Minimalist single tank rig

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Alurpal

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Asheville, NC
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Ive never dove sidemount, nor do I have any formal training on it, but I’m attracted to the freedom of movement and do have interest in taking a course next summer.

I’ve been reviewing attachment methods of popular sidemount harness/bc systems and came across this minimal 22lb bladder.


I’m trying to think through how this would be attached to a minimal harness (single piece webbing with thoracic plate and lumbar plate, crotch strap)

If mounted with inflator on the side, obviously a bungee from each pointed end around the torso and maybe some bungee through the center hole on the spinal piece of webbing or crotch strap but what about the other grommets? Could you use bungee on the two top grommets and connect them to shoulder straps? That still leaves two grommets unattached.
 
Ive never dove sidemount, nor do I have any formal training on it, but I’m attracted to the freedom of movement and do have interest in taking a course next summer.

I’ve been reviewing attachment methods of popular sidemount harness/bc systems and came across this minimal 22lb bladder.


I’m trying to think through how this would be attached to a minimal harness (single piece webbing with thoracic plate and lumbar plate, crotch strap)

If mounted with inflator on the side, obviously a bungee from each pointed end around the torso and maybe some bungee through the center hole on the spinal piece of webbing or crotch strap but what about the other grommets? Could you use bungee on the two top grommets and connect them to shoulder straps? That still leaves two grommets unattached.
They’re not all designed to be attached to something. Would probably stick to belly loop and crotch attachment. Sex bolt on the top center if that’s you’re thing.

In ref to above comment, there’s only a couple of people in FL that have any idea what to do with aluminum cylinders and Mexico style harnesses like that of the deco one. The vast majority are unfamiliar or advise strapping weight to cylinders.
 
I have one of those and made a custom harness for it that I'm still playing around with. it works great with steel 72's and al80s. I also use it for open water checkouts with LP50's. Since I can make pretty much any type of hardware on the waterjet at work, I've made several options to do something like this. Now, that said, I'm a sidemount instructor with around 500 dives in sidemount and experience with 6 or 7 different rigs. Including the two I made myself. One using this bladder and one using an X Deep Classic bladder. I would not advise anyone with zero sidemount experience to try building their own rig as their first. There is a lot of tweaking and moving things around to get it right.
I've used zip ties and bungee to secure it on this iteration. I change it around a lot to meet my needs and to just see what I can get away with.
 

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I am curious as to exacty in what ways is side mounting a single cylinder more minimalist than backmounting? Both require a wing (unless doing without for either) and a harness and weights but back mount needs also one or two cambands and side mount instead seems to involve a complicated mess of bungees, trim weights, straps, zip ties and odd regulator hose routings to accomplish and must be adjusted apparently at various times during the dive. That does not sound very minimalist to me. Being a minimalist myself I ask, perhaps rhetorically.

James
 
Hi
It looks to me you are all overthinking this set-up. No need to be so complicated.
If you want to dive single SM s80 or steel 72, just use a weight belt with a single D-ring for the bottom and a single bungee worn in Polish style for the top. Harness useless. Just turn the belt around your waist as the tank empty.
If you need, strap the wing around your waist but if you are properly weighted, for a single tank, you wouldn't need to use it.
If you want to dive double SM, just put 4 D-rings on the weight belt to move the tanks down as they become empty and depending of your body mass and everything, the wing may be usefull.
Just be aware that this kind of wing, completely inflated won't wrap nicely around you waist :) :)
You can also use an MSR bag :) :)
 
Hi
It looks to me you are all overthinking this set-up. No need to be so complicated.
If you want to dive single SM s80 or steel 72, just use a weight belt with a single D-ring for the bottom and a single bungee worn in Polish style for the top. Harness useless. Just turn the belt around your waist as the tank empty.
If you need, strap the wing around your waist but if you are properly weighted, for a single tank, you wouldn't need to use it.
If you want to dive double SM, just put 4 D-rings on the weight belt to move the tanks down as they become empty and depending of your body mass and everything, the wing may be usefull.
Just be aware that this kind of wing, completely inflated won't wrap nicely around you waist :) :)
You can also use an MSR bag :) :)

Polish style?
 
I am curious as to exacty in what ways is side mounting a single cylinder more minimalist than backmounting? Both require a wing (unless doing without for either) and a harness and weights but back mount needs also one or two cambands and side mount instead seems to involve a complicated mess of bungees, trim weights, straps, zip ties and odd regulator hose routings to accomplish and must be adjusted apparently at various times during the dive. That does not sound very minimalist to me. Being a minimalist myself I ask, perhaps rhetorically.

James

I agree that single tank side mount is more complicated than back mount. My hogarthian back mount is as minimal as I can get. I’m not trying to make it more minimal, just interested in applying similar concepts to side mount for open water fun. I like experimenting and playing with rigging so these concepts are fun to read about and explore :)
 
I have one of those and made a custom harness for it that I'm still playing around with. it works great with steel 72's and al80s. I also use it for open water checkouts with LP50's. Since I can make pretty much any type of hardware on the waterjet at work, I've made several options to do something like this. Now, that said, I'm a sidemount instructor with around 500 dives in sidemount and experience with 6 or 7 different rigs. Including the two I made myself. One using this bladder and one using an X Deep Classic bladder. I would not advise anyone with zero sidemount experience to try building their own rig as their first. There is a lot of tweaking and moving things around to get it right.
I've used zip ties and bungee to secure it on this iteration. I change it around a lot to meet my needs and to just see what I can get away with.

Really cool seeing this!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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