Sidemount clinic

[karstdvr]

Look at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f6kKsRrE2g

Lets have a sidemount clinic relative to this rigging-how does hose routing look? tank positioning? diver trim? light positioning and cord routing? technique of movement through small passages?

There is a fair amount of interest in sidemounting with the advent of out of the box sidemount systems,but not as much set up instruction as there is with double back mount tank configuration.

 

[karstdvr]

-light cord dangling down,and hoses dangling down which is very obvious at 1:44 when crossing rock.
-good spg placement,but if angled inward toward the the center of the chest,they have less of an entanglement hazard
-tanks sitting under the arm pit which is causing the valve to be angled downward and the back of the tank to be angled upward. At 1:23 he has a tendency to "rock" during a frog kick,and tank positioning may be a cause
-Reels placed on the back will bump the ceiling in a tight area,maybe better on the crotch strap

 

[hambleto]

That is Mike Edmonston's video of when he was testing out and tuning his sidmount rig in Ginnie Ballroom. Here is the thread that he started about it.

 

[JimC]

-light cord dangling down,and hoses dangling down which is very obvious at 1:44 when crossing rock.
-good spg placement,but if angled inward toward the the center of the chest,they have less of an entanglement hazard
-tanks sitting under the arm pit which is causing the valve to be angled downward and the back of the tank to be angled upward. At 1:23 he has a tendency to "rock" during a frog kick,and tank positioning may be a cause
-Reels placed on the back will bump the ceiling in a tight area,maybe better on the crotch strap

Smaller/plastic SPG's also wouldn't pull them down as much, and they would sit tighter in.
Can light canister position leaves much to be desired, as it hangs under the diver.

 

[karstdvr]

If you do any search on the internet for back mount configurations you'll come back with a lot of advise and instruction. Unfortunately sidemount configuration has been very individualistic,and with a few premises followed by its followers. My rationale for this thread is since there are now ready made sidemount set ups,but very little information on rigging considerations,and most of the sidemount clinics being held at workshops,this give an opportunity to do a "clinic" based on a good video. I've been sidemounting for over 5 years,and had to learn things the hard way and through critical review of my peers. Not intended to flame anybody,but use this as a means of education for those people who may consider out of the box sidemount systems

 

[karstdvr]

Smaller/plastic SPG's also wouldn't pull them down as much, and they would sit tighter in.

I've used brass ones for sometime,as well as friends,and they are durable which is good. Typically if the 1st stage is turned such tht both spgs meet in the mid chaest area,they tend to streamline well. Some people will turn the spg into the inside of the tank,it can make reading hard,but very well streamlined

 

[JimC]

I've used brass ones for sometime,as well as friends,and they are durable which is good. Typically if the 1st stage is turned such tht both spgs meet in the mid chaest area,they tend to streamline well. Some people will turn the spg into the inside of the tank,it can make reading hard,but very well streamlined

I do the same with small brass SPG's. I did find that the big brass ones put to much weight on the HP Hose and they would tend to dangle down more.

 

[hambleto]

Not intended to flame anybody

I did not think you were trying to flame anyone. I was mearly pointing out that the video you are using as a sample was actualy posted by a member of SB. Since he is a member you could also get his feedback as to why he configured things the way he did. Perhaps from his experience he configured something differently then you choose too. That is all.

 

[karstdvr]

I did not think you were trying to flame anyone. I was mearly pointing out that the video you are using as a sample was actualy posted by a member of SB. Since he is a member you could also get his feedback as to why he configured things the way he did. Perhaps from his experience he configured something differently then you choose too. That is all.

Sounds like he was in the beta test phase of his configuration,which it would be interesting to hear what changes he's made. One thing I can attest to is that the evolution of a sidemount configuration for the individual never ceases.

 

[JimC]

Do we want to talk best practices and options on them for hose routing, bottle placement, can light management, etc? Even with a dozen ways to do everything it should be possible to work out a list of things that work for most people. For the interests of brevity and the target audience, we should stick to Floridian sidemount with some occasional, short term bottle removal - something like Jug hole.