Attachment points

[jadairiii]

Sounds like you also need more pockets. You should look into the tech shirts with pockets to wear over your suit if it doesn’t have pockets. SMB and a spool can go in a pocket. Still seems like way too much stuff.

See above. You're not in a cave so, other than your back up light on one D-ring and your one "cutting device" on your waist strap of your harness, the rest of this melange should be in pockets and not dangling all over the place. Clean and simple

 

[jsnorman]

I knew I would get great suggestions here! Thank you to all.

I am going to try the tech shorts with pockets from fourth element. I don't think they will hit my cylinders but will watch out for that @grantctobin

I’d also consider ditching the bolt snap on your corrugated house and simply running a bungee through the tri-glide eyelets.

Not sure I follow suggestions for securing the corrugated hose. Do you mean to run hose over my shoulder? I currently have it under my arm running across chest to opposite (right to left) side for trim. I can see bungee loop mount over should but I don't see any way to do that for the under arm configuration?

Looking for a larger butt pouch. The apex one is pretty small, sounds like I should upsize that.

Thinking about light options, appreciate all of the suggestions I just need to think through configuration.

@Wibble yeah instructor was pretty clueless on sm but she was great otherwise. I just had to educate her a bit on benefits of sm... but not sure I succeeded (I forgot to bungee my clipped cylinders on solo checkout dive and went in water looking bad so I was not the best sm ambassador that day). Funny thing was she had another student using an al80 pony rigged stage bottle style to his waist and shoulder d ring, with his primary on back, but the al80 pony hung down in front and was really a hinderence. It was kind of silly.

• Get a lift bag to replace your large DSMB. Fold it flat and stow it under your longhose's bungees.
  
  
• Could you install another low-profile D-ring on each strap below the current ones? I'm looking at photos of the WSX-25, and it looks like there's room.

I am not following the first bullet above. Under long hose bungees?

I can fit a d ring above on the shoulder for sure. I don't think I can fit another below though. The way the strap sits on my body it curves pretty sharply after the existing shoulder D ring and wraps under my arm. I don't see much flat, straight, surface on webbing below D ring. I will try to make a low profile one work though.

 

[grantctobin]

A la the attached photo courtesy of DiverByDesign

I promise the answer isn’t more d-rings or more boltsnaps.

 

[J-Vo]

Deco & Cave diving require as much or more equipment then the Solo Cert, and lots of people do them in side mount. Here is my setup:

• One EZ Cut on each shoulder above the D-Ring.
• Backup lights clip to D-Ring with ~2.5" bungee leash, and then are strapped below the D-rings on the shoulder straps (using bicycle tube). These are DRIS 1000 3c lights, so not tiny at all and I don't notice them in the water.
• One PDC on each wrist.
• Primary light is a can light with but mounted canister. Head is on Goodman handle, or clipped to the left D-ring. Sometimes loops around the neck if I need light and hand mobility.
• Inflator hose comes under the right arm and clips to the right D-ring
• Long hose comes around the neck and clips to the right D-ring
• Short hose comes around the neck and is on necklace bungee
• Butt pouch (X-Deep): backup mask, backup DSMB, backup spool, wet notes, multi tool, bungee loops, zip ties.
• Trauma sheers attached to the under side of the pouch were I can get to them without unclipping the pouch.
• Primary SMB, Reel, Spools, Camera, or generally anything I expect to use on the dive is butt clipped.
• Deco/Stage tanks clip to the should D's and the drop D's in the back. I can manage four stages comfortably with my current system.
• With the Sidewinder:
  • MAV/Needle valve comes form under the right arm and clips to left D-ring.
  • O2 and Suit inflation bottle are butt mounted just below the but D-ring. Hoses route up the spine and come out under the arms on either side.
  • For trimix dives Light canister is displaced by the inflation bottle and is waist mounted. It rides nicely between the right tank and right stage tank.

If I'm going into a cave the DSMBs stay in the truck. Otherwise, it's all the same.

 

[tbone1004]

I recently completed my solo certification using side mount as my redundant gas (over the initial objection of my not side mount friendly instructor, but I convinced her to treat my second tank as a big pony and kept gas off on right tank except for oog exercises). My rig is an apeks wsx25 using loop bungees, with lower attachment to the sliding D rings on waist for al tanks, or rear fixed d rings for steelies.

With solo, however, I found I needed more attachment points than I had easily available. 2x cutting tools, lights, dsmb plus safety sausage, extra mask, visual signaling device, 2x audible signaling devices... Mostly clipped to my shoulder d rings (except dsmb in butt pouch, and extra mask strapped to a thigh pocket, and I put one of my knives on should strap tucked under d ring).

With all of that extra gear, my shoulder d rings were pretty overloaded (and I also use my right shoulder d ring to secure my inflator, plus a clip for my long hose..)

Plus, I always have a big camera rig which I usually clip to the shoulder D rings also when I need hands free.

Anyway, I quickly realized the my much loved minimalist wsx might be too minimalist for solo diving. I just could not come up with any good solution for more attachment points for all my solo diving Christmas tree ornaments. Maybe I could add D rings above the should D ring but that would ride pretty high on my shoulder? Nothing possible on waist belt due to sliding D rings.

Curious what others do for adding attachment points.

Am considering Hollis rig due to the built in attachment rings on side, but I am really comfortable with my wsx and hate to change up.

Any other thoughts or ideas?

echoing some of the above
Big butt pouch is likely the answer. I can't stand thigh pockets in sidemount since they are very annoying to get into and they make the tanks feel funny when they're full. I don't even have them on the drysuit I use primarily for sidemount. The wetsuits from Deep6 had them canted forward for easier access but does make them hang forward which is annoying. I've been sidemount diving since 2009, long before it was "cool" and when the Razor, Armadillo, and original Nomad were the only commercial options out there, so I've tried most of this in the past and this is where I've settled.

Anyway.
2x cutting tools: z-knife strapped to each of your computers and/or chest strap. I use Benchmade 7's but the trilobites work the same. Thread the bungees for your computer/compass through the strap and you're good to go. Since you're probably diving in the lakes up there you NEED and no this is not negotiable, you NEED trauma shears. Those can either go in a pocket or on your waist strap but with all the fishing gear in there you do need shears.

Lights: unless you're doing penetration you only need 1x spare which can easily be clipped into the butt pouch with the other on a goodman handle on your hand. I am partial to the Oxycheq Raider that is best to get from Cave Adventurers. If you are doing penetration then get a helmet and put them on your head or you can tie one to your mask strap. If you google pictures of @Edd Sorenson you will see a mask light on his mask and depending on the age of the image a Paralenz attached in similar fashion on the other side.

DSMB: If you intend to use it, just clip it to your butt d-rings, if you don't intend to use it then in the butt pouch it goes.

Spare Mask: butt pouch

Signaling devices: butt pouch.

Wet notes: you didn't mention these, but you should probably have them and they should be in the butt pouch.

NOTHING should be clipped to your shoulder d-rings unless you intend to use it frequently during the dive. Those are meant for things you need readily accessible and none of the things you have mentioned belong up there *with the one possible exception of backup lights if rigged DIR style but those usually get in the way of the bottles if they are rigged properly.

I do not recommend pocket shorts, certainly not for cold water diving I don't know how big the Apeks butt pouch is, but do not be afraid to stuff them, everything should be clipped to a bungee loop so you can pull it out and stuff it back without dropping anything.

 

[sourdough]

hip pockets for masks & smbs?

 

[Wibble]

hip pockets for masks & smbs?

Don't they get in the way of the sidemounted cylinders and stages?

If sidemounting I leave my drysuit pockets empty except for my spare mask.

 

[sourdough]

Don't they get in the way of the sidemounted cylinders and stages?

If sidemounting I leave my drysuit pockets empty except for my spare mask.

Oops I meant thigh pockets, the ones you can glue on. Idk if they get in the way of sidemount, I'm curious to know.

Like these:

DGX Gears Glue-On Thigh Pocket

Easily add deep bellows pockets to your wetsuit or drysuit with the DGX Gears Glue-On Thigh Pocket.

www.divegearexpress.com

 

[stretchthepenn]

I am not following the first bullet above. Under long hose bungees?

I'm assuming you have a longhose on your right-hand cylinder. Part of this longhose is permanently deployed and clipped to your right D-ring. The remainder of the longhose is strapped down tightly to the cylinder body with two bungee/EPDM/elastic loops. These two bands also secure the liftbag.

In the photo below, you'll see the longhose routed down under a bungee loop, over a worm clamp band, under a bungee loop, and then back up. The liftbag is on the photo's right side, and you can see how the bungee loops hold it onto the cylinder.

 

[grantctobin]

I'm assuming you have a longhose on your right-hand cylinder. Part of this longhose is permanently deployed and clipped to your right D-ring. The remainder of the longhose is strapped down tightly to the cylinder body with two bungee/EPDM/elastic loops. These two bands also secure the liftbag.

In the photo below, you'll see the longhose routed down under a bungee loop, over a worm clamp band, under a bungee loop, and then back up. The liftbag is on the photo's right side, and you can see how the bungee loops hold it onto the cylinder.

View attachment 730749

Even ignoring the button SPG, I'm very confused by this picture. Why is your long hose on your left bottle? If this is your left bottle, why run the lift bag / SMB on the underside rather than the top? Would be very curious how this looks mounted to you in the water.