Critique my trim

[Angelo Farina]

Just my opinion, based on cave diving here in Italy, which is quite different from elsewhere, because here the delicate surface not to be hit is the ceiling, covered by red coral. Hitting the bottom is no problem...
Hence in your photos the legs are wrong, as they are well above your body, and there would be severe risk to hit and destroy the coral with your fins. The DM would ask you to keep the legs perfectly straight and in line with the body without ever flexing your knees.
The trim of the body looks perfect, just DO NET FLEX THE DAMN KNEES.
I understand that this requirement is not so important in other environments...

 

[Mike1967]

Hence in your photos the legs are wrong

He's in open water, his legs are right. Next thing you'll be telling him to scissor fin like you do lol

 

[admikar]

Hey, he did not ask whether his trim is OK, he said to critique so I did.
BoT, trim looks fine. Leg position looks fine for most diving locations. If ceiling is concern, I'm sure you will keep legs straight.

 

[Mike1967]

he said to critique so I did.

Lol a critique can be good or bad.

 

[isr_tt89]

Thanks for the replies!

Good to hear my trim is OK!
Surely, I will keep my legs straight when I go into caverns or small houses etc.
Anyone else using steels and the square D rings or are You using sliding D rings instead ?

Is 8 mm bungee enough to pull the cylinder close to the body even when using sliding D rings ?
I am waiting for my sliding D rings to arrive to test... so no experience.

If anyone has tried sliding D rings and steels - please share Your experience!

 

[Mike1967]

Anyone else using steels and the square D rings or are You using sliding D rings instead ?

I use low profile fixed D's that are right next to the square D's. Our steels over here stay negative so no need for sliding D's, even if yours do get floaty I wouldn't use sliders. Just have another fixed D in a more forward position, one move at the right time, no mucking around.

Is 8 mm bungee enough

I'm using the 6mm bungee that came with the XDeep, it does the job but when it needs replacing I'll probably try 8mm.

 

[isr_tt89]

I use low profile fixed D's that are right next to the square D's. Our steels over here stay negative so no need for sliding D's, even if yours do get floaty I wouldn't use sliders. Just have another fixed D in a more forward position, one move at the right time, no mucking around.

I'm using the 6mm bungee that came with the XDeep, it does the job but when it needs replacing I'll probably try 8mm.

Can I get a picture of your setup ?
Specially interested in the location of the bottom attachment point - top view of the cylinder.
And is the boltsnap between your body and the cylinder (is the cylinder hanging?) or coming from the d ring to top of the tank (is the cylinder rotated by the bungee and bottom of the tank is almost floating?) - if the explanation is clear enough to answer lol

 

[Addicted2H2O]

Just my opinion, based on cave diving here in Italy, which is quite different from elsewhere, because here the delicate surface not to be hit is the ceiling, covered by red coral. Hitting the bottom is no problem...
Hence in your photos the legs are wrong, as they are well above your body, and there would be severe risk to hit and destroy the coral with your fins. The DM would ask you to keep the legs perfectly straight and in line with the body without ever flexing your knees.
The trim of the body looks perfect, just DO NET FLEX THE DAMN KNEES.
I understand that this requirement is not so important in other environments...

I understand your concern with his leg/feet position but (at least in the first pic) his feet look to be in line with the top of his head. I'm not sure foot position would really matter too much in a sensitive overhead environment, as you could always hug closer to the floor than the ceiling.

OP, from what I see, it looks like your trim is pretty horizontal and you have your weight situated accordingly. I'm certainly no expert and don't dive caves (yet) but just from the few photos you posted, looks pretty good to me.

 

[Heka]

Just my opinion, based on cave diving here in Italy, which is quite different from elsewhere, because here the delicate surface not to be hit is the ceiling, covered by red coral. Hitting the bottom is no problem...
Hence in your photos the legs are wrong, as they are well above your body, and there would be severe risk to hit and destroy the coral with your fins. The DM would ask you to keep the legs perfectly straight and in line with the body without ever flexing your knees.
The trim of the body looks perfect, just DO NET FLEX THE DAMN KNEES.
I understand that this requirement is not so important in other environments...

Estonian lakes and Baltic sea are quite different from caves in Italy with fire coral.
Having fins up will reduce the risk of silting and zero viz conditions so it's ideal for his main diving environment.

Hello,

few pics of my trim from satuarday dive.

Using steel 12L cylinders, merino wool base layer + halo 3d.
8mm bungees.
4kg of lead - 1,5kg in the last weightpocket (near my butt) and 2,5kg in the pocket next to it.

Any critique and suggestions/thoughts highlt appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

In the first two pics the bottles are about 130 - 150 bar.
Last picture is 100 or so. I am hanging the cylinders from the square D rings of the stealth harness.

Trim looks good, I dive BM doubles mainly so can't give much advice on rig setup. I've used sliding D-rings on my SM setup, but honestly I'm still novice with SM.

 

[Paul M]

Your trim looks really good to me in the pics.
How does it all look when you are in motion? Video is the best tool I used to critique and fix my trim a few years ago when I started SM.