SMS 50 with steels

[Young33]

I was on dive gear express and saw they have a sale on the SMS 50's. But I see that they are only capable of 23lbs of lift. This would not be adequate for a drysuit and two HP steel 80's would it?

 

[rddvet]

I was on dive gear express and saw they have a sale on the SMS 50's. But I see that they are only capable of 23lbs of lift. This would not be adequate for a drysuit and two HP steel 80's would it?

It depends on the person. My fat butt, no. My girlfriend can dive the lt which is similar or less lift with steel100 worthingtons and a stage and do it safely. She's also tiny.

 

[Young33]

Hmm. Well I'm pretty short and stocky. I'm 5'5" about 160 with not much body fat. If that makes a difference.

And I also saw the dive rite nomad LT extreme for 500, where the SMS 50 is 350

 

[bamafan]

From what I've seen the best out of the box sidemount bc is the Hollis sms 75. Especially for shorter people as some have problems with the sms 100. Edd at Cave Adventures in Mariana, Fl. just got the first shipment in. Give him a call as he will shoot you straight about what works and doesn't work. He also has better deals in person or over the phone than he can post on the net.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I dive the LT Tech. It is rated for al80's and something like LP85's when diving dry. I use it with my LP 85's, LP 75.5's, and think it would be a really sweet rig with LP 72's. I got rid of one of my HP80's. They were PST's. If yours are the PST tanks I can say by looking at the one I have left and how I seem to trim out with the tanks I am using, the HP80's would be tough for me because they are so short. I'm 5'7" BTW.

 

[str8dum]

Xdeep stealth easily has enough lift for your combo and is the very adjustable.

 

[bada3003]

I was on dive gear express and saw they have a sale on the SMS 50's. But I see that they are only capable of 23lbs of lift. This would not be adequate for a drysuit and two HP steel 80's would it?

It'll likely work but you'd be pushing it. I've been diving the SMS 50 with AL80s in two settings: low 70s in FL springs in 7mm wet suit, low 40s in drysuit in midwest quarries. At depths 80+ feet in 7mm wet suit, I was taxing the 23 lb lift. I would recommend against using with steel cylinders at those depths. With drysuit, you have a bit more tolerance since you don't loose buoyancy of neoprene at depth. If you are only using a pair of, say, HP80s, I'd say you should be ok. If you are adding a stage bottle or you wear lots of lead due to extra fluffy undergarments, it may be pushing it. I like the SMS 50 because it's a great travel BC and well-made. But 35+ lbs of lift (SMS 75, Nomad Extreme, etc.) are probably a better choice for strictly cold water diving.

 

[Young33]

From what I've seen the best out of the box sidemount bc is the Hollis sms 75. Especially for shorter people as some have problems with the sms 100. Edd at Cave Adventures in Mariana, Fl. just got the first shipment in. Give him a call as he will shoot you straight about what works and doesn't work. He also has better deals in person or over the phone than he can post on the net.

Why do shorter people have problems with the 100?

---------- Post added April 21st, 2014 at 01:09 PM ----------

And what is the comparison between Hollis and dive rite? I have heard people say that Hollis is much better, but aren't their best side mount rigs pretty comparable in terms of price?

---------- Post added April 21st, 2014 at 07:40 PM ----------

and what do you guys think about the original nomad? Not the current xt? I found a nomad wing for sale for a pretty good price. I would just need to get a harness and a few other things.

 

[oreocookie]

Why do shorter people have problems with the 100?

At 5'5, I don't really consider myself short, but I do consider myself too short for the SMS100... it's just too long. From what I've seen, the only real differences between the different sizes are in the harness, the backplate on it is the same length. The bottom of the buttplate is below my butt, which puts the rails really low. I'm really looking forward to seeing the SMS75 in person, just for that shorter backplate.

 

[bamafan]

Why do shorter people have problems with the 100?---------- Post added April 21st, 2014 at 01:09 PM -------And what is the comparison between Hollis and dive rite? I have heard people say that Hollis is much better, but aren't their best side mount rigs pretty comparable in terms of price?---------- Post added April 21st, 2014 at 07:40 PM ----------and what do you guys think about the original nomad? Not the current xt? I found a nomad wing for sale for a pretty good price. I would just need to get a harness and a few other things.

The Hollis SMS 100 can be hard for some shorter people to reach the bottom rails. The sms 75 is shorter. I am not a fan of the dive rite wings. They are generally not very streamlined. In my opinion they have fallen behind. Don't even get me started on the ring bungees.