Sidemount choices

[Sidemount_Stu]

The 2 main styles are;
1. Full Harness and wing (SMS 100, 75, Nomad HOG etc)
2. Webbing Harness and wing (stealth, Z system, razor)

Generally the full rigs are for cold water and steel tanks while the webbing systems are more popular in warm water locals.

I have to disagree with this statement.... yes, there are two different types, but i wouldn't suggest that the webbing harness systems are more popular in warm water locations. I dive in the UK, coldwater, drysuit, steel cylinders and dive the Xdeep Stealth, it performs excellently and handles stages etc too with no problem.

It's very light for travel, low profile and infinitely adjustable, so is a great option if you will dive drysuit and/or wetsuit at different times, and is very easy to dive.

My diving, like yours, is primarily open water, wrecks, I typically dive to around 50m (150') and if i were buying again, i'd definitely buy the Xdeep again. They've recently added the Tec Wing, which looks excellent too.

Your decision may be heavily influenced by the people you dive with and the cylinder sizes you typically use. Here in the UK, it's "standard" to use 2 x LP85's (we call them 12L) but i understand that your side of the pond sometimes use the larger and heavier LP120's, in which case, you "may" need more lift? (I'm not certain of this, but it would be worth checking out)

The SMS range, i consider to be too bulky, but understand they are popular in the Florida region, but to be honest, that really is it's main fanbase.... once you get outside of the US.... i see mostly webbing harness based systems in use, the Xdeep Stealth, the Razor and the Diamond. Apeks have just released a brand new one too that looks nice, but i haven't heard any real world feedback as yet.

For the diving you're suggesting you are or want to do, i'd recommend a webbing harness based system, they are designed to be flexible sidemount systems, rather than hybrid systems that also support backmount..... IMHO... Jack of all trades, master of none, springs to mind for the big BCD based systems such as SMS.

 

[Patoux01]

see here for the sizing, that way we're talking about the same things. 85 = 10.5l, 100 = 12l, 120 = 15l (roughly).

Both can work imo... with the proper knowledge about your rig.

Of the bulky family, I'd only look at the Contour though, after a few tweaks it should be nice.

 

[bamafan]

Strip the padding out of the back of the Halcyon Contour and remove the shoulder padding and it is way less bulky than the Hollis products. It is also much better made. I still don't like the fact that the rails sit on top of the wing. Brett Hemphill developed the Armadillo years ago and it is still a very good rig. You almost never see one used for sale and I think that says a lot about them. The Dive Rite Ltz is one that has impressed me lately too. Rob Neto did some very simple modifications to one and the wing looks way better than in the stock setup. Of the ones you listed I would go with the Halcyon. The HOG rig seems really cheaply put together to me.

 

[Bennno]

see here for the sizing, that way we're talking about the same things. 85 = 10.5l, 100 = 12l, 120 = 15l (roughly).

Don't know where you got these numbers from but they're way off.

 

[Patoux01]

Those numbers are provided in the link I gave...
Or you can type "[cubic feet value]/232 cubic feet in l" in google. (232 is the typical pressure I've seen for Faber, Roth, I believe ECS is in the same range...)

So if they're way off, please correct them? Happy to get the correct values.

 

[Bennno]

I don't know the exact values off the top of my head either, but LP85s are closer to euro 12l and LP120 are more like 19l or so.

The table on the website tells you how many cuft they hold at 230 bar, the LP tanks in the US have a different pressure rating and hold 85 cuft at 165 bar. So, a euro tank that holds 85 cuft at 230 bar is not the same size as a LP85.
The US Fabers are also heavier than the Fabers you can get here.

 

[Patoux01]

What matters is the amount of gas in there. A 10.5l faber holds 85 cuft, hence they're faber 85, same reasoning for others. If you're sizing a wing on size of tanks and not amount of gas, you're doing it seriously wrong.

 

[Bennno]

A 10.5l faber holds 85 cuft, hence they're faber 85, same reasoning for others.

No they're not. I just tried to explain that in post #16. The LP85s 'officially' hold 85 cuft but are often 'cave filled' to 250 bar. So, they hold a bunch more gas than 10L tanks. Also, as I already told you, the US Fabers are heavier than the euros.
Even if you only fill them too 160, the LP85s are much bigger and heavier than the 10l tanks. You haven't seen or used them, have you?

@Sidemount Stu, the Stealth is actually much bulkier when you have to use weights and a filled wing. Same goes for all the other Razor style rigs that have wing and weights on top of each other.

 

[tbone1004]

Blue Steel Scuba - Cylinder Specs

Faber 85 is 13L per Faber....
LP120 is 19
HP100 is 13 *their HP100 is closer to a 110, so an actual 100cf tank is closer to 12*
HP120 is 15.

try again

 

[gearhound]

Interesting Benno...but don't all the systems get bulkier when you add weights and air to them? Have you seen the weight system for the Hollis?