Tank recommendations for a girl of smallish stature?

[MechDiver]

In this case, it would be nice to be able to save some money and use one of the tanks as part of the doubles set.

It does sound like she will end up having to spring for different sets of tanks though.

Thanks all for the input!

Believe me that there is absolutely no connection between saving money and technical diving.

Do what is correct for the diving, training and conditions you/she are doing now. The future will take care of itself once you're there.

MD

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I would recommend the E8-119 tanks. They're a short, fat tank which are quite delightful as doubles. And they should fit her pretty good.

 

[Burner]

I have the E8-130
The tank is ridiculusly big for a shore dive. Very heavy to lug around. Assuming the LP95 and the E8-119 are similiar weight that tank is also somewhat heavy. It is a much better size for someone shorter though imo.
Personally unless she is much stronger then I'm guessing she is I would go for the E7-80

 

[teknitroxdiver]

The LP95s are the same dimensions as the 119s, but the 119s are a few pounds lighter. I would say that the 119s are the biggest you need to go with. It would probably be good to try out several before making a decision.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I was looking at DRexpress's E tanks a minute ago, and saw the 100cf tanks. They are a couple inches shorter than a AL80 (and lighter) but hold 100cf. That looks like a good one.

 

[Dryglove]

I was looking at DRexpress's E tanks a minute ago, and saw the 100cf tanks. They are a couple inches shorter than a AL80 (and lighter) but hold 100cf. That looks like a good one.

Those are the tanks(E7-100) i use. They are great for shore diving and give you more usable air than a alm 80(100cft E7-100 compared to 77cft alm 80). I used to have a set of the E7-100's doubled up but were a bit much for any type of rough shore diving and were more suited for boat diving.

 

[SubMariner]

Lemonade -

considered the larger PST tanks because there isn't a price difference on the E7-120 vs E8-130. Although from the specs, they do seem huge.

When/if she decides to go tech in the future, she can decide THEN whether or not to double up on the HP steel 80s or to go to larger tanks. But you don't know if that will be a certainty....

So why not make it easier NOW? Frankly, at 5'4" I'm not much taller and I definitely would not be shlepping around any steels bigger than my current 80s with my drysuit. Those tanks are just too long & heavy.

JMHO,

 

[DrDuktayp]

My wife chose the HP100's. She liked the bouyancy characteristics and we do mostly shoredives with a long rocky walk down to the "beach". She tried my Faber 108's and didn't like the length. Women tend to have better Surface Air Consumption rates once they are comfortable in the water.

Just one more vote for the HP100's

DrDuktayp

 

[FengShui]

My wife and I dive E8-119's (cause they were in stock locally, unlike the E8-130's), and she quite likes hers. The 119 is 2 inches shorter than a standard AL80, which helps a lot with trim and sizing. I'd look at the 119 if you're looking for a big PST tank.

 

[pcosens]

Koi:
1 Where will you and your GF be diving (how cold, wreck, overhead, etc)?
2 Air only I presume?
3 What is your GF's air consumption now, projected future consumption (a swimming star candidate/average diver/air hog, not really genetically related to sea otters)?
4 What is the real "adjusted" weight required to compensate GF's drysuit @ 10 FSW, with chosen gear package (include a value for current tank contribution to weight - + or -) ?
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Some points to ponder:

1 Larger diameter tanks (doubled espescially) greatly increase your frontal cross sectional area (brick face presented to the water). Remember, drag increases EXPONENTIALLY as cross sectional area increases. Your GF at 5'1" will have to be "worker ant" strong just to MOVE some of the suggested tanks!

2 Steel tanks (doubled espescially) present significant negative bouyancy. This can be of use offsetting drysuit positive bouyancy BUT you quickly reach a point where the weight is no longer on your side. ANY compensating air in your BC will add to your Frontal Cross Sectional area . . . I digress.

3 Increased diver work load (overweight, trying to swim a bus sized set of tanks) will negatively impact air consumption, requiring larger tanks . . .

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Where am I going with this?

1 Think FINESSE. Less is more. Take only what you need to do the dive.

2 Take some time and CALCULATE expected air needs for the type of diving you plan to do in the next few years. Air only? (you're depth limited, how long do you really want to stay?) Overhead / penetration where rule of thirds is LAW? Mixed gas at extreme depth?

3 Take a holistic approach to the gear package - drag, weight, ratio to user size, fitness (that worker ant thing). This solution will ALWAYS be a comprimise.

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A point of reference:

I'm 6'6", 260 Lbs and use double Faber 75.8 Cu Ft tanks for ALL air diving to 150' - that includes some rather lengthy stays w/ beaucoup deco (40 CuFt Al Luxfer), always COLD environment - 33F to 65F, always drysuit.

An old farts recommended starting point:

Twin faber 45s! yes, laugh all you want - 90 cu ft of air at low pressure, in an incredibly streamlined package, all of the inherent advantages of "double system" utilizing "standard gear of the day" (plus good core skill building for bigger tanks if GF finds a need/desire to go there).

Move to larger cylinders if you can OBJECTIVELY demonstrate a need for more air. This is supposed to be FUN, not an extreme survival event . . .

I'm guessing there may be some different opinions . . .

Paul