Equipment

It is always interesting to see how other scuba divers configure their systems – whether they are strict DIR or total christmas trees or a hybrid of the two. It is also interesting to talk to divers whose gear you cannot see and try and envisage what they dive in.
It’s not to say that one configuration or another is the right one – personally I think as long as you can find it when you need it and its not dragging on the ground and bashing things, then it’s up to you.

UNLESS you wear every single piece of dive kit that you own each time you get in the water and you don’t know how to use any of it.
Then we need to have a pretty serious conversation. “All the gear and no idea” comes to mind.

I was talking to IAREDIVER – Andy – on Twitter about our various gear configurations and we came up with a plan to post what we have and how we configure it.

We’ll start with my main rig – the gear that I wear and use 95% of the time.

There’s no really good way to make tanks especially interesting, so here we go.

Mmmmmmm sexy looking knobs aren’t they?
If you just said yes, I’m slightly concerned but I am sure there is still hope for you. 10L Fabre steel tanks banded together with an OMS 300 bar manifold. I tried to make them as pretty and interesting as possible

Next comes out my 45lb OMS unbanded wing. Absolutely no way at all to make this look – or sound – interesting.
Even if you do read the big warning in the middle.

But once you pop an OMC (comfort) harness on an Apex stainless steel backplate and screw it all together, things start to get interesting … and closer to fun time!

Backplate harness and wing.
That is an OMS SMB (Surface Marker Buoy) that is bungeed to the bottom of my plate. Its out of the way, sits in the small of my back and is easy for me to pull out when I need it. Otherwise it stays attached the whole time and I don’t need to remember it.

If you haven’t tried a setup like this before – then no, the bolts don’t stick in to my back. I can’t feel them at all.

My harness is where I store most of what I need. I have pockets (in my dry suit and a mask pocket) but I just choose to store things here.

• Notice the crotch strao goes over the SMB – not under. The SMB is really really hard to get out if the strap is under it. Basically its stuck to my butt and it is not going anywhere.
• My finger spool/reel is on my left hand D-ring. Just habit. No other reason.
• On the right size of my waist are my shears (cutting utensil) – used as a tool to cut, pound and pry. Not a weapon. About the most interesting thing I use them for is to hold my long hose in place and to sharpen my pencil with.
• My backup torch. That’s old bicycle inner tube holding it to the strap. It sits under my right arm and out of the way. And my spare double-ender clip. Can never have too many double enders.

That’s my tanks and harness pretty much together.

Those other things are OMS weight pockets – which I discovered (on a night dive) that I don’t really need and leaving them on the boat is fine. However when I am teaching I usually carry 2-3kg of extra weight. Just in case the students need to be weighted down. Legitimately.

Time to get out the regulator bag. My Scubapro tech regulator bag.
Are you noticing a trend with the colour? We’re tech divers! We can have any colour we like – as long as it is black.

And here are my babies …

My babies are my Apex Tek3′s. Beautiful pieces of equipment.
Miflex long hose and a Suunto Wireless transmitter (needs a battery change) and a Scubapro pressure gauge.

I’m going to take a pause for a moment – Tek3 owners, listen up.
You need to take a moment when putting your first stages on your tanks. There is acceptable placement and unacceptable. I shall demonstrate …

VERY ACCEPTABLE

COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE

I will be watching you. You know who you are!!

So once the regulators are on – and everything is straight – it’s time to check the hose routing.
Mine might be a little different but one thing is key. My short hose should be in front of all of my others – closest to the back of my neck.

One of the benefits of that Miflex hose – it can be easily loosely wound and clipped away.

Then here comes the Stage Cylinder. I should worn you – its worn.
It is probably safe to say that my stage cylinder has dived places that I haven’t. In fact, my stage cylinder has been a lot of places that most people haven’t. Right in to the guts of the Mikhail Lermontov I believe.
She is in desperate need of a paint job. But she has just had a new Miflex hose put on for her gauge (OMS) and she is sporting an Apex DS4 regulator.

The bottom of my dive bag contains the other pieces that I take with me but might not always use.

• Scubapro Jet Fins
• Atomic Frameless Mask
• Scubapro snorkel (for teaching)
• OMS Mask pocket
• Fourth element gloves and hood (they are so ninja you can’t even see them!)
• Scuba saver kit – spare straps, cable ties, silicon, o-rings
• Spare mask
• Rescue (pocket) mask
• Halcyon wet notes
• Reel
• Wrist slates
• Suunto SK7 compass
• Uwatec Depth and Bottom timers
• Suunto Vyper Air Dive computer.

I thought about getting out my drysuit etc but I don’t actually put any equipment in it. Except me.
Yes, I am the big machine that holds all of this together and makes it go!

… And then there is the Camera and the Dry Box. 

Yes, camera gets capital letters in the title as it is my baby.
It is set up for underwater photography as follows;

If you would like to add your Scuba Gear Challenge post – just send us the link to your post.

Would love to see or hear how your equipment configuration differs.

Some Scuba Gear Challenge responses;

The Post from Andy – What’s in My Dive Bag?

Suzy has posted – Whats in my dive bag?

And now Clare – DiveBunnie – What is in my Dive Bag?

@divemistress @scubaobsessed I can tell you that I am wearing an aqua lung wetsuit, Lotus i3 BCD and Apeks XTX 50 regs, with Mares fins

22 October 2011 20:41 via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@Divebunnie

Clare Wilders

WifeBuddy tweets her dive bag contents:

#scubagearchallenge Mares Nemo, eBay back up light, agir brokk spool halcyon SMB, agir brokk wetnotes, suunto SK-7 compass, agir brokk knife

23 October 2011 06:50 via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@WifeBuddy

Wife Buddy

#scubagearchallenge Apeks DS4 x2 xtx50&xtx40,Frog BP and harness,Apeks WTX4 double wing, Seaskin MTM drysuit, Halcyon 10w HID can light!

23 October 2011 06:47 via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@WifeBuddy

Wife Buddy

Jon shares his via Twitter too:

@IAreDiver @tarasutherland Heh. I’m diving on a Freeshark BC. Had to import it from Italy. Won’t dive on anything else!

23 October 2011 10:13 via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@jonathan626537

Jonathan Ward

@IAreDiver @tarasutherland Hugely comfortable traditional BC with pneumatic dump on the LPI. #scubageekout

23 October 2011 10:16 via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@jonathan626537

Jonathan Ward

Karla joins the party – and gives us a great look at an Inspiration Rebreather and her tub (its not a bag or a box!) – Whats in my Dive Bag – Scuba Gear Challenge