Why choosing the right diving equipment
will improve your scuba diving
Diving is an exciting hobby. It can also be extremely dangerous if you are not properly trained in safe diving techniques. The risks are clear to see, you are swimming around under water a long way from your natural air supply. You are relying on equipment to keep you alive a long way from safety. You must be comfortable or you will find it difficult to concentrate on important safety aspects of the dive.
Uncomfortable gear leads to many problems in diving. I cannot remember the number of times I have seen a student shoot to the surface in a panic because of a leaking face mask. I have seen recently qualified divers leave the sport simply because they have not enjoyed their training using uncomfortable or ill fitting club gear. Even experienced divers sometimes become disillusioned as a result of an expensive purchase that turns out to be painful to use.
I have been a scuba diving enthusiast for a long time. Recently I moved my diving to the next level and began researching the sort of gear I would need for diving a bit deeper for a little longer. I researched the subject as well as chatting to my diver friends. It seemed that the next move would be to upgrade my single cylinder equipment to a twin cylinder set up. This would provide a number of benefits for the different dives being planned.
- Twin tanks mean that you have two separate supplies of breathing gas. This means an extra safety factor over the single tank set up in case of a failure.
- The twin tanks are evenly balanced, which should mean that you are more comfortable in the water than when using a pony cylinder to add a redundant safety factor.
- You are able to dive with a bigger gas supply than when using a single cylinder.
I was persuaded to buy a standard twin 12 litre set. When I started using it I found that it was very comfortable in the water and I was pleased at the additional safety factor twin tanks gave me. However, I was very uncomfortable carrying 40 kilos of equipment on my back when I was out of the water. Also, I realized that I was carrying more gas than I needed for most of the dives we were doing. I had not considered my own needs properly and had listened to others giving advice that although was well intended, did not suit me.
After some more research, the answer was simple, I needed twin 7 litre tanks to which I could add an additional side slung decompression cylinder for the deepest and longest dives I might consider doing. With this equipment I am happier, feel more comfortable, and can concentrate on safe diving and having a great time exploring the new experience of diving a bit deeper and for a bit longer than before. The issue of diving safely is paramount, and you must think of your own needs in relation to the diving you intend doing, not what looks good to others.
Mark Jenner is a Dive Leader and BSAC Open Water Instructor. He has been diving regularly for over 3o years in the UK, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Mark has written numerous articles on the sport and his scuba diving web site provides a wealth of free advice and information on the subject.
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