nikyyo
Contributor
Just had a chance to dive my new equipment while I spent a week in Ft. Lauderdale. This is my first set of equipment and my 7th 8th 9th and 10th dives.
Reg: My SP MK25/S600 w/ R380 octo.breathed incredibly easy at all depths. No difference whether I was 110 feet or on the boat testing it. Very happy with it and it was the easiest part of my equipment decision making process.
BC: Now for this I did a lot of thinking, and reading on this board. Rear inflate or jacket. We all know all the arguments. I went with the Seaquest Balance W/Surelock. I had never dived a rear inflate bc before so I went in blind. First off, the "pushing forward" on the surface was non-existent. I was expecting to have to compensate for it but it was fine. As far as underwater was concerned, I felt very unencumbered and was able tomaintain good trim. I like the weight intergration and prefer it over wearing a weight belt. The only thing that would make this bc better, this is very minor, is if it had a handle sewn into it to help ypou caryy it. Can't understand why Seaquest didn't put one in.
Computer: another difficult decision. wrist or console. I decided to go with a console w/ airintergration. I went with the Sherwood wisdom. I know they say never buy anything the first year it comes out in case it has any bugs and what not, but i liked the way it worked when I was playing with it at LP. I never felt it was difficult to look at the puter underwater. Never affected my trim. ANd I love the air intergration. I prefer having my air, compass, and info all in one place as opposed to a spg, compass. and puter separately. The only thing I think I may regret is the QD. Not so sure yet if I really needed that. There are some questions that I still have about the computer but generally it is very easy to use and I am happy with it.
Did 2 2 tank dives w/pro dive. A friendly and efficient dive op. Only downside is it was a bit like a cattle boat. 19 divers one day 15 the other. Didn't feel crowded on the boat but the safety stops sure did. I also did my deepest dives to date on the wreck "hog Heaven" at 70 feet and "tenneco Towers" at 110 feet. I enjoyed those dives but hope I am able to feel a bit more relaxed in the future. I was a bit apprehensive because all my previous dives (all 6 of them) were much more shallow.
All in all islamorada and key largo seemed to have more life on the reefs than lauderdale, but these dives were still enjoyable and I would dive with pro dive again if i was down there.
Reg: My SP MK25/S600 w/ R380 octo.breathed incredibly easy at all depths. No difference whether I was 110 feet or on the boat testing it. Very happy with it and it was the easiest part of my equipment decision making process.
BC: Now for this I did a lot of thinking, and reading on this board. Rear inflate or jacket. We all know all the arguments. I went with the Seaquest Balance W/Surelock. I had never dived a rear inflate bc before so I went in blind. First off, the "pushing forward" on the surface was non-existent. I was expecting to have to compensate for it but it was fine. As far as underwater was concerned, I felt very unencumbered and was able tomaintain good trim. I like the weight intergration and prefer it over wearing a weight belt. The only thing that would make this bc better, this is very minor, is if it had a handle sewn into it to help ypou caryy it. Can't understand why Seaquest didn't put one in.
Computer: another difficult decision. wrist or console. I decided to go with a console w/ airintergration. I went with the Sherwood wisdom. I know they say never buy anything the first year it comes out in case it has any bugs and what not, but i liked the way it worked when I was playing with it at LP. I never felt it was difficult to look at the puter underwater. Never affected my trim. ANd I love the air intergration. I prefer having my air, compass, and info all in one place as opposed to a spg, compass. and puter separately. The only thing I think I may regret is the QD. Not so sure yet if I really needed that. There are some questions that I still have about the computer but generally it is very easy to use and I am happy with it.
Did 2 2 tank dives w/pro dive. A friendly and efficient dive op. Only downside is it was a bit like a cattle boat. 19 divers one day 15 the other. Didn't feel crowded on the boat but the safety stops sure did. I also did my deepest dives to date on the wreck "hog Heaven" at 70 feet and "tenneco Towers" at 110 feet. I enjoyed those dives but hope I am able to feel a bit more relaxed in the future. I was a bit apprehensive because all my previous dives (all 6 of them) were much more shallow.
All in all islamorada and key largo seemed to have more life on the reefs than lauderdale, but these dives were still enjoyable and I would dive with pro dive again if i was down there.