what sidemount tanks do you dive with?

[RayfromTX]

Al40's should only be bailout def not enough air no weight. I think if you are having a situation where you need to constantly remove tanks to get through a tight restriction i think Al80's are the best cause they stay neutral for a little bit. I personally Dive AL80 and LP 85. I hated diving hp 100 cause they are short and a pain to deal with the 85 has the length and small diameter so for it me it fits my profile better.

The LP85 and the HP100 are almost identical in size. I own and dive both.

 

[UCFKnightDiver]

I use Faber LP108s. They're pretty big but it's what I had. I don't seem to have much of a problem diving them, but I've not tried any other size tank.

 

[JBFG]

I SM the following tanks with no issues at all

HP 100s - current set up at home with drysuit in cold water.

AL 80s - tropical diving in the Red Sea and also at home with a dry suit. All around most versatile tank.

AL 40s - great tropical tanks for a single dive. I can do easily over an hour with these 2 on my sides. They are so small and light you forget there are there

 

[SavDiver]

I use al40’s when solo diving for lost sunglasses and watches in a local 15’ quarry or river that id kayak down. I used to do it a lot before buying lp50s. It works great, super light and small to pack in the car and/or kayak, redundant for solo, and as much air as the widely accepted al80 single tank. So why is it a problem to use them this way instead of as deco or bailouts? Btw im a skinny guy and need no weight with a 3mil wetsuit.

I can understand using it for a 15 foot dive just to find something but for a dive 40 feet or below I disagree with using them. Plus if you are just gonna use 2 40 than use a single 80. I personally do not see a reason do use 40's as primary.

The LP85 and the HP100 are almost identical in size. I own and dive both.

lP 85 depending on where you get some their length will be longer than a hp100. Keep in mind very few saw one made in the 90's I believe and it was long but skinny. With that being said hp100 has a bigger diameter. I don't see a difference really in diving them except having more bottle out to the side with hp 100. I would rather just dive with lp85 with a 5k psi burst disk for a 3600 psi fill cause filling a lp85 to 3600 is around 113-115 cuf.

 

[Mike1967]

Plus if you are just gonna use 2 40 than use a single 80.

No redundancy?

 

[Bowers]

No redundancy?

Thats my thought. Redundant, streamlined, easier to fit tanks in my kayak and my sidemount bc is much more packable than my backmount. I wont hesitate to use this setup at the same depths that id use al80 single tank. I now have lp50s with a cave fill that id prefer over al40s but still have no issues with the 40’s as primaries.

 

[SavDiver]

No redundancy?

Rule of thirds on everything my friend. You can set up you’re left tank to take 2 regulators in sidemount. Done it a good amount on boat dives. I would never do it in a technical dive.

 

[Mike1967]

Rule of thirds on everything my friend

That doesn't help if you're diving a single tank and you lose it, OOA isn't the only thing that can go wrong my friend.

 

[SavDiver]

That doesn't help if you're diving a single tank and you lose it, OOA isn't the only thing that can go wrong my friend.

Possibility of me loosing the tank is very slim. Even if something were to happen I have carry 8 zip ties and 2 feet of paracord and an extra 2 double enders for that redundancy. I have never lost a tank before diving sidemount. Have you?

 

[Mike1967]

I have never lost a tank before diving sidemount. Have you?

I don't mean physically lose it lol
I mean lose the gas. And no I've never lost access to my gas in any tanks for any reason, but isn't that why we rave about the redundancy of SM? Twin independent tanks?