A bit of a 'summary' to wrap this up, since there seem to be more and more sidebars appearing - nothing wrong with that at all, just trying to bring the informal assessment of current practice to some kind of closure.
A few caveats: 1) this was not intended to be any kind of comprehensive survey, nor 2) can / will I say that the results necessarily reflect a statistically valid random sample of the larger world of sidemount gear configuration use, and 3) had the questions been asked in a different forum perhaps the distribution of responses would have been different, plus 4) I appreciate the fact that this sub-forum is nominally part of 'Technical Diving Specialties' but the posters are clearly both recreational / open water SM divers as well as divers engaging in more technical sidemount diving. Finally, 5) in a number of cases, posters said they agreed with something - e.g. using long hoses on both cylinders - or disagreed with something - e.g. using 360 degree swivels - but never really stated what they actually do, so I had trouble integrating some responses in the numerical tallies, and 6) I allowed myself considerable editorial license in interpreting the responses where there was any ambiguity or lack of clarity. In other words, just as with liability waivers and releases, I am not responsible for anything, so read the following at your own risk.
1. Second stage regulator hose lengths – do you dive a long hose on one side, and a short hose (e.g. on a bungee necklace) on the other? If so, on which side do you place your long hose, and what ‘long’ hose length do you use? Or, do you dive 2 long hoses?
Among ~20 interpretable responses, 16 divers indicated they use a long hose (primarily 7", with a 5" and a 6" mentioned) on the right cylinder and a short(er) hose on the left cylinder. The length of the short hose varied quite a bit from 22" to 40", probably reflecting different approaches to routing. I personally found / find the discussion of long hose use on one side vs both, and on the right vs left, to be intriguing and hope that will continue across the forum. I dive a 7' hose on the right, and a 32" hose with a bungeed necklace on the left, simply out of habit developed from BM doubles diving. I tried 5' on both and 'came back', but that may well be my own misguided behavior.
2. Second stage hose adapters - do you use an adapter on your second stage hoses, such as a 70 degree angle adapter, a 90 degree angle adapter, or a 360 degree swivel adapter? If so, do you use them on both, or only one hose?
In roughly 90% of responses, the poster reported using some kind of adapter, most commonly (about half of the replies) a 90 degree adapter (on one side or both). About 25% of responses described use of a 360 degree adapter on both, and there were a handful of posters reporting that they use a 70 degree (or a 110 degree
) adapter on one or both. I personally use a 360 degree swivel on both, but can't say i have even tried an alternate approach.
3. Cylinder attachment methods – do you use a standard deco / stage bottle rigging kit, or something else? If something else, what do you use for the top at bottom attachment points? Do you use a fixed bottom attachment (e.g. a metal hose clamp), or do you use a cam band?
11 divers reported using a cam band with the bottom attachment, and 7 reported using a hose clamp. I thought that was interesting, and expected (for no particular reason) fewer 'cam band' responses. I happen to use cam bands on my own rig, and enjoy the flexibility that offers (and don't maintain permanently 'rigged' cylinders), but thought I was in the minority. In addtiion 4-5 people described using paracord for attachments, which surprised me a bit - nothing wrong with it at all, I just hadn't even thought of using it until a post by Maxime-Thierry Lavoie in another thread alerted me that some divers were doing that. I use braided static line, but thicker cord (1/4"), and am now experimenting with using the lighter / thinner, but equally strong, paracord.
4. Cylinder valve position – do you position the aperture (opening) of your valves so that they face into your body? Away from your body? At a 90 degree angle to your body (e.g. facing in, toward the opposing cylinder valve opening)?
The majority (13) of posters dive with the valves facing their body, while 3 reported valves facing away. I did not see a response where the poster specifically said that they orient the apertures facing toward each other (with the valve handles facing 'down', away from the diver' body, although i have seen that orientation described in other threads in the past. In my own case, I have come to prefer diving with the valve apertures facing away from my, rather than toward my body, but it is at best a slight preference, and I dive with the apertures inboard at times as well.
To those who replied, and shared what they do and/or why they do it, thanks for contributing.
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