, doing a "trust me" dive is out of the question ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Buoyant1]

I've driven with my 119's to the Florida Keys a few times (four actually) There ARE a few places you can rent larger cylinders, and a few OP's that have them, but for the most part it's 80's....if you're doing medium to shallow depth reef dives, then no biggie, I can usually get a good forty-five minutes to an hour on an 80 at less than 50fsw (which is all they usually allow you at most sites) For anything deeper, I use my own gear.

 

[herbdb]

Like the previous poster, my answer is sometimes if there is a good reason. I am going to do some wreck diving in NC in June. I am planning on taking my HP120s and renting one more tank (three dives/day). The dive shop sponsoring the trip rents HP100s. I am a big old guy and I would gobble up an 80 in no time at 100'. When I have traveled for shallower diving, I just rent whatever is available.

When we went to Roatan last Dec, Fantasy island dive shop set me up with 100s, this worked out well and made my gas last about the same as my son's with their 80's There was a very limited supply for rent, but it can be done.

 

[seaducer]

Traveling with tanks is just too much of a PITA unless I am going by car. I will say though that all the Caribbean trips I have been on, many ops offer larger tanks online, but plan on them not having any when you get there. Most likely you are going to be limited to AL80's.

 

[fire_diver]

The only time I travel with tanks is if I driving there. It's not worth the costs or hassels when flying. Most dive destinations use AL80s as there main tanks, but can usually provide you with larger tanks if you request them ahead time but they might cost a little more.

 

[Jorgy]

Soooooo.......

Stage bottles are used to provide additional gas on dives where the back-mounted tanks alone cannot carry a sufficient quantity by themselves. Like deco bottles, stage bottles should be aluminum (instead of steel) for their superior buoyancy characteristics. The most commonly used size is 80 Ft3. Excerpt from this website:

Deco and Stage Bottle Rigging

Then buy this.....make sure and get the cam band version.....

Stage/Deco Straps and Hose Retainers by Dive Rite - Dive Gear Express

Buy/rent a second regulator...and presto you can go to any place they rent tanks and you have lots of gas......plus the benefit of a redundant breathing system....

M

PS...I forgot the most important.......get training on using a stage and practice with it before you go.......

 

[Searcaigh]

+1 on traveling by car