Equipment tips for short divers on twin set

[@AzulUnlimited]

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[@KB-gd6fc]

You went to the right folks for doubles tips. I did all of my cave and tech training with GUE and did 90% of my diving within GUE circles. Doubles are like a way of life for GUE. And don’t listen to the haters, GUE divers are way more friendly and inviting to others than people think. The arrogant ones you see in forums are usually freshly fundified. They’ll calm down.

[@AzulUnlimited]

I’ve definitely seen that. I also find that the GUE crew up here is more open than others I’ve met in California.

[@Teampegleg]

@@AzulUnlimited There are GUE groups in California that are a lot more insular than other GUE groups. They have a dedicated instructor group, their own charter boats, and rarely dive outside their group preventing cross pollination. Probably the most chill GUE group is here in cave country. As we all pretty much dive the same place, often diving in mixed GUE groups, and largely are friendly together.

[@Aaron_DeKeulenaer]

Not always where I am we havea few gue instructor and there wankers to others

[@SeattleRingHunter]

@@AzulUnlimited 8 Diving in Des Moines I'm sure you have paid the shop a visit. Amazing group of divers. Officially welcome to WA state and PNW diving. All the best on your liveaboard adventures. Cheers, Jeff #SeattleRingHunter

[@andrewlee2129]

@@SeattleRingHunter that’s home base for all of us in the video! Love Melissa and the gang

[@marisaharris1384]

Happy Holidays Sarah! And a very happy New Year filled with tons of awesome dives :)

[@BigGixx23]

Genuine and awesome!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you!! I appreciate you watching and commenting🙏

[@davidb5195]

Such a great video thanks for sharing.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thanks for watching!

[@tomegan7117]

great video , I dive doubles and they ARE heavy, and I am not a smaller person! regardless of size and /or experience, I think there is always room for this type of discussion, open honest and jam packed full of good tips, thank you, and thanks also to the "fun sizers"!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you so much for watching! 🙏

[@dylonswiatek]

thank you

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank YOU! I appreciate you🤙

[@GinoNearns]

Great video, thank you!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Glad you liked it!

[@94Graves]

This was so great, thank you!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching🙏

[@aicalhoun]

Great video. Lots of helpful info I will use to set up my next iteration of doubles.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Amazing! So glad it’s helpful🙏

[@itineraryunknown]

Great video! I learned a lot and have to stop myself from going shopping now 😅

[@AzulUnlimited]

The struggle is real 🤣🤣🤣 they have such nice gear 😍

[@anthonydegazon5710]

Great video , filled with a lot of useful information . Please keep making content like this .

[@AzulUnlimited]

Yay! I’m so glad it was helpful. I always learn so much from my dive buddies

[@kitzyowo1319]

God again, I love the GUE community in that area! So welcoming and open, I never really thought about a lot of stuff in this video as someone who is naturally very tall! Very interesting, thanks for the insight! I knew backup lights could be a thing and I use giant ones myself, but the whole carbon thing so that more weight can be added near the tail end, or the using the different cylinders... I always knew America had a ton of different cylinders (I dove double Worthington LP85's in my time there), but I never knew why anyone would dive something such as LP85's if not overfilling them (As Worthington from my understanding are just heavier) but it makes total sense they are preferred by smaller divers if they are smaller and I imagine thicker in return? At least, that's what it sounds like they are! But I am not very well versed in American cylinders, haha. Fun fact! You guy's don't use steel cylinders that have a coat/paint on them, ours however have a white coat/paint!

[@andrewlee2129]

You nailed it on the head! Worthington HP100 (12L) cylinders have a thicker wall so more negatively buoyant when empty but slightly less capacity than the Fabers in the same volume

[@kitzyowo1319]

@@andrewlee2129 Neat! Thanks for the confirmation!

[@AzulUnlimited]

They really are great. I feel so lucky to be meeting such wonderful people in this community. Thanks for watching!

[@janinacooper4199]

Hey Ivette, Shahein and Maria!!! So fun to randomly see friends on KZbin.❤ Edit: Yes!!! Ivette join us for Cave1 in January as our 3rd Teammate!!!🤩

[@AzulUnlimited]

They are the best! It was a pleasure to hang out and learn from them💙

[@janinacooper4199]

⁠@@AzulUnlimitedthey really are!

[@lpalmateer6340]

Highly recommend double-50s for short divers (I am 5'1"). I completed GUE Tech 1 in that configuration. Thanks for the video - very interesting seeing how others have addressed challenges with gear!

[@sifakalemur4162]

Cave filled LP 50s are great. They are lighter, and tend to allow for better trim. They also look the coolest. The only problem with twinset LP 50s, or any LP tank for that matter, is getting them filled beyond 3000 PSI (2640 if it's a particularly pedantic shop). At least outside if cave country. 2 50s is roughly the equivalent of a single LP 95. With a timid fill they are nearing the gas volume of a standard aluminum 80 at standard pressure. Then again, smaller divers tend have astoundingly good SAC rates. That being said, it's a lot of extra equipment for only slightly more gas. (Of course the added redundancy as well, but still)

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you for the tip. I’ve heard good things about those for shore diving in California where the exit can be dicey (monastery beach for example). It’s cool to hear what people are doing to be comfortable underwater

[@AzulUnlimited]

That makes sense. It’s part of the reason I never was interested in LP50s.

[@scubajuan]

Great video, lots of good insight and tips, not only for fun-sized divers, but really all sizes. One small clarification I think is worth mentioning is the wing size. 40lb lift should be used with 7,1/4 inch diameter cylinders, note that HP120s are 7,1/4. They tend to be longer and usually used by taller than 5’10in divers. 60lb are used with the 8 inch diameter cylinders diameter cylinders. The reason for this, is because of how the wing wraps (“tacoes” is the technical term 😊)around the cylinders, if the wing is too big, the gas distribution in the wing may not be the best, and the dump valve will be too far up the cylinder to properly reach it. If too small you will have similar problems but in the other direction.

[@Teampegleg]

Yes the 60lb wings taco too much on 7" tanks, while the 40lb wing will sometimes not be able to expand properly with 8" tanks, even if the lift is mathematically adequate. Also the 8" tanks often are used in dives . So that is the rule of thumb. Though here in cave country you often see women diving LP108s (HP133s).

[@AzulUnlimited]

Yep, I believe Maria said that in the video, but thank you for writing it out. A good resource and reminder for people. I didn’t know that (but then again I know very little about backplate/wing diving🤣)🙏

[@scubajuan]

@AzulUnlimited Right, Maria did touch on it briefly, but I thought a bit more detail might be helpful for those trying to figure out the right setup for their doubles. I also wanted to point out that there are cylinders with a capacity greater than 100 ft3 are 7 1/4in diameter, and a 40lb wing is more than adequate for them.

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@scubajuan Thanks!

[@josephdracula7487]

👍🤿🇵🇭😎! Really great video as I am shorter than most divers that I am with! As with most dives many of these divers I don’t even know or dove with before and as a male weighing at 146 I really have to suck it up and do it myself!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Totally makes sense. Great work getting it done💪

[@sifakalemur4162]

I dive LP 85 twins with a lightened steel backplate. I am still trying to wrap my head around the concept of having to add trim weights to hp100 twins. Even with a carbon fiber backplate, it's still stupidly negative. In my experience, you can balance most rigs without adding weight. During my Advanced nitrox/Decompression procedures check out dives my doubles were so head heavy that I spent half the class doing summersaults. It got so bad that I left the water, went to the shop, borrowed a soldering iron, and added two new holes into my wing. The results were immediate. I was in proper teim the remainder of the class. Of course, that's just my experience. I am not the gentleman in the video, and can't claim his unique situation doesn't require additional weights to balance out. However, I have noticed that many divers are often reluctant to modify their equipment beyond basic adjustments. I understand why you wouldn't want to modify safety equipment. I would argue some peices of gear are easier and safer to modify than others. So, if you're head heavy in doubles, adding a new adjustment grommet 1' lower than the current lowest, you can can get some decent results without adding weight. Also, I have seen some Tech BCs that have fairly abysmal bladder volume near the top compared to the rest of the wing. I had an old Dive Rite that had that problem. Ultimately I found that I couldn't adjust around the design. The solution was to buy a different wing.

[@ShaheinMoussavi]

what kind of exposure protection are you wearing? i didn’t need much, if any, weight when i was diving with a bz200 and my hp100s. but i recently switched to a bz400 (with a heated vest) and while i can still descend with full tanks, it becomes very uncomfortable trying to hold a stop once they get below 2000 psi or so. we add weight so that we can hold a stop at 10ft with 500 psi left in our tanks. as mentioned in the video, you will always start the dive quite negative, but as you breathe the tanks down, you will find you need less and less gas in your wing to stay neutral.

[@MariaWilliams-p3r]

What Shahein said is true. In a BZ200 with a heated vest I don't need any weight in the hp100s with a carbon fiber BP, but in a bz400 I need 4lbs to hold a 10ft stop at 500psi in the twinset. I used to dive faber LP85s here and in a BZ400 with carbon fiber BP I needed an 8lb v-weight to hold my stop. And at 5'4 and 115ish I'm a lot smaller than most of the divers here.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you for all this discussion, everyone! Super helpful. I think you’re right, people hesitate to modify because we don’t want to compromise safety, but also, it’s terrifying to adjust a very expensive piece of equipment. And if there are options to fix the issue without permanently changing the original design, that’s the way to go in my book🙏

[@timgosling6189]

With steels the whole thing is amplified. The point about swimming head high is well made; you are compensating for having your centre of gravity too far up the body. To be stable your centre of buoyancy then also has to be high up the body which means the air in the wing (and dry suit) has to sit toward the top of the wing/suit. So you end up angled head high/legs low.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Yeah it’s a whole lot to manage that’s for sure!

[@timgosling6189]

@ side mount so much easier 😊

[@allengavin3190]

Great video. I have a question for Andrew. Love your dive locker area. What is the rack you have for storing your dry suits made of? Where did you get it?

[@ShaheinMoussavi]

its the "elvarli" rack from ikea 😄

[@AzulUnlimited]

IKEA coming in with the save 🤣🤣

[@jeanlanglois7892]

There probably weren't any in the garage, but I would have been interested to hear about the very standard and popular aluminum 12L twinsets. When Ivett heads to the cenotes, from experience, that's all that will be available

[@AzulUnlimited]

That’s very true. Unfortunately it’s hard to find people that dive AL tanks in cold water. In fact, I’m the only one I can think of🤣 maybe I can do a round 2 when I go back to playa del Carmen

[@Teampegleg]

There is a back plate lighter than carbon fiber. You can get a knock off of the XDeep Ghost, it is a lightened dogbone style aluminum backplate that weighs about a half a pound. Been meaning to put together a travel BPW with one.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Ooooo didn’t know about that one! Thanks for sharing🙏

[@harambeexpress]

Mares makes a really light aluminium backplate too. I found mine second hand. It was 638g when I weighed it.

[@AzulUnlimited]

@@harambeexpress Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

[@mahnkemachine3281]

Great video and great information! The best point from all of it, the one fellow mentioned starting the dive seriously overweighted, and that is spot on! Diving steel doubles, especially when doing deco dives, where you will be carrying extra cylinders of deco gas, “proper weighting” kind of goes out the window. Don’t get me wrong, you need to be properly weighted. But it’s a juggling act. You should have enough weight so that you can hole your last stop with 500 psi in all of your cylinders, BUT, assuming the 💩doesn’t hit the fan, you should be back on the boat with no less than 1/3 of the gas in each cylinder. This means that even at the end of the dive, you will still be overweight. After 3 years of tech diving, 2 of which were at Trimix depths, it still is hard to get my head around. I just have to remember that in a set of steel HP100’s, there is somewhere around 14lbs of gas in there. There is going to be about a 10-12lbs change in buoyancy from full to 500 psi!!! Loads of fun!!! Anyway, I’m rambling! Great video!

[@AzulUnlimited]

Love it. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Super helpful 🙏

[@johnmiskin4905]

Sorry too many cuts on this, makes you dizzy (maybe cut them back a bit). But of course you need to edit. Hope your dear hound is keeping well. Hugs john

[@AzulUnlimited]

Fair enough. See you in the next one🤙

[@DecoLounge-scuba]

Hey tell those guys id host them for some free diving at my dive center here in Philippines, and i wont put the girl on the beginner boat lol. GUE divers always welcome. We can do some warm water twins dives and deco dives. In my experience GUE fundamentals 1 diver is usually better than a PADI DM

[@AzulUnlimited]

I’m sure they’d love to explore the Philippines!

[@jacobkrause1913]

This whole video is all the reasons I stopped doubles diving and went CCR.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Fair enough! I get the appeal

[@bodee1994]

Can you make a video for people who would like to start to use side mounts and a Workout video for scuba divers using body weight maybe 15 minutes in duration .Thanks again! Have fun in Mexico, dive safe🤿

[@AzulUnlimited]

Thank you🙏 I already have some videos on sidemount and if you want workout videos, I do monthly yoga/workout videos on patreon. Happy holidays!

[@willsmooth45]

My tip for diving doubles: buy a rebreather so the back pain is worth the dive 👀😆😆😆

[@AzulUnlimited]

Hahaha we’ll all get right on that 🤣

[@Underwater_Explorer]

Gue fundametals tech pass here ✋🏼✋🏼✋🏼✋🏼

[@AzulUnlimited]

Oh heeeeeey. This is a GUE welcome zone🤣

[@DecoLounge-scuba]

GUE is awesome, but courses are too expensive for most to get into. Buy a Fundamentals student is a great diver when finished.

[@AzulUnlimited]

Yeah that’s why there’s a market for all types of courses. Every fundamentals diver I’ve met is solid underwater, so it makes sense those courses are more expensive. You get a lot more training experience.

[@Ublomor]

Lots of money in that garage 😅😅😅

[@AzulUnlimited]

Fr fr I was impressed and slightly intimidated 🤣🤣🤣

[@MikeDodds]

Does it make you more head heavy or does it actually make you more butt buoyant?!?!?! 😜

[@AzulUnlimited]

Shake that buoyant booty 🤣🤣🤣

[@malakcoccode]

divers that pass from sidemount to twinset must have a brain dmg

[@AzulUnlimited]

Or they just needed different tools for the type of diving they’re doing 👍

[@malakcoccode]

@@AzulUnlimited there is no dive that you can do with twin and not with sm and sm is better in any way. Twinset should have extinguished like dinosaurs the very day they invented sm

[@DecoLounge-scuba]

Sm isnt for everything or everyone. Im a big dude and twins are very easy and i love them. Much easier yhan sm ​@@malakcoccode

[@andrewlee2129]

@@malakcoccodegas requirements is the biggest reason why twinsets are still a thing in open circuit. You don’t automatically lose half your bottom gas in the event of a first or second stage failure

[@AzulUnlimited]

​@@malakcoccode Try 2 tank sidemount shore diving with waves. Doable, yes, but definitely not the tool for the job.