Used to swear by a 45 pound belt myself, thought I needed it for stability. Then @casey393's rule about checking at 15 feet with a near empty tank is dead on. Switched to a 30 pound setup after testing that and my buoyancy control got way better. No more fighting to stay up on safety stops. Simple little switch saved me a lot of hassle on deeper offshore jobs.

Oh man, that's actually a finer sand that wears less, not coarser.

Exactly. Feels like cheating every time I hit "submit" on a reward booking.

Eating lunch in your truck with the AC blasting" might be the MOST relatable thing I've read all week. Honestly that "pizza oven attic" sounds like a sneak preview of what we're all gonna get if the climate keeps going sideways. Glad you've earned those salt stains with some hard earned silence too.

Yeah exactly, "cheap doesn't always mean bad" is spot on. I got their solid birch butcher block counter about three years ago for my kitchen island and that thing has held up through spills, knife marks, the whole nine yards. Feels just as solid now as the day I put it together. Nice to know I'm not the only one who had that moment of surprise.