You are all right!

[DandyDon]

You can get a hydration pack to go between the twins.

The gear is heavy, I'm amazed at what many divers are capable of actually. It takes both physical and mental strength to carry 50% of your body weight in gear.

When I was 16 and weighed a little less than 200#, I had to carry 100# sacks of feed to cattle, and I'd carry 2 at once = 200# to save trips.

Today, weighing just over 200#, I can still carry half my body weight fine even with my knees, but someone has to hold the boat or me steady. It's he climbing out I hate. :14:

 

[TSandM]

Maybe that's a skill that should be taught in OW, or in tech classes when you start doubles -- how to get out of your gear while lying on it

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

The worst, was being on a little dive boat in Coz, with kick-azz chop. We'd have to put our gear on and our fins, and then shuffle to the back of the boat to jump in. God, that sucked. LOL

 

[Penopolypants]

Maybe that's a skill that should be taught in OW, or in tech classes when you start doubles -- how to get out of your gear while lying on it

I'd sign up for it.

 

[Darnold9999]

On my dry suit course I was overweighted for the first dive, ended up on my knees putting the tank on and simply could not stand up without help and that was before the dive. At the end of the dive it was all I could do to stay vertical. If I had fallen would have just shed the gear and brought it up the beach in pieces.

Decided then and there that neoprene was not the way to go.

The image of lying on your back in a set of doubles unable to reach the buckles does bring to mind a certain image. Think turtle eyebrow

 

[TSandM]

Turtles . . . oh, that's much better. I was thinking cockroach, legs waving.

 

[Xanthro]

Maybe that's a skill that should be taught in OW, or in tech classes when you start doubles -- how to get out of your gear while lying on it

If you can relex it's not that hard. Remove your BP/W the same as you would underwater. Remember, now that it's on the ground, it weighs nothing to you. It doesn't need to be picked up.

It might be easier for me because I really don't have any problems getting in or out of my BP/W.

More embarrassing than falling is putting your gear on solo and when you go to stand up roll over backwards and get stuck. It's how I know you can get out while on the ground.

 

[TSandM]

You guys have no idea how much better you're making me feel, now that I know I'm not the only person who finds keeping her feet in scuba gear can be a challenge!

 

[BabyDuck]

feeling your pain, but with a message of hope - from my checkouts in 42 lbs (!) to now (in more neoprene but with a bp/w) using 4 to 8 depending on tank & saline...

some is equipment, but much much more is comfort & getting better at all this.