Hybrid Tech

[Don Wallar]

I'm a PADI Divemaster and have been diving for 44 years but in the last 5 years have been more and more drifting toward Tek. I am currently enrolled in a Tec40 course here in Canada. I am diving a "hybrid" tank configuration and thinking about doubling down on it. Whilst doubles are the standard (I get that), at my age I find them just too heavy to haul around but the idea of creating a "component" approach to tek diving makes sense to me as I can carry the various components much more easily. So, I am diving a 133 steel single tank back mounted, long hose primary, with a 40 alu slung on my left side containing the same bottom gas. Fully independent reg and spg on the 40, with 2nd stage on a necklace. This is a combination of back mounting and side mounting as I see it. I want to add a second 40 cf alu tank to my right side for deco only. That reg will be stowed and only used when doing a gas switch for deco.
The benefit of all this is that I can carry all these tanks onto the boat and rig up very easily. I can use my deco bottle only if required.
So, is this approach an acceptable tek configuration? I can't be the first person to ask this question. I'm interested in nuanced opinions, not "You're wrong because it's not DIR or GUE or whatever."
Thanks for reading my story.

 

[tbone1004]

@Don Wallar it MAY be. It would not be accepted for overhead penetration due to the 40 being too small. Deco bottle on the right is not going to be allowed by many/most instructors since it prevents the long hose from being able to be deployed properly. You may be able to get away with it, but I would not allow bottles on the right when diving open circuit backmount with a long hose.

 

[AJ]

First, if it works for you, it's okay! However, if you want to proceed in technical training courses this outfit will probably not be accepted. As far as I know it's doubles or sidemount. Not much in between.

If I were you, I would go sidemount to relieve the strain. I dive both doubles and sidemount and like sidemount very much. I know IANTD does sidemount tech. Maybe TDI and Padi too. Don't really know.

 

[Don Wallar]

@tbone1004 Thanks for your reply. I'm not clear on why deco on the right is not allowed. I thought the "rule" was lean left, rich right. Don't lots of guys carry their deco bottles on the right? Having said that, I can see that with the right hand tank hose coming across your throat and around your neck and in, it would create a problem in deploying the long hose in an OOA situation to your buddy. How do guys get around this if they have deco on right?

 

[tbone1004]

@tbone1004 Thanks for your reply. I'm not clear on why deco on the right is not allowed. I thought the "rule" was lean left, rich right. Don't lots of guys carry their deco bottles on the right? Having said that, I can see that with the right hand tank hose coming across your throat and around your neck and in, it would create a problem in deploying the long hose in an OOA situation to your buddy. How do guys get around this if they have deco on right?

some subscribe to left lean right rich, but that is considered an antiquated practice in technical backmount training. Most of the agencies and instructors put all bottles on the left because of the long hose donation.
If you believe in right rich, then you have to get creative with long hose stowing. BSAC typically will have the long hoses bungeed to the tanks since they practice secondary take, but I have not seen anyone in doubles practice left lean/right rich in years. I'm sure it's still done, particularly by the East Coast Wreckers, but it went out of flavor many years ago.

In sidemount some of us will carry bottles on the right to stay balanced since sidemount is very limiting in where you can store extra bottles, but donation of the long hose is very different with a sidemounted bottled.

 

[JBFG]

As mentioned above, you may be a good candidate for sidemount.
Where are you located in Ontario?

 

[J-Vo]

I believe beyond tech 40 PADI requires full redundancy either back mount or side mount.

 

[Degenerate]

There is actually a Swedish agency called SwedTech that offers a course for exactly this setup (with both bottles on the left though), it is called Triple Fifty Diver and it is routinely laughed at by pretty much everyone over here, then again the agency itself is also laughed at quite a bit.

 

[Marie13]

I'm a PADI Divemaster and have been diving for 44 years but in the last 5 years have been more and more drifting toward Tek. I am currently enrolled in a Tec40 course here in Canada. I am diving a "hybrid" tank configuration and thinking about doubling down on it. Whilst doubles are the standard (I get that), at my age I find them just too heavy to haul around but the idea of creating a "component" approach to tek diving makes sense to me as I can carry the various components much more easily. So, I am diving a 133 steel single tank back mounted, long hose primary, with a 40 alu slung on my left side containing the same bottom gas. Fully independent reg and spg on the 40, with 2nd stage on a necklace. This is a combination of back mounting and side mounting as I see it. I want to add a second 40 cf alu tank to my right side for deco only. That reg will be stowed and only used when doing a gas switch for deco.
The benefit of all this is that I can carry all these tanks onto the boat and rig up very easily. I can use my deco bottle only if required.
So, is this approach an acceptable tek configuration? I can't be the first person to ask this question. I'm interested in nuanced opinions, not "You're wrong because it's not DIR or GUE or whatever."
Thanks for reading my story.

Being unable to deal with the weight of even a small twinset due to knee issues, I switched back to SM. My knees are much happier now and SM is working much better for me than when I originally did it a few years back. I’m 52.

It’s not ideal for boat diving, but there are ways. If you want to go deeper into tech, you’re going to have to get rid of what you’re using now. I also agree you sound like a good candidate for SM.

 

[wedivebc]

some subscribe to left lean right rich, but that is considered an antiquated practice in technical backmount training. .

Says who (whom)?