Andrew Georgitsis from UTD dropped by the teams training today with some new equipment for us to try out- A bunch of their Z sidemount harness and BCD combos.
I hadn't thought much about sidemount but after trying their Z Plus rig I may need to reconsider.
The rig is a back inflate BCD with and integrated harness. Tanks are sidemounted and on quick disconnects on the lp hose. The hoses are routed to an air block located at your upper back. All of the hoses route along the harness so they are not hanging loose. Sounds a little strange but the finished product was great. The one I dove has 50 pounds of lift and they have two smaller units.
Vis at the lake was only about six inches and first time out the rig was so well balanced I was able to maintain level trim and still keep the bottom in view.
The word I used to describe it to him afterwards was "effortless".
It will take some research and testing to see if this is a viable option but anything that gives that kind of stability in low vis seems like it's worth exploring.
Thanks for bringing out the gear for us to test Andrew!
I hadn't thought much about sidemount but after trying their Z Plus rig I may need to reconsider.
The rig is a back inflate BCD with and integrated harness. Tanks are sidemounted and on quick disconnects on the lp hose. The hoses are routed to an air block located at your upper back. All of the hoses route along the harness so they are not hanging loose. Sounds a little strange but the finished product was great. The one I dove has 50 pounds of lift and they have two smaller units.
Vis at the lake was only about six inches and first time out the rig was so well balanced I was able to maintain level trim and still keep the bottom in view.
The word I used to describe it to him afterwards was "effortless".
It will take some research and testing to see if this is a viable option but anything that gives that kind of stability in low vis seems like it's worth exploring.
Thanks for bringing out the gear for us to test Andrew!
