SM Exercises

[BertP]

The question on connecting the tanks was more of a curiosity than anything else. I do plan on doing the basics as mentioned.

One thing I haven't come across yet, though, is the actual routing the LP hose takes from the 1st stage to the in-use 2nd stage. Does it go behind your head or across your chest? Is there a difference in routing for the right and left tanks?

Bert

 

[Jax]

Hey, Bert, you may want to read through this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/side-mount-divers/348900-my-venture-into-sidemount.html. You'll find a lot of pictures and a lot of your questions answered there.

 

[ianr33]

The question on connecting the tanks was more of a curiosity than anything else. I do plan on doing the basics as mentioned.

One thing I haven't come across yet, though, is the actual routing the LP hose takes from the 1st stage to the in-use 2nd stage. Does it go behind your head or across your chest? Is there a difference in routing for the right and left tanks?

Bert

As the old line goes: If you ask 10 different sidemounters how to rig the gear you will get 20 different answers! There is no standard way.

IMHO you would benefit from diving with someone who know what they are doing or even (gasp!) a sidemount course.

Edit: Oh yeah,one other thing to bear in mind is that few,if any,divers end up diving the Nomad the way it comes out of the box. MUCH better to tweak it at home before you go.

 

[BertP]

Thanks for the link, Jax. I have been going through that thread (it's rather long ) but many of the pictures and videos are gone. I am comfortable with the rigging now (I have watched a few videos and Edd said that he would send me some pics as well) but I haven't seen any mention of hose routing yet. It may be in that thread but I either missed it or I haven't gotten to that/those post(s).

I would like to take a course but I haven't found anything in my neck of the woods yet. And, since I have not seen anyone doing any side mounting here, I suspect that it hasn't really taken off here yet so there won't be very many instructors familiar with it. In the mean time, I would like to try some stuff on my own. With any luck, there will be a side mount diver or two in Fiji when I get there. If not, I'll just practice the basics on my own. If I screw up too bad and feel that I am just not "getting it", I can simply abandon SM until I get back home. Not ideal, but safe.

One more question on tank switching: Do you turn the valve off on the tank that is not in use, or do you just leave it on? I suspect that you leave it on but that is not obvious in the reading I have done so far.

Bert

 

[Dive-aholic]

In mixed team overhead or with deco there's a long hose on the right bottle. In open water recreational type dives none of my setups have a "long" hose. The backmounted stuff get a 40" under the right shoulder which is enough for vertical ascents. In sidemount each tank is on a 40" across the back of my neck which is fine for vertical ascents, and long enough for limited side by side kicking.

So you change your hoses every time you dive in a different environment? Or do you have a set of regs for overhead and deco and another set of OW?

I don't squeeze through the really tight stuff, so I haven't come across a situation where that would matter, and I haven't noticed my tanks shifting noticeably with thirds. I don't know if I compensate for it by shifting air in my wing or what, but I haven't noticed flying thru a cave. On the regs working though, does that mean that every few hundred PSI that the guys in doubles should check their octo for breathability? because I have yet to see a guy diving doubles breathe on their octo every 15-20 minutes... I know they probably should, but unless you are kicking up silt or sliding through it whether it be in the water column already or because you are squeezing I just haven't come across the problem by switching on the third on each tank. Different schools of thought I guess, and for the type of diving I do vs the type that you do it's different. Sidemount for me was lifestyle because of my joints, never intend on going through true sidemount passages where that would be a problem.

Backmount divers should also be checking their octos if they have just passed through a restriction tight enough to allow it to drag through the bottom. If you're just diving sidemount to dive sidemount then checking regs frequently is not necessary. That does need to be distinguished, though, lest someone read your practice and think that's okay to do after going through something tight.

I know it's leverage, but it's backwards from what some would think with tanks being light in the butt and what not. I had it backwards until I watched a tank shift on a buddy of mine and the light clicked that it was teetering on the cam band.

Moving the cam bands up to drop the bottom of the cylinder works because you're moving the center point and putting the bottom on the longer side. You also have 2 attachment points. Moving the bands up pulls the cylinder down and causes the bungees to pull the valve up and straighter.

I have not tried it, although I have seen comments that some people do it. I use a bolt snap to secure the right side (long hose) second stage, and a bungee necklace to secure the left side (short hose) second stage.

Just make sure the bolt is attached to the long hose with something that can break away like a zip tie or o-ring.

Basically, each tank has its own 1st stage and the LP lines from those two 1st stages go through a "T" and into a single 2nd stage. It would be similar to normal BM twins but instead of having a hard manifold connecting the two tanks, you would have a soft hose connecting them. Probably not a good idea anyway, but I thought I'd ask

Bert

UTD tried it but the issue is if the 1st stages have different IPs it doesn't work. They haven't figured out how to work around that problem. While, if it ever gets fixed, it might be okay for OW diving, it is definitely not recommended for any kind of overhead diving.

 

[BertP]

Just make sure the bolt is attached to the long hose with something that can break away like a zip tie or o-ring.

Why is that, Rob? I can guess but in spite of the fact that my wife doesn't read this forum, I could still be wrong. :shocked2: I just want to be sure I get my facts straight.

Bert

 

[Jax]

Let's say someone is OOG, you're on your bungeed reg, and you get fumble-fingers trying to unclip the primary. A quick twist and a zip-tie will break.

 

[tbone1004]

When I have XTX second stages so one is normal the other is lefty. In cave/tech the lefty reg is on the left bottle with 90* adapter and 40" hose. It gets tucked in a retainer and comes up to my mouth. Gets clipped off when I'm not using it. Right reg is on a 9' hose with 90* adapter on the right tank. Comes up to my mouth and clipped off when I'm not using it.
In open water, the 9' gets swapped for a 40". the regs get switched so the left reg is on the right tank and the normal one is on the left tank. Regs get crossed behind my neck and get clipped off to the top D-ring when not in use. Not muscle memory, and clearly frowned upon, but I do the same with backmount. I only use a long hose when I can justify it, which is overheads or if I know I'd need to swim with an OOA diver for any real distance.
Rob, I know you are good at this sidemount thing, I know you've been doing it for a long time, and I know a big part of what you do is true sidemount diving. That is great. I respect that, but I know that a lot of the sidemount divers won't do that, myself included. I learned from a guy who has been diving sidemount exclusively before you started diving and diving sidemount for the last 16 years. I took my cave/tech approach to regs and gas management from him. He has long hose on right tank, and he breathes down in thirds. Right, left, left, right until out. With new sidemount students he encourages them to switch every 200psi to establish muscle memory. When he dives, it's in thirds, it makes sense to me, I don't dive in places where one reg would fail, and even at that point, I would have enough for me to get out. At no point am I left without a full third of my total gas supply in one tank on the way in. Half of sidemount is being truly independent and not needing extra gas. By not switching, I am at no more risk of not having a working regulator than a backmount diver who stays on his long hose. If I needed it, he may not have a working octo and we're buddy breathing. If I was doing true sidemount, I'd probably switch every few hundred psi, but I wouldn't be diving with a buddy.

I took my open water configuration from what I had seen with the videos that Lamar posted on different reg configurations for different types of diving. It makes sense to me, and I don't dive a long hose in open water either. It's a hassle. Does it make OOA situations more uncomfortable, yes, do I care, not particularly, do my buddies, not at all. It's talked about before hand.

 

[tbone1004]

Good example of what happens to AL80's especially if you breathe one down too far before the other.
YouTube - andrewgeorgitsis's Channel

That is a little ridiculous, but it happens, so be mindful especially with al80's

 

[Jax]

Good example of what happens to AL80's especially if you breathe one down too far before the other.
YouTube - andrewgeorgitsis's Channel

That is a little ridiculous, but it happens, so be mindful especially with al80's

Wow -- that rig doesn't seem to snug up the tanks at all . . . at least, not like the Nomad. And why were the divers up in the soda straws? They're so fragile . . .