Wanting to go streamlined

[Ayisha]

So you would be overweighted with your pony?

I don't know about yours, but my AL 19 cf pony/stage is only 1.3 lbs negative. (The AL 30 is 2.4 lbs negative. The AL 40 is 2.6 lbs negative).
Since I'm already weighted correctly, an extra 1.3 lbs (or 2.6 lbs) makes no difference to me, and I'm pretty petite. I would much rather be slightly overweighted (probably unnoticeable to most) than underweighted if I handed it off. When empty, the AL 40 is 1.7 lbs positive, which is what would be dealt with if it had to be used.

As someone else said, weighting yourself correctly before adding extra bottles is pretty standard practice.

 

[Diving Dubai]

One day, if we're ever allowed to leave our island, I dream of diving in some wonderful clear azure blue, warm water (seriously getting lockdown fever here!) -- as opposed to our cold, dark, green waters found around the UK.

Anyway, would really like to take the sidemount harness & regs and simply rent two ali80s and rig them for sidemounting. Do people do this in resort dive locations? Is this feasible?

I travel my with my SM rig all the time, in fact my slings use cam-bands for cylinders purely for that reason,

I’ve never had issues in requesting extra tanks, and my gear is configured specifically for boat diving, where I roll off and can board with both cylinders attached

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I travel my with my SM rig all the time, in fact my slings use cam-bands for cylinders purely for that reason,

I’ve never had issues in requesting extra tanks, and my gear is configured specifically for boat diving, where I roll off and can board with both cylinders attached

What setup do you have? I have the Xdeep stealth tec and it’s a little bulky for travel

 

[Diving Dubai]

What setup do you have? I have the Xdeep stealth tec and it’s a little bulky for travel

Stealth Tec 2 RB. I can’t say I find it bulky for travel, it’s seems less so than my wife’s BP/W, maybe it’s the way I pack or my tolerances? I don’t travel light, since most travel diving is off the beaten track, I’ll take a complete octo as a spare etc, and apart from my computer it all goes in the hold.

I guess it feels less bulky because it’s easier to distribute all the items

But that’s just my experience

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Stealth Tec 2 RB. I can’t say I find it bulky for travel, it’s seems less so than my wife’s BP/W, maybe it’s the way I pack or my tolerances? I don’t travel light, since most travel diving is off the beaten track, I’ll take a complete octo as a spare etc, and apart from my computer it all goes in the hold.

I guess it feels less bulky because it’s easier to distribute all the items

But that’s just my experience

Well, I think the main issue is traveling with a 1 year old. I took apart my BP, W, STA, harness, and that was folded up. I took everything but tanks and weights to Maui. I wound up doing just short dives (sometimes in just 10 feet of water). Had I done some boat diving with deeper dives, I did have the hardware/extra reg for slinging.

I'm sure when my wife starts diving, and then my daughter, I'll be able to take more gear with me. One day my camera housing.

 

[Diver-Drex]

One day, if we're ever allowed to leave our island, I dream of diving in some wonderful clear azure blue, warm water (seriously getting lockdown fever here!) -- as opposed to our cold, dark, green waters found around the UK.

Anyway, would really like to take the sidemount harness & regs and simply rent two ali80s and rig them for sidemounting. Do people do this in resort dive locations? Is this feasible?

Yes, several times in the Caribbean and Florida Keys. And I’m planning a trip to Egypt where I’ll take my SM rig. I have a DR LTZ and the tank rigging uses cam bands. I’ve never had an issue with any boat while traveling, in NC or in NJ. The cylinders are clipped in to the ring bungees, so I don’t need assistance from the crew.

 

[Wibble]

OT: I'm looking forward to my mod 1 rebreather training on the Prism2 when I come back from Greece in August.

They're fantastic! Utterly changed my diving - forever. There's a lot of tech and skills to get used to and unlearning your lifetime of OC buoyancy control takes some work (although a bailout ascent seems like cheating!). Particularly like using helium mixes for even relatively shallow dives; a clear head for almost no cost. The ascents are hard work with so much going on and need considerable practice.

In exchange you get silence. Calmness. Fish aren't scared off by the bubbles. You're warmer (if diving in cold water). Limits are (sort of) eliminated. Flexibility; if the deep site's not available then a shallow one's fine. Gas costs (for deep dives) are a tiny fraction of OC diving. There's no bubbles to bring down a rain of rust from a wreck or a ceiling from above.

Oh to get back in the water again...

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

They're fantastic! Utterly changed my diving - forever. There's a lot of tech and skills to get used to and unlearning your lifetime of OC buoyancy control takes some work (although a bailout ascent seems like cheating!). Particularly like using helium mixes for even relatively shallow dives; a clear head for almost no cost. The ascents are hard work with so much going on and need considerable practice.

In exchange you get silence. Calmness. Fish aren't scared off by the bubbles. You're warmer (if diving in cold water). Limits are (sort of) eliminated. Flexibility; if the deep site's not available then a shallow one's fine. Gas costs (for deep dives) are a tiny fraction of OC diving. There's no bubbles to bring down a rain of rust from a wreck or a ceiling from above.

Oh to get back in the water again...

Yeah, and they minimize deco requirements. That and the minimal loss of helium make it economically viable to search for the ancient shipwrecks an old sponge diver told me about nearby where I want to open a dive center. Add a scooter, a dive computer with GPS, and I'm good to go.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I don't know about yours, but my AL 19 cf pony/stage is only 1.3 lbs negative. (The AL 30 is 2.4 lbs negative. The AL 40 is 2.6 lbs negative).
Since I'm already weighted correctly, an extra 1.3 lbs (or 2.6 lbs) makes no difference to me, and I'm pretty petite. I would much rather be slightly overweighted (probably unnoticeable to most) than underweighted if I handed it off. When empty, the AL 40 is 1.7 lbs positive, which is what would be dealt with if it had to be used.

As someone else said, weighting yourself correctly before adding extra bottles is pretty standard practice.

Yup. It’s pretty easy to compensate for a pony bottle. When I run an AL40, I just run with 1lb less lead in the pouch on the left/bottle side. I’m sure it’s not exact, but it’s close enough that I don’t notice the difference.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The OP asks a simple question about streamlining by simply going to 40” and bungeed second. No problem sounds simple enough to me. I fact, that’s what I run.
Then come to page 8 and the discussion is all about sidemount, CCR’s, pony bottles, 7’ hoses already got mentioned on the second page.
Amazing!