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Liz Firstly, its good to see an intro mail from someone who has done some research and is sensible about things. You will find that Hogarthian rigging works well for UK diving in the Channel. >I've decided to replace my regs now, but not to get doubles and wings >until next year. Meanwhile I'll continue to use my 15 litre single >cylinder (bulky, but I get 2 dives out of it without returning to shore >for a fill) and Buddy Profile jacket. I'm planning to buy ScubaPro >Mk20/G250 as my main reg, as I currently use a Scubapro Mk10/R190 and >it's always been brilliant. I would like advice on the following points ScubaPro G250/Mk20 are used by many/most people who DIR so you would not go wrong with that choice. Check out Apeks, I use the US4 first stage and TX40 second. They are inexpensive - you should be able to get them for around UKP 150 and are excellent. Buy them for the quality and performance - the price is a bonus. I've posted on these before and own 6 of them. If you're happy with the Scubapro Mk10/R190, stick with this as your primary for your single 15 - just buy a long hose for it when funds allow or buy the long hose when you buy your Mk20/G250 combo. This being the case you could think about wing, harness and backplate first as this will have a more dramatic improvement on your diving. The main problem going this route is that the right sized wing for a single is not the right sized wing for a twinset. If you plan to dive singles and doubles, when you upgrade, then this will not be a problem as you'll need both. (Sorry for this bad news.) Check out Halcyon for wings. I use a Diverite Original (Classic) wing with is fine for doubles. My backplate is OMS and the harness home made. >Should I get a 5m or a 7m long hose? This is for open water diving: I >don't ever plan to do deep wreck penetration. For a 7m hose how do I >stow the extra length when wearing a jacket rather than wings? Any >particular make of hose? You really mean 7 ft. I would recommend 7', not the shorter 5' version as you are planning doubles at some point in the future. Who knows about penetration dives, so 7' is the better choice for the future. BTW, get 7' not 2m as the latter is a tad shorter. Stow the hose under the waist strap of your harness or Buddy waist strap. You can also fit a DIR knife to the Buddy waist strap and then loop the excess hose under the sheath. Any hose will do as long as it is of good quality. >What about the backup reg - I've been told the ScubaPro Mk20/R380 is >fine. Not commenting on the Mk20/R380 as I have no experience of these but... Your backup should be of the same quality as your primary, so go for the same combination and your primary but with a standard length hose. Think of it this way, are you happy to breath from the backup possibly stressed and in an emergency? If not, then you need to get a better backup. >Should I replace my tank valve and use two first stages? Or use one >first stage with the existing pillar valve? I would not bother replacing the pillar valve, unless it is A-clamp. DIN is much more reliable. If you feel the need for redundant first stages, then you really need to consider a twinset instead. David Shimell Project Manager, Sequent Computer Systems Ltd., Sandton, South Africa. Email: shimell@se*.co* <mailto:shimell@se*.co*> -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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