Small Questions Thread

[Germie]

What sidemount harnass and wing you have to buy is difficult to say. I dive the xdeep stealth myself. Is the xdeep the best? no. But for me it works. I have changed a lot on the harnass. As I dive with a 400 grams undersuit and drysuit and ali cylinders I need a lot of weight. But why did I bought the xdeep stealth? Becuase of the wing, it can be taken or not. You don't have to take it off from your harnass, it is just a single piece. When diving in drysuit and some small caves in France I don't use a wing, just the harnass. When I need the wing, I take it.
Try before you buy is the best way. But it is impossible to try all systems. And there is always a seller that has its own preference and will tell you that. If there are shops that want you to try more than 1 system, then try all they have.
As regulator I use a ds4 and xtx50.
Then dive a lot. Best is with good buddies. And then if you think you are ready for cave, talk with an instructor.

[Scubaru]

I'm sticking with Hollis because they're black and red on those are my favorite colors, so there.


Lmao, Jesus people. Lighten up. Let's switch topics and talk about regulators.

What makes a reg a first stage vs second, OW vs cave, cold water vs warm, etc? I'm sure we'll head in a similar direction as the BC discussions always go because somebody somewhere is Poseidon nazi, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

I always see regs pop up for sale on the Exchange, and I'm always tempted to pop on them, but I don't want to drop coin to get to training and the instructor say you got "those"? They won't work well down there.

Those Atomics for sale look nice, figure I'd go ahead and get the short hose, long hose, spg, inflator hoses, etc. This gear will all be pretty interchangeable regardless of SM rig I choose, right?

[FW]

...I'm sure we'll head in a similar direction as the BC discussions always go because somebody somewhere is Poseidon nazi, but that's a risk I'm willing to take...

Only four pages, and Godwin's law already.

You did say you wanted to go sidemount, right? Why would you want to use a long hose around your neck, just because you chose a regulator that only operates if it is "right side up"? The "nazi" regulators don't have any of the "wrong side up" issues.

[victorzamora]

What makes a reg a first stage vs second

A first stage is the part you put on your tank. The second stage is the one you put in your mouth. The first stage is called so because it's the "first stage in pressure reduction." It reduces pressure from full tank pressure to an "intermediate pressure." The second stage reduces that pressure (about 140psig) to about ambient pressure so you can breathe it.

As for primary vs secondary, which is what you might have meant, many people put really cheap, crappy regs as their secondaries because they'll "never use them." However, I think most on here would agree that your secondary (alternate, octo, whatever you call it) should be a high-quality reg. In sidemount, you'll use it half the time anyway.

OW vs cave

No real differences here. Some "cave regs" have features that make them easier to disassemble in caves or more resilient to silt/sand...but nothing really differs here.

cold water vs warm, etc

Cold water regs are sealed first staged. What happens is when pressure is reduced, gas expands, and when gas expands, it gets cold. So you're chilling the gas and the gas is chilling the parts around it. A "coldwater reg" prevents water from entering the balancing diaphragm area, which would prevent the internals from freezing. Pistons can't be "sealed" the way diaphragm regulators can, so the "coldwater" piston regs are usually packed with o2-compatible lube. The hydrostatic pressure transfers just fine and the lube keeps water out. The big reason for using sealed regs in caves is they're less likely to get gunked up if they are exposed to sand/silt/etc. I like sealed regs all the time because if I'm not in a cave or muck dive, I'm in the ocean...and sealed regs seem to hold up better to lazy cleaning in salt water.

Edited to add: Since this doesn't seem controversial enough, and Forrest is in this thread: Poseidons are bad and Poseidon divers should feel bad

[Scubaru]

Lol, Forrest, I knew you'd reply. Reeled ya in. I was sending skip(?) a message about the poseidon simply because I knew you liked them so much, but then I saw you jump on it, and beat me to it. Lol. I saw your reasons for liking them in other threads that I've read (again, I don't think y'all know how much I've read just because I haven't posted much til now- I wish there was a "threads read" counter on my profile. Ha.

Thanks for the thorough answers victor. Nicely done. I've been REAL tempted to buy those Atomics. They're real nice from what I've read on reviews. I take reviews lightly though, because I don't know what kind of diving they're doing elsewhere online as most times they don't mention it.

[Daedalus]

What's the best literature IN YOUR OPINION to start reading in regards to cave diving? I'd like something informative and educational rather than leisure reading. I thumbed a few at CCDS but didn't really care for what I saw and to be fair, I was eager to get to Ginnie after dropping off those tanks.

Bill Gavin's chapter in the out of print "Art of Safe Cave Diving".

[FW]

Bill Gavin's chapter in the out of print "Art of Safe Cave Diving".

Which edition was that chapter in? I don't recall seeing it in the first edition. One interesting thing about the first edition is that Sheck predicted that one day we would be diving re-breathers, and using "xenon" (HID) lights. And yes, I know there were incandescent "xenon" but he was talking about xenon discharge lights.

[nakatomi]

Freediver, did you consider getting the $25 book combo special by the CDS yet?
The NSS-CDS has been reducing stock and two most awesome books are sold at a great package deal.
A few shops carry them at the price, best would be to contact Al Clements (shellmoundal on the CDF) for details on how to purchase.

#1 is "The Taming of the Slough" by Sheck Exley. The book describes the history and exploration of Peacock Springs. The book was published after Sheck's death and a lot of work was done by Michael and Sandra Poucher. Also included is the re-survey data and up to date and detailed maps of the Peacock system (more recent version than those available online).
This book alone is worth much more than $25.

#2 is "Cave Diving Articles & Opinions". This one has short articles by many different authors, a lot of whom have contributed enormously to the sport. The articles contain an awesome amount of information regarding all aspects of cave diving.

Another finally, another book I can think of, not sure if it has been mentioned yet, is "Caverns measureless to Man". I'm pretty sure the NSS-CDS has the rights to that book as well.

[BigTex1836]

best would be to contact Al Clements (shellmoundal on the CDF) for details on how to purchase.

If you're referring to the CDS shop, it's run by Adam Hughes. I'd contact him. He's highly responsive to inquiries (not to say Al isn't). [email protected] Phone 561-704-3038 **

(**he has his phone posted on CDS so I'm not sharing any secrets)

[Daedalus]

Which edition was that chapter in? I don't recall seeing it in the first edition. One interesting thing about the first edition is that Sheck predicted that one day we would be diving re-breathers, and using "xenon" (HID) lights. And yes, I know there were incandescent "xenon" but he was talking about xenon discharge lights.

Chapter 5 of the 1995 edition.