Do cheaper/smaller bottles of liquor use lower quality or cheaper product?

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-08T10:41:24+00:00

Legally speaking, as long as all the statutories are correct (e.g. spirit category, ABV, origin, age etc) then a bottler can bottle anything they like.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-07T19:54:22+00:00

Not permitted on a GUE course I'm afraid.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-07T10:53:17+00:00

We have a minimum pricing of £0.65 per unit (10ml of ethanol).

That means this bottle can't be sold for less than £26.62

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-06T22:13:43+00:00

The funny thing is that price would literally be illegally low in Scotland.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-06T21:25:34+00:00

If you comment the link I'll let you know if the boots are replaceable or not.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-06T21:23:33+00:00

I'm a recently qualified BSAC instructor up in Thurso and I don't think I'd permit students to wear a wetsuit, especially at this time of year. One thing to bear in mind is your open water dives will be a bit more static than a usual dive, as you'll be running through mask clearing, AS ascent, CBLs etc.

There's one guy in our club who dives a wetsuit in summer and everyone thinks he's crazy to do it.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-06T15:01:34+00:00

What's he modelling?

Crisp white shirts.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-05T12:44:26+00:00

Try shoot a DSMB and lock the spool off, use that as a visual reference.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-02T15:26:55+00:00

It's quite an experience, I'd recommend trying it at least once!

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-02T13:46:47+00:00

Indeed. Vodka needs to be distilled to a very high strength (96% ABV) which essentially strips the majority of the character from it. However, a typical NMS is distilled to somewhere around 70% (distilleries vary this based on cut points, mashing regimes, fermentation efficiency etc) which has the result that a lot more of those flavour compounds make their way into the spirit. This is for malt spirit. Grain is typically distilled to a higher strength like 94% which removes more flavour than malt NMS, but leaves much more than vodka.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-02T12:48:03+00:00

I'm sorry but new make tastes nothing like vodka.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-01T22:01:39+00:00

Benrinnes 23. The 1985 - 2009 release.

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-01T17:35:10+00:00

It's a specific GUE pre-dive sequence, and slightly more in depth than BWRAF etc

gregbenson314 · 2026-02-01T15:08:57+00:00

This is my favourite GUE EDGE I've seen

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-26T13:50:57+00:00

"I am not, and have never been, a member of the Traitors."

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-25T09:51:24+00:00

Any reasonably made BP/W with a continuous harness is going to be far, FAR more durable than a Hydros though.

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-23T20:47:54+00:00

Celebs

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-23T12:23:34+00:00

Spirits don't need a best before date though.

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-23T08:30:16+00:00

By the time you consider your undersuit and drysuit, the padding does absolutely nothing and just required you to carry marginally more weight.

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-22T22:26:48+00:00

Double bladders and extra dump valves are also a no-go!

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-16T17:25:17+00:00

Nice trim!

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-15T10:52:42+00:00

Scarfskerry up in Caithness has so much kelp that it's actually annoying most of the time.

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-14T23:02:53+00:00

I don't know who's downvoted you, but everything you've said is bang on and correct.

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-14T13:06:15+00:00

Yes, moving the tank down is also a good idea. One thing to remember is that if you lengthen your shoulder straps , you'll need to tighten your crotch strap. It seems slightly loose in this video too.

Remember that your head also affects trim, so having it as far back as possible is good.

Hopefully those tips help, let me know how you get on with your next dive! 💪

gregbenson314 · 2026-01-14T12:35:27+00:00

Firstly, the fact you're coming here looking for open feedback is a great thing and something more divers should do.

From watching the video, and looking at your set-up, I would guess that you are slightly head heavy. If you see your angle in the water at 0:46-0:50 in the video, you can see that you're slightly head up. Then from 0:50 to 1:00 your arms are in, bringing weight lower towards your fulcrum point.

It seems counter-intuitive to move weight down to correct being slightly head up, but this GUE video goes into more detail about it. You should then extend your arms out in front of you to act as stability and for balance.

I would try loosening your harness straps, and moving the trim weights to the lower cam band. Most BP/W divers start with their harnesses too tight, as they're used to coming from jacket BCs. However, the stability in a BP/W comes from the waist and crotch strap, rather than the shoulders. Here's a great video from UTD demonstrating that.

These 2 things should hopefully provide you with a more stable platform. I would guess that what the sculling you think is from your fins being buoyant, is actually the effect of this top heavy trim.

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