Sidemounting helium bailout

[JonG1]

Since transitioning to SM bailout most of my diving has been shallow in OHE requiring 2xsteel nitrox bailouts.

In the sea though with higher fractions of HE in the deep bailout I am finding it hard to tame the SM cylinder. Deep bailout is 15/55.

I am gradually moving the rear bolt around the circumference of the cylinder but with around 55% HE it may end up being a bit of a fight to get the bungee on given how high it floats.

I'm also thinking of clipping the rear boltsnap to a d-ring further forward on the waist belt, or maybe a sliding d-ring as per regular SM.

Over the weekend of wreck diving the high tail was inhibiting the dump on the wing and access to reels on the rear D, with a regular stage the slack makes it easier to shunt it about but the torque from the bungees and buoyancy obviously makes this harder.

I'm reluctant to add a trim weight to the cylinder so thought I'd put this out there and see if there are any options I've missed.

 

[_Ralph]

No 50% tank to have above it to keep the helium tank in place?

Theres also this video that shows a technique to hold 2 bottles (1 "heavy", 1 "floaty") in place in side mount.


_R

 

[rjack321]

I'm reluctant to add a trim weight to the cylinder so thought I'd put this out there and see if there are any options I've missed.

You can front clip it (like you would a partially used al80 sidemounting in cave) but if you are using a buttplate the opposite side tank then drags the plate all cockeyed

Honestly just put a trim weight on your 15/55 and be done with it.

 

[GF99/99]

I have played around with high He bailouts in ali S80's and different ways to try and "tame" them but in the end as rjack321 said just put a trim weight on it and be done with it.

Wait until you start getting mixes with 70-80% He, they want to float away like a rocket. I have to use a 2kg trim weight on these.

 

[tbone1004]

Treat them like half empty AL80's, easiest way to tame them is on a d-ring on the hip vs. a butt plate.

 

[JonG1]

Mine are on drop ds on the waist belt already tbone, that puts the connection roughly where the hip level belt would be on a trad SM rig....still being a PITA though.

 

[tbone1004]

Mine are on drop ds on the waist belt already tbone, that puts the connection roughly where the hip level belt would be on a trad SM rig....still being a PITA though.

not drop d rings, think the location of a normal SPG d-ring on the front of the hip not the back of the hip. You can use sliding d-rings too, but even with my LP121's *19L at 180bar working pressure* they have to go to lower d-rings when they are either full of helium or close to empty and live on the butt plate when full of EAN32.

 

[Wibble]

I've some mongrel bungeed sidemount-inspired system for pulling my bailout cylinders under control.

The ali80 bailout (also have ali7s) cylinders have handed modular valves, a-la standard sidemount. They have standard stage rigging, but it's twisted 45 degrees (as you look down on the LH cylinder, the "strap/handle" is rotated from the 6-O'clock position to the 4-O'clock position. They use the long/big clips.

My harness has two chest D-rings; the standard clip everything off on D-ring and one two inches lower. The waist belt uses a sidemount D-ring which is adjustable, although not really in the water.

The rebreather harness (Revo) was replaced with a single one-piece harness. Have added two 8mm/0.3" bungee loops with "handles" -- bound tails, can be seen in the sidemount pic -- (dry gloves don't like being pinched) that have captive bungees on the lower D-ring.

Kitting up: clip stages on in the normal way, but on the lower D-ring. This is lower to allow the bungee to pull your stage under your armpit, whilst not allowing it to stray (I tend to sort the bungees out on the bottom, not on the boat). The top D-rings then don't get pulled back and can be used for clipping stuff off. (The rubber rings are for the inflator hose and gas injection block)

Pics show ali7 stages; ali80's work just as well.