My Gear list thus far - tell me where I can save some money

[Seefourdc]

Colliam the point that I'm really trying to make is that there aren't any great innovations coming down the line with regulators any time soon because that field had a ton of money thrown at it already because people were willing to pay top dollar to know that their regs would work in the 1990's. Innovation ceased because pretty much everything has been tried. My point is more to the fact that the extra dollars for other regs that do the same thing but just cost more money don't really seem dollar valuable.

As to innovation and HOG I just think it's nice that they chose to do something progressive that's positive for the environment as it was unnecessary for them to do that extra work. A huge part of scuba is conservationism... I don't think that should stop in the water do you?

 

[lsutigers]

Jim seems to be helping me out with my set up. Just getting some more opinions and making sure it's what I want.

The dive computer is between the Zoop and the uwatec DDG

Try an Oceanic computer, very easy to use and reliable.

 

[Toad 5]

Hey, great topic for someone like me who is a new diver. I did some looking around and found some used equipment for a good deal. Two of everything from someone who only used it for certification and then one vacation dive. After I got the equipment and picked out what I wanted for myself, I sold the rest, making this a great deal. All of my equipment, aqualung reg, oceanic comp., Octo, oceanic BCD, full and short wetsuits, I'm in for only $400.00. Then I bought a used oceanic atom 2.0. Everything works great and has been inspected by my dive shop. I'm loving diving, but I'm loving diving at low cost even more. Hope this help with your decision in some way, good luck.

 

[Tampa]

Just a little update for everyone, I did my first dive with this Hogarthian set up and loved it! I literally have nothing hanging off me and everything is easy to see/reach. The water was a little colder than I wanted but it wasn't bad.

I went to key west for the weekend and it was just after a small cold front came through so water temp was at 67 degrees according to my computer. I wore a 3mm shorty and was fine for the short dive. I dove the vandenberg which is an old military transport ship (200m long 100ft tall). The water was real choppy but the current wasn't bad, my friend that was going to go with me got seasick and I was forced to dive it myself (not good to do but was not missing this dive) which didn't ruin the dive but stopped it from being as good as it could have been. The ship starts in 49ft of water at its tallest point and goes to 149ft at the bottom. Since I was by myself I took it slow checked everything regularly and was real conservative. I went down to about 80ft (the ships deck) and swam most of the boat. I really was just blown away by the size of the ship. I seen a big sea turtle and some huge barracudas and a couple other fish. I came up with a little over 1000psi and did my stop. I cut the dive a little short just for the fact I seen the whole deck of the ship and didn't want to go deeper or go inside without a partner. Overall even with cutting the dive short it was still awesome and it let me see what I needed/wanted for my setup.

By the way I used 0 extra weight and was pretty close to neutral. I think if I had a full 3mm I would have needed a couple lbs.

Overall, I love the set-up, love the HOG Regs, and fell in love with the computer.

 

[Tampa]

What do most people use for weights in this set up.

 

[chrpai]

Checkout: XS Scuba Single Weight Pocket

You can turn these around backwards so that the flap is buried between the tank and the pocket to prevent accidental ditching.

If you only need a few lbs in a full suit you can put these on one of the tank straps. Placement will be dictated by your trim requirements.

Other options would be a SS backplate and/or SS tank. I know this costs more $$$ but I think you are sooo far under budget it's not a big deal.

I'm glad you love your setup. I'm always happy when I get great quality and a great price. Now about that solo diving... get some experience and training before going down that road IMO.

 

[Tampa]

Yah the solo dive wasn't intentional, but I didn't go all the way out there to stare at the ship from the surface.

I have a SS backplate, the SS tank would probably make me neutral in a full suit right? I was neutral in a shorty with AL tank and SS backplate. I would figure I would only need maybe 4# at most in a full.

 

[chrpai]

Based on what you said a steel tank would make you a little negative. Not horribly. The bigger concern would be what your trim would be like. Be sure to borrow and dive a few times before committing. Otherwise do the pocket weights and stay with al.

 

[ams511]

Be careful with steel tanks as their buoyancy varies greatly. This may help you decide. Scuba Cylinder Specifications from Tech Diving Limited - 928-855-9400

 

[chrpai]

The three columns you want to look at are:

Buoyancy Empty, lbs (w/valve) - This will tell you what the effect on weighting is relative to what you are today with the AL.

Length without valve, in - Shorter tanks can be harder to trim out because where they are placed on your body.

Empty weight, lbs - This will help you decide how nice or mean to your back the tank will be out of the water.