Information on twinsets chaps =)

[Beanie]

Alright guys

When I get back to England I am going to make a true effort it getting into the water more.

Generally speaking I'm not sure how necessary it would be for me to get a twinset really when I could just get a 15/18L and get a drysuit instead.

How much is the cost of a twinset and a wing?

And for those who have them are they really worth the hassle of lugging two tanks on your back?

Any help or info will be much appreciated.


Beanie

[Ian]

It totally depends on the diving you want to do.

My wife dives a single 12 which is fine for her. She usually dives with me, no more than 30m, and we enjoy diving very close so octopus regs are a reasonable reserve.

I dive with other people too. Some are great divers, other times it is effectively diving solo (e.g. with trainees if I'm instructing, or with certain underwater photographers). I also do more wrecks so am more likely to be found in the 30-35m depth range, which means I sometimes plan for a little light deco. I dive a 15 (more gas, more reserve) and a pony (completely redundant supply) because I'm not convinced an octopus will always be where it should be...

When I come back from my year off I will probably be wanting to spend more time on wrecks below 30-35m, at which point I'll be into serious deco and a twinset will become a must for me!

I also know folks who regularly dive to 45m on air using a single 12, and folks who seldom dive deeper than 20m who like the redundancy of a twinset. I've never seen anyone here using an 18 mind...

Similarly with suits. The club does exploratory diving off RIBs in remote parts of scotland. In that situation a drysuit is basic safety kit! If you're further south and only diving shore/quarries/hardboats then maybe a wettie will do you fine...
So, what diving do you want to do? That will be key to choosing appropriate kit!

[bottlefish]

A brand new twin set, around £400-£450, depending on what type of manifold, tank and valves you go for. Wing, anything from £250 to £550, depending on what make and what options. You then need an extra set of regs (you'll have two valves to manage), so another £250'ish there as well... so all in all, probably enough out of £1000 to buy yourself a pint or two... although you'll then need someone to show you around them as well, give you a few lessons on the whats/what nots and hows...

In terms of if it's worth it, that depends really on the type of diving you enjoy and intend to do back in the UK. If you are heading down the tech/deco route then as far as I'm concerned, it's a necessity, UK diving, worth while for the redundancy, bimbling along a coral reef at 10 metres in thirty degrees water, possibly a bit over kill!!

[divingdoc1]

ok mate, here comes the most useless answer ever!! What do you want?

Wh diving are you going to be doing? If your looking at the deeper end, eg 30m + on a regular basis i would say yep,go twinset. If your going to do max 30m and generally less, go for a 15/18 with pony set.

Then, what are you going to be doing in a years time, then answer the questions above.

How many dives have you done and are you comfortable with your bouyancy? If lots and yes, start thinking of a twinset, if not, keep going with a single until you are happy! Then think about a twinset.

If you go new with a twinset, i would budget around the 1.4 K mark for new!

On average, manifolded twins around about £500 (these can be found cheaper if you hunt around.)
Two first stages: £400 (min) . Do not scrimp in these, you dont want these going ping at depth!
Wing and backplate: £400. I would recommend a wing with double bladders. other people will sy a single bladdered wing i you have a drysuit. That is your choice, i just like the extra conservancy.
Single SPG £50 and £50 worth of bits and peices.

These are conservative prices and cost can be seriously lowered by going second hand. Again, this is your choice, I would rather have new for life saving equipment. You can get fantastic deals if you know what your looking for second hand, but you can get seriously burnt as well.

Do you know any IANTD, TDI or other techy type instructors who can give you a hand, look at kit with you etc? A few beers in his direction may help!!

As for diving with twins, I love it, once you have everything adjusted to you (takes a few dives) it is so comfortable and balanced and you take a bit of weight off your weight belt as well. I just love it.

The walking to and from the boat/dive site though is a different matter so you will need to be relatively fit or invest in a good trolly!

Hope all this helps!

[Bobco]

What they all said, you can do it for much less but you have to know what you are looking at and doing, I love my system now and feel a bit odd without it when I go blue water diving

[Beanie]

I dunno

I reckon from a money standpoint just a 15L and a drysuit would suit me better really.

The twinsets can wait I think, the amounty of diving to the 40M limit will be pretty low for me I think and even then I am pretty conservative with the old air.

Thanks for the responses

So anyone got drysuit recommendations then? =D


Beeanie

[divingdoc1]

I got lots!! Again, we got choices. Do you get really cold? If so i would go for a neoprene. Loads of choice out there. My favourite is the Oceanic Comfodry (around about £600), but other great ones out there Waterproof Draco and if your a funny shape, have a look at 03. Custom made but can be a little expensive.

If you dont get that cold, Membrane should do nicely. Again, Oceanic Aerdura Black is a cracker and virtually bomb preoof, looking about £650, Gates (sorry Hunter now) about same price.

What you will get is loads of people with there own choices here, and all of them are right and at the same time all of them are wrong!!! The best suit for you is the one that fits well and is comfortable! Have you a local LDS where you can try a few different makes on?

[Suggsy]

I prefer membrane, if it's cold just add extra base layers, when it's warmer, remove base layers, easy peasy lemon squeezy

[John_c]

RE twins sets, there are more reasons to go with twins than deep diving, as noted in some opf the replies.

Its a well ackknowledge fact that twins offers the best all round safety factors for open circuit diving, whether they should be mainifolded is another debate. However twins dont just come as twin 12's, remember you can dive 7's and 10's. I've seen a lot of divers doing shallow diving who swear by their twin 7's for comfort as much as redundancy. IF you can afford it twins + wing is IMHO better that any single + pony.

As far as suits are concerned, the type you choose is very much like the marmite debate, you either love or hate one or the other.

I've always dived membrane and I love the options is gives me for adding and removing my base layers as the season dicatates. IMHO neoprene is too restrictive, unless you go for a very good crushed neo.

HTH

[Ian]

John_c Wrote:Its a well ackknowledge fact that twins offers the best all round safety factors for open circuit diving

Agreed, with the caveat that they only have safety benefits when used properly, otherwise they are a hazard. Users of manifolded twins need to be able to do shutdowns, and for indies you need to swap regs regularly so you breathe them down evenly.

I have seen several people diving twins recently who don't really know how, in which case they just add cost, weight, failure points, and room for Mr C*ckup to enter the building...

John_c Wrote:As far as suits are concerned, the type you choose is very much like the marmite debate, you either love or hate one or the other.

I love my Northern Diver Divemaster neo suit, but as others say, try some on, see what fits well and suits ('scuse the pun!) you best!

Ian