Women and everything being heavy in scuba diving

[Russoft]

My wife (5 ft) and I (5'11") dive as a team, which means helping each other gear up. She uses 4/5 of the air I do, so often she'll just rent a smaller cylinder. Dive shops around here will rent AL63s and AL50s in addition to the AL80s so she'll go for one of those. Of course, we stay pretty shallow (~30 ft) when diving locally. If we are going deeper, she'll dive an equal sized tank since she's my redundant air supply. I want to eventually buy some steel tanks (I'm thinking HP80 for my wife and LP85, LP95, or HP100 for myself) so we can drop some of the lead weight. Cold water diving is hard work. Honestly, the discomfort of wearing thick wetsuits is far worse for my wife than lugging heavy gear.

 

[KeithG]

I have been following this thread for a while and thought I would chime in. My dive buddy (wife) and I have been vacation divers for 30 years. We both hate heavy gear. None of this doubles or slingy pony thingys. An AL80 is heavy enough.

But she is smart. Real smart. So she books us on LOBs just so that I do not need to drag my gear very far...She's real smart. Smarter than me...

And if it is not an LOB we dock dive at the Divi in Bonaire. I do carry her tank about 30 feet to the setup bench. I find it easier to carry 2 tanks - 30 feet on a smooth deck...

 

[Centrals]

I do not like to carry equipment unless it is absolutely necessary ie. tec dive.
I would also try to avoid shore dive as much as possible. Luckily in this part of the world(SE Asia) most dive sites require a short/long boat journey therefore divers are only required to bring his/her computer, mask, fins and weight belt on board. The rest would be dealt with by the crew but none of them like integrated bc because of extra LEAD. Crew will help you to put on the gear if required. After the dive, you simply remove your weight belt first on the surface, hand it to the crew, then your bc and finally your fins. You climb back to the boat with only mask and computer on you.
Most operators in SE Asia will insist that diver, regardless of gender, do not carry equipment/tank before or after the dive.

 

[KeithG]

oops sorry, just finally read the thread title.

Are you suggesting that my divebuddy is "heavy"?

 

[Texasguy]

View attachment 422062 View attachment 422063


No problems lifting heavy gear here. That scooter is easy 55 lbs. The doubles are more...and I've dove galvanized 108's with no issues. This girl can handle it.

How you doing!

 

[uncfnp]

Yep. work smarter, not harder. There's alway a point where the task exceeds an individual's "brute force and ignorance" capacity.

And looking through the thread there is something else I think needs mentioning and like many other lessons learned, I came to the knowledge late and the damage to my joints was already done. And that is the potential for injury, both short term, like sprains and strains, but also long term, such as joint deterioration and tendon damage.

I was adamant when younger that I could be "one of the guys." I spent much of my early to middle adult life in the gym. I came to scuba late but even so I still insisted in lifting and carrying all my own gear. Well after multiple joint injections, rotator cuff rupture and repair, DDD in my neck and lumbar spine and finally a herniated disc from a cave course, no more. I take any and all help offered and look for any tips, tricks and techniques to minimize stress to this aging body.

So my word to the young, male or female, take care of yourself now. Yes be active but don't be stupid. Just because you can lift and carry something does't mean it won't take its toll on your body over the years. (rant over)

 

[Akimbo]

...So my word to the young, male or female, take care of yourself now. Yes be active but don't be stupid.

Unfortunately, the primary way that we (males in particular) discover that we aren't actually indestructible is by failing to take care of ourselves. Pain is nature's way of explaining limitations. I'm sure that if you think back you will remember hearing similar advice, which you promptly ignored, as a young woman. IMHO, males don't even begin to develop a sense of self-preservation until around age 35 and I'm not sure we ever actually catch up to 12 year old females. Thanks for your council but have to find put some ice on my shoulder now.

 

[Marie13]

And looking through the thread there is something else I think needs mentioning and like many other lessons learned, I came to the knowledge late and the damage to my joints was already done. And that is the potential for injury, both short term, like sprains and strains, but also long term, such as joint deterioration and tendon damage.

I was adamant when younger that I could be "one of the guys." I spent much of my early to middle adult life in the gym. I came to scuba late but even so I still insisted in lifting and carrying all my own gear. Well after multiple joint injections, rotator cuff rupture and repair, DDD in my neck and lumbar spine and finally a herniated disc from a cave course, no more. I take any and all help offered and look for any tips, tricks and techniques to minimize stress to this aging body.

So my word to the young, male or female, take care of yourself now. Yes be active but don't be stupid. Just because you can lift and carry something does't mean it won't take its toll on your body over the years. (rant over)

Just today I had someone insist to me that SM doubles have no place on the Great Lakes because they are very awkward for boat diving, and people often need help. BM doubles only, this person said. I basically said poo to that! If someone wants to get into more advanced diving and physically cannot handle BM doubles due to knee/back issues, they have an option in SM. If there are options for people with physical issues, that shouldn't stop their diving. I want to get into more advanced diving eventually. Deeper Great Lakes wrecks. No BM doubles for me due to my knees/sciatica. SM is my only option. I'm not going to cause damage to my body trying to dive in a way that causes me pain because some people find the option inconvenient.

 

[Akimbo]

ust today I had someone insist to me that SM doubles have no place on the Great Lakes...

Well duh, of course they aren't for being on the Great Lakes. They're for being in the Great Lakes. You need to hang around some smarter divers.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Just today I had someone insist to me that SM doubles have no place on the Great Lakes because they are very awkward for boat diving, and people often need help. BM doubles only, this person said.

This likely stems from some SM divers "needing" all the limited space on the boat to get their gear ready and blocking everyone else for about the 20 minutes it takes for them to attach 2 tanks. Getting back out of the water can be a clown show. Sounds like B.S. on my part but unfortunately I've seen it quite a few times from people who haven't taken the time to go to the local quarry to figure out how to setup and get into their gear prior to boat diving with it. The squared away SMers take about the same time as everyone else to get ready. Unfortunately again, i havent seen as many of them here.

ps: for those not familiar with Great Lakes diving, most of our dive charter boats are small six packs - space is at a premium.