Sidemount Attachments

[carrielsal]

I've never seen anyone adjust camband placement mid-dive either. What exactly would it do for you? Who was your sidemount instructor?

Would this be for AL tanks?

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Not sure... even if it was, different mounting points on the harness would be easier, and far more effective.

 

[DaleC]

SuPr, where do you bottom mount your ST72's?

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

On the waist, but I need to adjust the attachment point in some more as they are still too floaty when getting breathed down.

I clip to the rails when they're full, and move them down to my waist when they start getting floaty.

I can swap both tanks while swimming, and without releasing the tanks from the front snaps/bungee. No need to detatch the entire tank, bring it out in front of me, and reposition the cambands, reconnect, and repeat.

 

[carrielsal]

I can swap both tanks while swimming, and without releasing the tanks from the front snaps/bungee. No need to detatch the entire tank, bring it out in front of me, and reposition the cambands, reconnect, and repeat.

What exactly are you swapping? Are you referring to moving the lower clip?

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Move the lower clip from the rails on the back, to Drings on the waist when the tanks get floaty.

I swap attachment points.

 

[scuba127]

Where do you position the d rings in on your waist for attachment points for tank transfer when they start to float? This has been an excellent thread.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

That will take some in water playing around... as my dimensions are likely not yours.

 

[karstdvr]

. I now dive a Nomad, and using rails is second nature. But, would be interested in your perspective on the 'weaknesses' of rails.

In the evolution of sidemounting everybody used an attachment point at the hip,often times with a carrabiner that is placed rigidly against the tank. Therefore the d-ring/carrabiner attachment at the hip doesn't allow a lot tank movement. Later Bill Rennaker created a butt plate which was attached to BCs or transpacs for a tank attachment point,this is what you are seeing now on Nomads etc. The one weakness to the system is that is doesn't control movement of the tank with bouyancy shift that occur with lower pressure. If you are in a restriction and need to back up,the tank can keyhole you by floating up. Right now people are buying commercially made sidemount systems and accept this as the status quo,but eventually somebody will discover there are better things out there that have existed for sometime,and the commercial sidemount rigs will go through an evolutionary process. What goes around comes around

 

[hudson]

Rob,
What advantage did butterfly clips give you? Snapbolts were initially a challenge for me, but it's getting easier.

Butterfly clips are (marginally) easier to clip on but more difficult to remove. It's not the latch pressure - they don't have the big ring of snaps you can slide a finger through, so you actually need to grab the whole clip and at the same time open the gate. Easier said than done with dry-gloves.

The ideal clip would be a butterfly clip with a large eye but I haven't been able to find one - I don't think they exist. (assuming you don't like carabiners)