What gear changes when you go to solo diving

[tonka97]

Good Solo Diving book:

Amazon.com: Solo Diving, 2nd Edition: The Art of Underwater Self-Sufficiency (9781881652281): Robert von Maier: Books

[Grin]

Originally Posted by bigman241

True every much. My plan is buy a top of the line reg. Properly the zeagle flathead or the delta Iv from oceanic properly going to be the oceanic. Buy a good octo for my setup. Then in a month or two buy a pony and another reg just like my main reg. Use that setup for 50to100 dive or to the point i feel comfortable diving solo. I do not to wait till it is solo time to buy my pony then figure out how i want it setup where and so on. At that time i will properly go do my AOW and go doubles aswell.

A basic cheap reg is likely more reliable than a expensive reg with bells and wistles in reality. A compact 2nd stage is much nicer than a big fancy 2 nd stage with a bunch of bells and wistles you don't need to simply deliver air in a emergency. You are going to detune the 2nd stage to keep it from freeflowing anyway, so your guys plan is to spend a bunch of money on a expensive reg, which is expensive because it delivers gas easily, and then detune it . If you are backmounting your pony: You have now made the mistake of having two identical 2nd stages. So while your in a emergency situation you might drop your reg and reach back to get ahold of it, and now you have air, but in your stressed siuation you forget you don't know what tank that reg is attached to. By the time you figure it all out your dead! Cheap regs are extremely reliable and they don't have nearly as many issues as expensive regs. Expensive does not mean safer in this situation. Expensive regs are expensive mostly because they have bells and wistles to make them deliver gas super easy at depth. Along with these bells and wistles comes extra maintenance and bulk of the 2nd stage and all for items you won't use anyway. A pony is something you need to set up basic and stupidproof. As in most scuba settups, the simpler the better. A pony with a bulky 1st and 2nd stage is a screwup, be careful what you buy. Small, simple, no frills bullitproof is better. And cheaper to boot!
A cheap Sherwood Magnum is what many use for their primary for many years, troublefree. Mine was my first primary reg when I started diving around 1998. Regs like that have been around forever. I see the internet discusssion going the way of I'm getting the most expensive equipment to make sure nothing goes wrong theme here. Reality is, that isn't really reality. I have a couple Zeagle Flatheads. They are such nice primary regs, but I don't see the need to use a big fat 2nd stage like that for a bail bottle pony. It's kind of rediculous actually.

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by Grin

A basic cheap reg is likely more reliable than a expensive reg with bells and wistles in reality. A compact 2nd stage is much nicer than a big fancy 2 nd stage with a bunch of bells and wistles you don't need to simply deliver air in a emergency.

This may be somewhat less true if you plan to do a lot of your diving in water cold enough to make freeflows likely, or in water significantly deeper than recreational depths, but if you're going to be doing your dives in water warmer than 60 degrees, reg choice isn't likely to matter much at recreational depths.

[Jack Hammer]

Originally Posted by Grin

A basic cheap reg is likely more reliable than a expensive reg with bells and wistles in reality. A compact 2nd stage is much nicer than a big fancy 2 nd stage with a bunch of bells and wistles you don't need to simply deliver air in a emergency. You are going to detune the 2nd stage to keep it from freeflowing anyway, so your guys plan is to spend a bunch of money on a expensive reg, which is expensive because it delivers gas easily, and then detune it . If you are backmounting your pony: You have now made the mistake of having two identical 2nd stages. So while your in a emergency situation you might drop your reg and reach back to get ahold of it, and now you have air, but in your stressed siuation you forget you don't know what tank that reg is attached to. By the time you figure it all out your dead! Cheap regs are extremely reliable and they don't have nearly as many issues as expensive regs. Expensive does not mean safer in this situation. Expensive regs are expensive mostly because they have bells and wistles to make them deliver gas super easy at depth. Along with these bells and wistles comes extra maintenance and bulk of the 2nd stage and all for items you won't use anyway. A pony is something you need to set up basic and stupidproof. As in most scuba settups, the simpler the better. A pony with a bulky 1st and 2nd stage is a screwup, be careful what you buy. Small, simple, no frills bullitproof is better. And cheaper to boot!
A cheap Sherwood Magnum is what many use for their primary for many years, troublefree. Mine was my first primary reg when I started diving around 1998. Regs like that have been around forever. I see the internet discusssion going the way of I'm getting the most expensive equipment to make sure nothing goes wrong theme here. Reality is, that isn't really reality. I have a couple Zeagle Flatheads. They are such nice primary regs, but I don't see the need to use a big fat 2nd stage like that for a bail bottle pony. It's kind of rediculous actually.

Small, simple, bulletproof is a good choice. Excellent comment about the reality of internet bs. Blanket statements about using "cheap" regs can confuse and unintentionally mislead newer divers, and even some "experienced" divers too. When I was first diving I wanted some "cheap" regs to use for backup, so I was looking for some used stuff. Most what I found was old, crusty, and not maintained, but it was "cheap." Luckily I got talked out of using these by someone with more sense than I had at the time. See where I'm going with this?

I wouldn't and don't recommend running out and buying the most expensive regs or those with all kinds of bells and whistles. What I do recommend is someone use something that is well made, bombproof and will work when that emergency arises. To suggest any regulator out there will meet this task is ignorant. Not all divers dive in the same conditions. Where I dive, cold, murky water, not all regs are equal.

The OP is talking about getting his OW in Fla, yet he lives in the Midwest, home to cold and potential free-flow inducing waters. There are plenty of inexpensive regs that will work fine in those conditions. The cheapest he can find may not.

Jack

[bigman241]

There is no way on god's green and blue earth i will buy a cheap reg, So no need to worry. i do not want a over prices rich mans reg. But i want something that will dive deep dive cold water. Dive in water where i can only see my hand infront of my face. 90% of the time when someone pushes the cheap crap they ant got the cash to buy the good stuff. I want the best. where not talking about paintball fishing or snokeling were talking a life saving tool that might have you at 100 feet deep underwater.

Originally Posted by Jack Hammer

Small, simple, bulletproof is a good choice. Excellent comment about the reality of internet bs. Blanket statements about using "cheap" regs can confuse and unintentionally mislead newer divers, and even some "experienced" divers too. When I was first diving I wanted some "cheap" regs to use for backup, so I was looking for some used stuff. Most what I found was old, crusty, and not maintained, but it was "cheap." Luckily I got talked out of using these by someone with more sense than I had at the time. See where I'm going with this?

I wouldn't and don't recommend running out and buying the most expensive regs or those with all kinds of bells and whistles. What I do recommend is someone use something that is well made, bombproof and will work when that emergency arises. To suggest any regulator out there will meet this task is ignorant. Not all divers dive in the same conditions. Where I dive, cold, murky water, not all regs are equal.

The OP is talking about getting his OW in Fla, yet he lives in the Midwest, home to cold and potential free-flow inducing waters. There are plenty of inexpensive regs that will work fine in those conditions. The cheapest he can find may not.

Jack

[Jack Hammer]

Originally Posted by bigman241

There is no way on god's green and blue earth i will buy a cheap reg, So no need to worry. i do not want a over prices rich mans reg. But i want something that will dive deep dive cold water. Dive in water where i can only see my hand infront of my face. 90% of the time when someone pushes the cheap crap they ant got the cash to buy the good stuff. I want the best. where not talking about paintball fishing or snokeling were talking a life saving tool that might have you at 100 feet deep underwater.

Not all inexpensive regs are cheaply made POS. Not all highly expensive regs are a rich mans toy. There are some extremely well made, reliable and effective regs that can be had at many price points, including a reasonable price. Many people recommend regs that are less expensive because those regs have been tried and proven to work in demanding environments, not because "they ant got the cash to buy the good stuff," sometimes they are recommending the good stuff.

Bigman, I understand you are all fired up and want to become a hardcore serious diver with nothing but the best, please try to tone it down a bit. You are new to alot of this and like everything there are differing opinions on some of it. Most people recommend what works well in their particular diving environment (their sphere of experience). In some cases both opinions can be correct. There are a lot of different evironments people dive in, what works well in one may not work as well in another. Take your time and listen to what people are saying. Don't rush to make up your mind as you are likely to change it over time as you learn more.

The type of gear you need is infuenced by the type of diving you'll be doing and where you'll be doing it. And that really can't be determined until you've gotten in the water and dove to find out what kind of diving you like to do.

Jack