I'm mad at Dive-aholic

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Well, to date, the original Borg do not sidemount, at least in public :) UTD does have a sidemount setup, but I haven't talked to anyone who has actually dived it, and it appears to be optimized for use in fresh water with AL80s. (I could be wrong, but the "wing" on it appears to be very small.) I don't dive Florida anywhere near as often as MX, but I'd hate to end up with a rig that wouldn't work in FL at all.

andrew ainsle is using a razor harness in florida when he's diving open circuit I think. not sure exactly how he's pulling it off but it can be done. and since UTD's is just a clone it should work too :p
 
Steve, it's funny that you chose that picture of Jim to post. Another from that same series is my desktop picture, and has been for quite a while, simply because the grace Jim shows epitomizes what I love about diving . . . what I learned two days ago was that I can have that feeling, too.
 
The owner of the shop I work with told me last week his new sidemount setup is coming in shortly. He and I are the same size. I've never dove a sidemount set up and know of no one around here that does. I'm still going to take it in the pool with lp72's and see if I can figure it out. Kinda hoping not as I don't need to spend more money on another rig. Even though it would save me from doubling my 95's for back mount. I have the regs so that's not an issue. Any tips on setting this thing up. Not even sure which one he's getting. He has a Hollis rig in ( but it's the wrong size) and is also a dealer for Dive Rite and Zeagle. It looks like he wants me to figure it out so I can help him with it? He is not an instructor.

Jim, It can take months to work through the fine tuning of sidemount. I don't think any of the commercially available rigs are great right out of the box. They all need modifications. The best thing to do is find an experienced instructor or mentor to guide you through the process. This should be someone who has experience with many different configurations and rigs, not just someone who took the zero to hero sidemount instructor course.
 
I now am the proud owner of a Hollis SM.

I see all of this talk about the Nomad (and I know it's the first real commercial option), but not much discussion on the Hollis rig.

Anyone care to chime in?

I'm still in the very EARLY stages of prep and tuning now.
 
I'm still undecided on the SMS100 wing. I need a couple more dives in it before passing judgment on it. However, I absolutely do not like the harness. The routing of the webbing, the design of the shoulder straps, and the position of the rails were all poorly thought out. The routing traps back up lights kept on the shoulder straps. The shoulder straps are not stable enough. The webbing pulls away with the weight of the cylinders. And they sewed the webbing to the pads so it can't be fixed. The rails are too close together. And the fact that the harness and butt plate are all one unit is a negative attribute. I've been diving my rig for 3.5 years now. The wing will likely be the first thing I replace due to wear. The butt plate will be the second. With the Hollis, I'd be replacing the entire harness to replace the butt plate. Some of these issues can be modified. Most cannot.

That being said, none of the commercially available rigs are great out of the box. My Nomad has a lot of modifications to it, and more to come.
 
Rob,

Thanks for the honest assessment. I'll use that input to focus on what I can (and cannot) do.
 
I do have this horrible suspicion that it took Rob three years to get this rig "just right", and that if I put my own together, I'm due for dive after dive of wondering why on earth I ever thought this was a good idea . . .

HEY, TSandM! I'm working on a sidemount class with Rob between now and February . . . . :blinking: Care to join us?

Okay, I confess, I did take Lynne and Peter diving in sidemount. But I never thought I had to explain to them that sidemount is how we position the cylinders, not the position we assume in the water... :wink:

sm%20with%20lynne%20and%20peter%20008_0001.jpg


sm%20with%20lynne%20and%20peter%20009_0001.jpg

:spit:

Oh, they were upside down, too. And head down vertical. And in every other possible position!!

:shocked2: Kinky! :blinking:

Wow! I'm on the front edge of a wave! :yeahbaby:
 
HEY, TSandM! I'm working on a sidemount class with Rob between now and February . . . . :blinking: Care to join us?

... I'm going to be doing the same in May ... :D

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 
... I'm going to be doing the same in May ... :D

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Oh I will finally get to meet Bob!!!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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