Advice from Sidemount divers needed

[Crass3000]

I bought a Hollis SMS100 and took it for a little but of instruction in pool and love it. Makes me feel good about diving while my back is giving me trouble.

I am thinking about getting a kit specifically designed for sidemount. I love and mostly use Apeks rigs and I thought their sidemount package looked nice for routing, etc. Has anybody had good/bad thoughts experiences with the Apeks sidemount rig? Anybody have a different sidemount regulator kit that you like better or I should be looking at?

Thanks for any advice,
Mike

 

[Dhboner]

I just run my Hog's with 90 degree adapters on the second stages...love it!

 

[tbone1004]

what apeks regs do you have now?

requirements
pair of 6" HP hoses with 1.5" or 2" brass and glass SPGs. 6" Hoses are good for running up or down.

7' hose for ideally the right hand bottle
whatever hose length you want for the left. Some of us run 40" hoses and run down then back up if the reg is reversed, or you can do the same for a turret and run them across the back of the neck.
90* or ball swivels depending on personal preference. I use 90* for those running behind your neck, but many prefer ball swivels. I have plenty of angles, so no need to buy new ones

If you have 5th ports you can use the short stubby inflator hoses, but I use drysuit hoses on mine and run them down then back up.

I dive Poseidons so my first stages don't have turrets on them. All of my hoses have to run down then turn back up. It doesn't bother me at all but the turrets allow you to run shorter left bottle hoses if you're crossing behind your neck.


The sidemount kit is nice because it is all put together, but if you have Apeks regs set up for doubles they can be easily converted to make great sidemount regs. Let us know what you have already and that may help the decision making process

 

[Crass3000]

what apeks regs do you have now?

Right now I have two XTX50 second stages, one first that came with my XTX50 that is yoke and has the swivel part on the botton (want all DIN so I was thinking about keeping this for vacation), another first that is DIN that doesn't have the swivel bottom, I should be OK with hoses and quages. I was thinking about selling the DIN XTX50 as there is no swivel at the bottom makes routing easier for sidemount

I just basically want an out of the box solution (could still amend it) that makes hose routing easer.

I have a couple Dive Rite Rigs with the cold water additions on them but those are for my 40cF pony or stage bottles.

 

[Colliam7]

I am thinking about getting a kit specifically designed for sidemount. I love and mostly use Apeks rigs and I thought their sidemount package looked nice for routing, etc. Has anybody had good/bad thoughts experiences with the Apeks sidemount rig? Anybody have a different sidemount regulator kit that you like better or I should be looking at?

The Apeks kit is very functional. I have experience with all of the elements of it, but I put them together independent of a 'kit' purchase.

The primary elements:

1. FIRST / SECOND STAGES
Two swivel / turret first stages - Apeks DSTs - with the fifth port
Apeks XTX50 second stages

2. HOSES - SECOND STAGE
A long second stage hose (~7') for the right side, and a short (22") second stage hose for the left, to be placed on a bungee necklace (included with the kit).

3. HOSES - SPG
6" HP hoses for both SPGs.

4. HOSES - LOW PRESSURE INFLATOR
'Custom length' hoses for both sides

5. ADDITIONAL ITEMS
A 90 degree ELBOW / adaptor for one of the second stage hoses
Bungee necklace


My experiences:

I personally prefer swivel / turret first stages for SM. For me, it improves hose routing. I have used Zeagle 50D first stages, HOG first stages, and Apeks DST first stages - all turrets. I like the 5th port option (particularly on the right side, for drysuit inflation), but it is neither absolutely necessary, nor a needless 'bell and whistle'. My Zeagles don't have it. For me, the key is the turret. My two DSTs DO have the 5th port, and I like the feature.

The XTX50 is a good workhorse second stage. For me, it offers venturi control, and user-adjustable breathing - some divers say they are unnecessary features, and they are entitled to their opinion. I have quite a few XTX50s, on tec regs as well as recreational regs, and have no complaints whatsoever. My preferred alternative second stage is a Zeagle ZX - similar in performance to the XTX50.

I personally dive a 7' second stage hose on my right cylinder, and a shorter second stage hose on my left. For me, the left hose is 24", rather than 22" but the difference is trivial. I dive that configuration (LH right, SH left) because I came to SM from backmount doubles, and simply copied my BM configuration on my SM cylinders. There are MANY threads on SB about SM hose lengths. There are some who dive the long hose on the left, some who dive 5' hoses on both sides, etc. That is a matter of personal preference. You won't go wrong with a right long hose and a left short hose on the bungee necklace.

The 6" HP (SPG) hoses are very common in SM - you don't need longer hoses, irrespective of whether you dive with your SPGs 'up' in front of you, or 'down' along the cylinder wall. If you look on Steve Martin's website, he references the Apeks Kit as having 8" HP hoses. On other sites, the Apeks kit is shown as having 6" hoses. Either way, a short HP hose is very practical.

The length of the LP / BCD inflator hoses is also a matter of personal preference. The kit specifications on a number of websites refers to 'custom length' hoses. On Martin's website he makes reference to 'custom length' on one reg but also shows, and refers to, a 20cm (~8") LP hose on the other. Many people like the short inflator hoses, and they work well with the 5th port option on the first stages. I personally have migrated to a longer, 15" inflator hose, but that is really up to you.

Elbows / adaptors are very much a matter of personal preference. I personally use 360 degree Omni swivels on both second stage hoses. I have a 90 degree elbow that I have used, and a 70 degree elbow that I have used, as well. I see no reason to move away from the Omnis.

One of the beautiful features of SM is that it is still in the 'frontier' stage. very little is 'wrong'. A lot is 'OK', or 'right', depending on your preferences.

The Apeks kit is good, but pricey. You won't regret buying it if you decide to go that route.t

 

[Scott]

I use the Apeks sidemount kit and have no issues with the regs themselves. I like any reg for SM that has the 5th port on a turret
I have made a couple changes from how it comes out of the box though.
I use longer LP hoses to make hose routing for my BC inflator where I like it and for my dry suit.
I didn't like the look of the stock SPG's so I used some others I had purchased just before Apeks released the kit.
I changed the short hose to come off the left side of the second stage instead of routing it behind my neck or across the chest.

 

[sethw]

I can't imagine you will hear anything bad about the Apeks package... except maybe the price. For a LOT ess you can find a HOG D1 package with same features (turrets, 5th port on top) including all hoses SPGs 90 degree adapters etc. Black Friday sales not too far off, I'll bet you can get a full package for under $600.

 

[decompression]

I have both the Apeks and the HOG regs for my SM rigs. Both work very well with a slight nod to the HOGS due to the turret and cost.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[tbone1004]

I'm recommending DiveRightinScuba here just because you are buying Apeks stuff. Typically for sidemount you should really be calling Edd Sorenson at Cave Adventurers but he isn't an Apeks dealer.

For about $65 you can buy the DIN adapter for the yoke first stage, or depending on where you are and your comfort level with tools you can swap din from the other first stage with the yoke on the other then just buy another DST DIN, should be somewhere right around $300 from Dive Right in Scuba. They don't have it listed on there, but they can order it if they don't have it in stock already. Your LDS may actually swap the connectors out for you for free. It is literally two bolts and takes less than 2 minutes to swap over.

Buy the second DST and now you have the first and second stages from the Apeks kit.

Almost all SPG's come out of the same factory in Italy and these are great little SPG's from HOG. Thin and light so the HP hoses really hold them tight.
Hog 1.5" Slimline SPG - Dive Right in Scuba

Cave Adventurers - Cave Adventurers Sidemount Hose Set - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!
This is the sidemount hose set that Edd uses and recommends. If you aren't diving in a drysuit this will work fine since it only has 1 inflator hose. Otherwise just get another one. DRiS will have all of these hoses including the little 6" stubby inflator hose in the Apeks set for the BC if you want to keep it all at one shop.

 

[kelemvor]

I didn't see it mentioned, and maybe you've already done it. But, a "leftie" valve on one of the tanks will make things a little more uniform and help protect the valve handle.