Doubles for little ladies.

[Gary]

I'd vote for the HP100s. Basically the same weight as the LP85s but higher fill pressure. Most LP85s are just getting overfilled to make them virtual HP100s anyway.

[DeWayne]

I'd vote for the HP100s. Basically the same weight as the LP85s but higher fill pressure. Most LP85s are just getting overfilled to make them virtual HP100s anyway.

Or HP120's in some cases You just cannot beat those lp85's for being so versatile 8)

[Genesis]

The only problem with HP100s is weight - 100lbs full.

Well don't fill them then!

Hahahahahaha. That much? I'm stronger than I knew. They are the PST E7-100's. 32lbs each - empty. Very nice tanks - they are working out VERY well for sidemount and probably would make a great set backmount for a lighter weight person, but I don't think PST is manufacturing tanks anymore/right now. The company is in some sort of reorg or receivership.

I have a set of E7-100s that I use for "fairly serious" ocean diving and light cave. They claim to be 33lbs empty each, or 66lbs for the tanks. Bands and manifold add about 10 more between them. A "full" fill of Nitrox is ~15 more pounds, which makes it right near 90. (Sorry, my recollection "off the top" was off by 10...)

A set of double 72s is around 75 full. This is a considerable difference.... Of course they hold less gas.....

If you can handle the 100s they make great doubles. They're also much lower-profile and lower-drag than "big tanks"; if I'm swimming, especially into heavy flow, I can frequently make the same distance to a given turn percentage on those as I can on jacked 104s or 108s - simply due to the lower drag. Its not just the tank cross-section - its also that the larger amount of gas in the 108s (e.g. 280cf .vs. 200cf) forcing more inflation gas in the wing when full which increases ITS cross-section and therefore drag.

Into heavy flow this all becomes quite significant. It is less so into lighter or zero-flow conditions, although there's still a drag factor at play.

I think Worthington has a PST E7-100 "clone" out now.... haven't dove them however, so I don't know if they trim the same or not. The E7-100s trim quite nicely.

[Cindy]

I trained in lp95's and dive hp100s backmounted tanks on occassion. My normal tanks are sidemount hp100s. I know several women who use double 85's, 72s and even lp65s on dives however it can get touchy because the men are often packing bigger tanks. You either need to calculate turn time on the air consumption of the divers or on the smaller tank size. Failure to do that can cause you some serious problems.

My personal take on it is that side mount is acceptable to train in for a couple of the agencies now. I use side mount tanks to save my back as much as to go into little caves. I do know how to use and configure back mounted tanks but I don't do it often enough to be very good at climbing out of sink holes with them on. I think as cave diving becomes more of a recreational sport and the divers age we will see a lot more side mount divers. Our knees and back were just not designed to carry that much weight. I would love to do a rebreather but have neither the time or the money for one. Cindy Butler

[Hoyden]

I am a fairly short woman (5'4") and have tried most of the common smaller doubles sets (Old style steel 72s, Faber MP72s, Catalina AL80s, PST HP80s, Faber LP 85s, Faber LP 95s, PST HP100s and Faber HP100s). One of the things to keep in mind while thinking about tank weight is that you have to consider the bouyancy as well as the weight since you may need to carry additional weight to off set the bouyancy characteristics of the tanks. For in the water trim, the Faber HP100s and the Faber 85s were the best, however the Faber HP100s were also the heaviest of all the sets I tried. They topped out at 104lbs with bands, manifold and a full fill. The PST E7 8os and Faber 72s were the lightest and easiest to get up ladders/stairs, but both of them trimmed out badly. I had to add weight to get them to trim out well. The AL80s were nice until I added the required weight to offset their bouyancy characteristics. I found the PST HP100s and the Faber LP 85s to work almost equally well in the water and out. The 85s are a little lighter (4 lbs) and hold more gas at the same pressure. You are also more likely to get full fills. These are the tanks that I use regularly. I have a set of 95s for times that I want bigger tanks, but I can tell a difference in my air consumption when diving them and am not happy about having to climb bucking boats ladders or steep steps in them after a second dive.

Jackie

[Starryskies]

For me at 5'4" HP 100's has definitely been the way to go. A couple of my fellow "short" dive buddies also thought they were the way to go, too, and now own their own set.

They were my tanks of choice for advanced nitrox and deco and were just perfect. I even have a second set lined up for sidemount.

Hope your spouse has a great time in class - I found it to be quite fun. I was lucky - my instructor tailored my class towards deco in caves and it was great...although trying to launch a bag in an overhead environment requires a whole different skillset ...

[jeffb78]

we should do some searching and find a shop here in north NJ that will overfill LP tanks. then she can get the LP 85s and have enough air for a long afternoon nap on the Stolt!

jeff

[Gary]

Why? When she can get the HP100s (which are pratically the same tank) and able to get the desired fill without needing to exceed the pressure the tank is rated for.