Single BM tank on a Nomad

[hudson]

Carrie,

I dived the Nomad with a single HP100, it's fine. It's not as stable as a backplate, but the difference is really minimal so it's not really much of an issue. I'm sure an AL80 would be perfect.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Rob - ain't that easy in heavy steels though

 

[carrielsal]

Carrie, the Nomad XT has a 60lb wing. Yes, it's a lot of wing, but it sounds like you're only going to be diving BM when you're DMing, so it shouldn't matter much. Most shops conduct OW classes on the bottom in a line or circle followed by a short tour. I'm guessing your shop isn't an exception. So the larger wing shouldn't have much of an effect on your air consumption as you won't be moving around much.

Also, it's not a big deal to use a jacket BC. During my brief time teaching through a couple of shops, I used pool BCs in the pool because I didn't want to chlorinate my gear. It's really not horrible and a horizontal trim is actually quite easy, even in a jacket BC.




Check out the video at the bottom of this web page: Cave diving videos.

I would wear my jacket BC, but I am selling most of my recreational gear to help fund other equipment. I still wear a BC from the rental stock in the pool, but with the summer season picking up most of the rental gear is checked out on weekends.
Our classes are at the local lake. We do skills on a platform, then I'll lead a few tours.

 

[vintagediver]

Did you get a stabilizer plate for it?
If so, then use that with 2 cam bands and whala!

 

[carrielsal]

Did you get a stabilizer plate for it?
If so, then use that with 2 cam bands and whala!

I didn't think about that.

Carrie,

I dived the Nomad with a single HP100, it's fine. It's not as stable as a backplate, but the difference is really minimal so it's not really much of an issue. I'm sure an AL80 would be perfect.

Hudson, did you use an STA or just cam bands?

Check out the video at the bottom of this web page: Cave diving videos.

Rob, that looks like just way too much fun. There's a cave diver from north Texas who made a similiar harness like this for diving aluminum tanks. He was showing it to me this past weekend, and it got me to thinking about something like this for playing around.

 

[hudson]

Just cam bands.

 

[karstdvr]

FWIW,I have found students learn by observing instructors and assistants,and I always make it a point when teaching OW that I am in the same configuration they are going to use. They are having a challange in learning the basic skills,and it helps for them to not be tasked loaded by an instructor/assistants in special configuration. Wait till they take advanced,then show up in sidemount with 10 stages

 

[Colliam7]

I need to be able to wear a single tank when I assist with OW classes, and I really don't want to have to break out a poodle jacket again. ... I recently bought a Nomad XT for SM diving. DR states that you can attach a single BM tank, but darn..that's a lot of wing for a single tank.
Has any tried it and if so, what didn't work well?

I have used mine with a single BM tank, AL80 or HP100, with cambands. I find it a lot easier with a steel than an AL80. In fact, the Nomad wing is huge for an AL80, and I am not sure you really even need a wing, although from a configuration perspective, I am not sure I would remove it when diving with OW students. I find SM with a single steel to be challenging, and more of a distraction than anything else, even if I shift my weight placement to try and even out the distribution.

I know you just throw some cam bands through it and rock on... but its easy to toss a single AL80 on one side and just go all King Kong.

Fully agree. And, that actually introduces the students to a slightly different configuration, which is good - it expands their horizons (although some are so focused on simply surviving their OW checkouts that they might not even appreciate the demonstration ).

A thought about configuration, and modelling for new OW students/divers: as noted here (and in lots of other SB threads) many shops like their staff / instructors / assistants to be outfitted in 1) brands that the shop carries, and / or 2) a configuration similar to what the students are using. For quite a while I have used a jacket BC in the pool, AND during OW checkouts, to accomodate this preference at my shop (I actually use my jacket for the first day of OW dives, then use a Ranger on the first dive of day 2, and a BP on the second dive of day 2, to try and show different configurations, even though it adds a little more effort on my part). And, I talk to student / new OW divers about equipment purchases, and buying something, when they take the plunge, that will grow with them. My long-standing preference has been to suggest a BP/W as the first BC purchase. But, as I have moved to SM over the past year, I am thinking about using the TransPac / Nomad more in front of OW students, because it may be a harness that will grow with them, and ultimately allow them to move to doubles, easier even than a BP. So, if you use your Nomad with OW, and talk about why you use it (e.g. flexibility for single tank use, and for double tank SM diving, etc), and students eventually consider the TransPac as their first BC purchase, you may be doing the student(s) a favor, AND the shop a favor. This will be my first season trying this, so it may not be a success. But, it is something to consider.

 

[carrielsal]

I wore a jacket BC for years. I never liked all the danglies and they never fit well. I wish someone had shown me other configurations years ago, like a bp/w.
The divecons at our shop also lead liveaboard trips to the Flower Gardens in the Gulf where they do not allow double tanks. I still have training to take this year, so a single bp/w just isn't in my budget for this year.

 

[ucfdiver]

FWIW,I have found students learn by observing instructors and assistants,and I always make it a point when teaching OW that I am in the same configuration they are going to use. They are having a challange in learning the basic skills,and it helps for them to not be tasked loaded by an instructor/assistants in special configuration. Wait till they take advanced,then show up in sidemount with 10 stages

100% agree with Kelly here. If I were diving with an OW course, I'd dive a single tank rig with a properly sized wing to be an example to the students.