Dive Rite Travel Stage Kit w/Cam Strap for Sidemount

I recently completed a sidemount class. I have made a decision on which sidemount rig I want but still have to decide on tank attachment procedure. I'd like to use the Dive Rite Travel Stage Kit w/Cam Strap for this because I will be traveling to sidemount and most of my diving is shore based so I'd like to utilize the Stage Kit strap as a "handle" for moving tanks around. I've used this step up on pony tanks and it seems to work OK for that. I watched Lamar's video on using this setup which included the use of chokers. My question is when using the chokers can the bolt snap at the first stage valve be attached right to the harnesss chest d ring or does that put the lst stage to close to the body since the choker takes up the slack in the stage kit loop that goes around the first stage valve? The sidemount rig uses one continuous bungee so the stage kit will be used purely to attach the tank to the harness at the waist and to the harness chest d ring. Thanks in advance.

if you clip it to the chest d ring the bottles wont sit right for sidemounting unless you are just using it to carry the bottles and moving it once in the water

Is that because there's not enough play left in the valve loop once the chokers are applied? In my sidemount class there was a bolt snap on a chord that I was instructed to clip into the chest dring and then the bungee would go around the valve. There was some play in the chord so the valve wasn't laying right up against the chest d ring area once it was clipped in.

in that case the bolt snap is only there to pick up the weight on dry land so the bungee doesnt support the full tank weight. Watch the dive rite videos on how the chokers/ring bungees work, the snap goes on the bungee and the tank can then 'float' on the bungee instead of having it wrapped around the valve.

Is it possible to do this with one continuous bungee or does it have to be two separate loop bungies?

you can set it up however you like, didn't they go over all the options in your sidemount class

Not using the choker system. I was trained on the Hollis system only. The Dive Rite Video shows how to set up the stage strap kit but not how to clip it in. I'll give them a shout. Thanks for the help.

Hi Scuba127,

Our recommendation would be to clip into the bungee, not the chest D-ring so that the tanks have some movement and will lie parallel next to the body vs. in stage bottle fashion at an angle with the body. We are just launching new features on the EXP and XT rigs that will follow suit with the JT an allow for one continuous bungee with a new bungee attachment and daisy chain loops on the inside of the wing. We do not show this feature on video as we do not offer or suggest a continuous bungee due to safety/redundancy factors (if the bungee is compromised you lose both tanks). However, sidemount is not a hard and fast rule style of diving...to each his own and you'll have to play with bungee options to get it down to your desired preference. Bungees seem to be the hardest deciding factor for most and are often mis-used so that tanks are dangling, etc.

Take a look at our Nomad JT video on You Tube and you'll see the attachment on the wing. Then browse our sidemount videos and you'll see a few that shows attachment to the bungee. Hope this helps. Give us a shout if you need more information and thanks!
Kathleen

‪diverite84's Channel‬‏ - YouTube

Thanks Kathleen I'll take a look. Point taken on the continuous bungee.

Kathleen: Thanks again for the link. Between the video and other info on the Dive Rite website, I now understand how the choker/ring bungee system works. It looks favorable for my type of diving which involves alot of shore entries and surface swims. I'm out of travel bucks for this year, but think I will go down to Florida and talk to Ed at Cave Adventures about the JT next spring. Does this sound like a reasonable course of action? Seems like Ed would know alot about the JT based on the video and I'd rather deal with it face-to-face rather than over the phone; not to mention it would give me an excuse to check out the Florida Springs. I've dove the Hollis several times but really would like to do due diligence on the Nomad also. Thanks again.