Attaching Gear to Sidemount Cylinders? Pros/Cons/Suggestions

[SlugLife]

If you can't fit what you need in the butt pouch, get a bigger butt pouch. Or for larger things like primary reels or frequently used things like nav kit, just clip it to your butt D ring or butt plate. DO NOT strap any gear (including weights) to your tanks. Besides becoming a serious entanglement risk, it also requires you to move all that stuff over every time you change tanks (between dives, between days, etc). Mount all the gear you need on your harness (out back where it is not in the way or hanging down) and it will always be there when you need it.
I like to keep the items I plan to use clipped off to the butt D ring for quick access and the items I may need (emergency or unplanned needs that may come up) in the pouch. My arms are long and still flexible enough to reach up between my should blades from below, so if I needed a large lift bag for the dive or wanted to carry a DSMB that does not fit in the pouch I would bungee it in the middle of my back under the wing so I can pull it out if needed (and it's not in the way and nobody really even notices it's there, so not Christmassy at all).

I have a system that works well enough at the moment, although I'm always on the lookout for areas of improvement. Currently, most items are in the butt-pouch, and then I have a couple cutting tools, and occasionally use the crotch d-rings for things like flashlight, and loot-bags.

I put a pouch on my tanks once, and the difficulty was moving my rigging between tanks, as you mentioned, so I haven't really gone down that route since. If I were to put a pouch on the tanks, it would probably have to be clipped on with bolt-snaps. A minor annoyance can be hose-routing too, depending on where the pouch is. All "vital" gear always goes on me of course, not on the tanks. Contents of a tank-pouch (if any) would be misc/spare stuff like lift-bags, dsmbs, spools, large cutting devices, etc. I like the idea of being able to ditch a tank, and safely complete the dive.

My arms are long and still flexible enough to reach up between my should blades from below, so if I needed a large lift bag for the dive or wanted to carry a DSMB that does not fit in the pouch I would bungee it in the middle of my back under the wing so I can pull it out if needed (and it's not in the way and nobody really even notices it's there, so not Christmassy at all).

I really like that idea, I'll have to give it a try!

Depending on how easy or difficult it us to retrieve from there, I may put my lift-bag or DSMB back there. Perhaps even a pouch on a cord would work.

 

[hedonist222]

The BCD I am borrowing from my isntructor is no difernt from my xDeep BCD - from an attachment-points perspective

Scuba Force Blade

 

[Doby45]

The only time I strap anything to a tank is when it is my deco bottle. I attach a thigh pocket with straps to the deco bottle to hold "deco" items.