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...or not! haha I will be heading your way (sort of) at the end of October for work and plan on doing some very non-advanced dives in the kelp forests of Monterey Bay during my down time (can't on-gas too much or it will mess with my working dives). I will be diving conventional sidemount...

I feel like we are slowly converting Darth Vader (Kev) from the dark side of the force to help Luke Sywalker (Andy) save the sidemount universe from the UTD Empire! Maybe in the end he will throw the Emporer (AG) into the bottomless pit and convert to a conventional sidemount system?

That initially sounded more complicated to me than it actually is. Most of the steps would be answered right from the start, the rest would be answered during the isolation process.

I took the B#$%ni/T#$k references out from the above quote! lol Anyway, that procedure doesn't seem right. I figured the first thing I would do is isolate the back manifold, that may eliminate the leak immediately if it happens the be on the side with the tank that was closed (which would be...

I'm just not visualizing how you can manipulate three valves in the time it takes me to manipulate one?

I know you CAN solve pretty much any problem encountered with the z-system, but I don't think certain scenarios (like a hose rupture near the manifold) can be isolated as quickly, safely or easily than with a conventional setup, even with extensive training and experience. That delay could...

A gas leak is probably the worse case scenario for the z-system, even with the isolation valve. The isolator valve would need to be closed and possibly one of the tank valves would need to be opened, depending on the location of the leak (if you can even identify which side the leak is on since...

Kev, I think you are one of the few cases that would be better off diving the z-system. If you are switching back and forth between backmounted doubles and sidemount during the same trip and your buddies are doing likewise then you would all probably respond instinctively quicker during an...

I have no interest in caves but have been in my fair share of tight spots. Yes it is certainly true that bubbles may not be heard or felt, but my point was; if the cave is that tight you're never going to be able to get your hands on the donor's 22" hose anyhow so the benefit of the z-system is...

If it is unacceptable to donate the long hose either from your mouth, the shoulder d-ring or swap a reg if the wrong one is taken then to me that is a training problem. It was implied in earlier posts (not by you Kev) that if one were to take a 22" hose out of the diver's mouth then you would be...

I did notice that. Before I bought the Stealth 2.0 I would have liked the idea of having a rigid connection along the waist belt but since I've been diving it I've kind of grown fond of having the option to adjust the placement of the wing on-the-fly. The mounting system really does work well...

I'm still a bit confused on the scenario where two divers are in a tight cave (or any other confined space/overhead) with zero vis, no lights and one of them runs OOA. If they were following DIR and UTD protocol then they should be using the rule of thirds and wouldn't run out of air in the...

Andy that looks great! Pretty much exactly what I had in mind. Interesting how you have the trim pillow rigged, it hadn't occured to me to set it up that way. I have it flipped the other way with a crotch strap and two sternum straps made of bungees and snaps (literally identical to the Stealth...

What a great thread! I love when experienced divers get to bickering as to why 'thier' way is the better way...seriously. It brings up a lot of very good points and insights that may not have occured to some people. Personally, I constructed a distribution manifold (like the old z-system) when...

I originally got interested in sidemount diving after I had a bit of trouble navigating through a sub in backmount. Since then I have never looked back. Sure it is slightly more difficult (not really, just different) with boat entry and exits but entirely manageable and worth the little bit of...

Obviously it won't work well with a loose sloppy bungee but if the bungee provides the correct tension then it is very secure. I forgot to mention that I use the bungee connected to the harness above the shoulder D-ring method, not the floating loop. I haven't tried that style yet but it seems...

In your case I would have to assume you have been using perfect mounting technique right from the start. My bungee wasn't too large of diameter or anything, I just wasn't rigging it up correctly initially. The photo to the left was how I had my bottle rigged where my bungee would just fall off...

I know what you are talking about with the short protrusions on the valves. I bought a left and right hand valve when I first started getting into sidemount, both are not modular and have short protrusions . During my initial dives the tanks kept rotating and my bungees would fall off rather...

I'm assuming the depth will be relatively shallow so it should work without problem, especially if you have a compressor with decent pressure output. The obvious danger would be cutting yourself so keep the wheel well away from your hands. Make sure the boat engine is locked/tagged. When you are...

I just ran some bungees through the webbing to mount it like the Stealth, then added a longer inflation hose. I got lucky enough to find someone selling it on eBay. Technically you really don't need a BCD if your equipment is setup correctly but I do like the peace of mind to have 10 lbs of lift...