Posts by oto

  • Fixing carbon blades

    sorry to hear about your problem. I also think the problem was that the holes were right on the bend. I owned c4s briefly and I the holes were placed well above the bend. C4s are good blades, it's too bad that this is leaving a bad taste on carbon blades for you, you should try other brand.


    the holes is also becoming a thing of the past, for obvious reasons, I like the screwless installation of the Carbonteks and now OMER. I glued a palstic tab on the bottom of my CTs, slid them into the OMER pockets, tab goes in, then glued the tips of the pocket tendons to the rubber rails, they aren't coming off.


    here is a picture of my C4s, note the hole placement.


    did you get the blades from a store or a second hand buyer? I'm thinking the screws were done place incorrectly on those blades

  • Fiberglass blades comparison, DiveR, Edge & Waterway

    this is a great thread, never thought about the effect of the angle that way. I guess it makes sense, there had to be a reason why most angled blades made are not that "angled".


    I know when I got my carbonteks I noticed the angle wasn't too sharp, probably even less than the standard 20 degree, I always wondered if that was good or bad. I guess is better less than too much in this case. I know my CTs are very powerful on the ascent and also if I had to swim fast on the bottom, I never do much surface swiming so I couldn't give them a fair rating there.


    how stiff are the tendons of the footpockets you're making? how do they compare to the new OMERs? One problem out there I hear a lot about is there not being a foot pocket that allows carbon blades to be all they can be. For example, the OMER's tendons are too stiff, so the blade actually behaves stiffer that it really is. On the other hand, I've heard beuchats are too soft and therefore not recommended.


    maybe your new footpocket can address this issue and find a happy middle.

  • Dry Breath holds, what are the benefits?

    thanks Rolo, I've been out of touch for a while, trippin', it's been a rough year man. I missed this place.





    Quote from av001

    proper surface intervals are also important, i know this is hard when fish are moving.


    I think this the only thing my watch is good for. i usually try to double down time


    agreed, there is a huge difference in my dives when I rush a breathup vs a long, calm breathup. One of the reasons I train on shorter recoveries is that sometimes you may just need to dive, you never know. Let's say you just came up from a dive and 40 seconds later there is a situation, your buddy is struggling with a fish on in the bottom 50' below, you may need to dive again to help.

  • Dry Breath holds, what are the benefits?

    when I first started, I was obsesed with doing static tables, I was convinced that doing them would make me a better diver. I never saw a real benefit from it, I got quite good at it with dry holds of over 4 mins without too much effort, but was never able to translate that into better diving. I quit doing this a while ago.


    I agree with Rolo, training to increase endurance to CO2 levels is dangerous.


    However, I have found something that helps me for both diving and as exercising. Pool Training.


    Nothing hardcore like the competitive freedivers, but more of an endurance, technique focused swimming, getting my body remain comfortable in the water when I'm not able to get out diving, which can be as long as 1-2 months.


    my training is basic apnea swims with long fins, normally swim sets of 50-75m, and focus on reducing recovery period. never really tried to do a max swim, not really interested in finding my limits, although I have done a couple of 100m swims under supervision that became a bit hard towards the end.


    when I'm doing my normal swims, it takes about 50 secs to do a 50m swim, and I try to work on my recovery being 1min or less. it takes 1:25 or so for a 75m swim, recoveries are 1:30-2. Never push it, never hyperventilate. I'm actually trying to eliminate purging from my breathup. I'm down to 2, used to take 4-5 deep purges. If you've read Mullins posts lately, he explains how oxygen is best used when no hyperventilation is done. doing this may bring on contractions or urge to breathe quicker, but you'll actually survive longer this way. I think this is crucial information to all divers, specially new, who think hyperventilation extends bottom time, there are still many people out there who believe this, I was one of them.

  • How much weight

    like the guys said, try out different weights and see what works best.


    I'm 5'10, 175lbs, with a 3mm I use 8lbs for up to 60' or so, 6lbs for deeper stuff.

  • Movies Thread

    have you seen "the lost city" with andy garcia?


    jackass 2, the comebacks in the comedy area.


    death sentence, kevin bacon


    history of violence, with Vigo M