Attachment points

[mdwalter]

You know, you’d save yourself some hardware if you ditched the silly dive rite ring bungee system and then clipped your long hose reg to your right chest d-ring like the rest of the world does


Edit: typo save vs safe

The fabulous and highly useful ring bungee system has nothing to do with why I clip the long hose higher on my shoulder. It's up there to reduce clutter on the right chest D ring (light head when not in my hand, 1 or 2 stages sometimes, double-ender while using reel, nav kit while using it, etc.), but mainly so the second stage does not hang down so low as it would on the chest D ring. Also, with the 2nd stage hanging up higher, it is more possible to get that reg into my mouth without using my hands (just turn my head to the right and there it is), though this is more of a happy side effect than a reason for doing it this way, as the likelihood of needing to do this is pretty low.

A better question to ask me would have been why my long hose is on my left SM tank and not the right like "the rest of the world" does. I have 2 reasons for that - one original reason why I started doing it that way, and one reason I was glad I always did it that way that makes sense when I'm using the CM RB. Both are related to not having a hose running across my chest from right armpit to left shoulder.

Another good question you might have asked along these lines is why I (used to) have no necklace on my short hose 2nd stage (which runs off my right SM tank because my long hose is on the right). The honest answer is because I was too lazy to put the necklace on there for the longest time and it already had a bolt snap on the hose so I would just clip it off to the same high shoulder D ring when I unclipped the long hose to breathe it. I just swapped the 2 between my mouth and that ring. The only time both regs needed to be clipped at the same time was if I was breathing off a stage or deco bottle, but often I would just clip the short hose and leave the long hose unclipped and hanging around my neck. Once I started using the CM RB, though, it became obvious it was time to finally put a necklace on the short hose 2nd stage because with the loop in my mouth most of the time it did not make sense to have these two 2nd stages both clipped off together (and it was better having a BO reg right there under my chin for quickest access).

 

[grantctobin]

The fabulous and highly useful ring bungee system has nothing to do with why I clip the long hose higher on my shoulder. It's up there to reduce clutter on the right chest D ring (light head when not in my hand, 1 or 2 stages sometimes, double-ender while using reel, nav kit while using it, etc.), but mainly so the second stage does not hang down so low as it would on the chest D ring. Also, with the 2nd stage hanging up higher, it is more possible to get that reg into my mouth without using my hands (just turn my head to the right and there it is), though this is more of a happy side effect than a reason for doing it this way, as the likelihood of needing to do this is pretty low.

A better question to ask me would have been why my long hose is on my left SM tank and not the right like "the rest of the world" does. I have 2 reasons for that - one original reason why I started doing it that way, and one reason I was glad I always did it that way that makes sense when I'm using the CM RB. Both are related to not having a hose running across my chest from right armpit to left shoulder.

Another good question you might have asked along these lines is why I (used to) have no necklace on my short hose 2nd stage (which runs off my right SM tank because my long hose is on the right). The honest answer is because I was too lazy to put the necklace on there for the longest time and it already had a bolt snap on the hose so I would just clip it off to the same high shoulder D ring when I unclipped the long hose to breathe it. I just swapped the 2 between my mouth and that ring. The only time both regs needed to be clipped at the same time was if I was breathing off a stage or deco bottle, but often I would just clip the short hose and leave the long hose unclipped and hanging around my neck. Once I started using the CM RB, though, it became obvious it was time to finally put a necklace on the short hose 2nd stage because with the loop in my mouth most of the time it did not make sense to have these two 2nd stages both clipped off together (and it was better having a BO reg right there under my chin for quickest access).

I wouldn't exactly call left lean right rich "common" practice, at least not in modern configurations with the VAST majority of divers and instructors putting all gases on the left. I am unaware of any agency that advocates for this practice and only aware of agencies that forbid it because it entraps the long hose in backmount, disrupts the prop wash on a DPV, and has not proven to have any safety benefits. @grantctobin are you aware of any?

On your comment about the tank configuration, with the exception of the guys that only use short hoses and Lamar Hires who is really the only person I know who still dives long hose left, the paradigm with sidemount is to keep "left tank is mine, right tank is yours". This follows with the old backmount convention.
The problem with long hose left is that unless you have a lefty regulator for the short hose you are trading a hose crossing in front for one that bows in the front and hangs from your mouth instead of being supported by your neck. I will not dive in a team with a diver using the long hose on the left because it reduces the effective length of the long hose by almost a foot and because it's being fed across your body, it increases the torque on the mouthpiece which not only makes it extremely uncomfortable but also increases the risk of it ripping out of your mouth. Compound that with the fact that most hoses float and can catch on all sorts of things if you are in relatively tight passage I have always argued it is an unsafe configuration if you ever have to air-share and like I said, I will not dive in a team with someone who is using a left-side long hose because of the issues above.
I am curious to why you don't want the hose crossing your chest but more importantly why you feel that is more important than the safety and comfort of the diver in front of you during an OOA issue.
To combat the hose crossing across my chest *which I don't like either*, I use a Poseidon on my long hose which lets me feed from the left but flip it "upside-down" during an air-share so it doesn't cross under the diver. It does require a slightly modified air-share procedure for me where I have to grab the regulator and rotate it along its horizontal axis instead of its vertical axis to air-share, but that's fairly inconsequential.

I’ll just quote this from @tbone1004 that you didn’t see or didn’t feel the need to respond to with regards to your rather uncommon situation, as it’s more eloquent than that which I can muster.

 

[manwood]

Butt pouch. Keep the shoulder d-rings clear (and you really only need one on each side), and depending on how you’re shaped and how your cylinders sit, excess gear in thigh pockets can cause the cylinders to a-frame. You’ll likely find the backup lights on the harness annoying. I’d also consider ditching the bolt snap on your corrugated house and simply running a bungee through the tri-glide eyelets.

How do you access the buttpouc, do you unclip the whole thing or just feel your way around it from behind? I always worry with pouches I am going to lose something and not notice as I open it up and start searching for items. Any suggestions?

 

[grantctobin]

How do you access the buttpouc, do you unclip the whole thing or just feel your way around it from behind? I always worry with pouches I am going to lose something and not notice as I open it up and start searching for items. Any suggestions?

I unclip the whole thing and bring it forward. All items are clipped off to one or two paracord loops inside the pouch. Some or the nicer ones have two pockets, and I’ll often use the outer one for things that aren’t clipped off that I’m less concerned with losing (a few zip ties and a mouthpiece perhaps). I can’t say I’ve ever lost anything from it, but I avoid putting push button lights in mine for the annoyance of them turning on

 

[tbone1004]

How do you access the buttpouc, do you unclip the whole thing or just feel your way around it from behind? I always worry with pouches I am going to lose something and not notice as I open it up and start searching for items. Any suggestions?

the pouches should have line/bungee loops in them the same way that pockets do. Everything should be clipped off to the loops so there is no risk of "dropping" anything.

 

[mdwalter]

How do you access the buttpouc, do you unclip the whole thing or just feel your way around it from behind? I always worry with pouches I am going to lose something and not notice as I open it up and start searching for items. Any suggestions?

I usually bring the whole pouch around front so I can see what I'm doing. Occasionally, I will just do a partial unzip while it is still clipped out back if I am going to just pull out something small that I know is on top and unattached, but usually it's better to just bring the whole thing around and be sure I'm not dragging anything else out with the item I'm after and dropping it. Most of the more important and lesser used items in there are clipped to a loop of thin bungee inside the bag so if I want something near the bottom I can pull some other stuff and let it dangle for a second until I get to what I want and then flip everything else back in. That's a lot like what many people do with their thigh pockets, but in the butt pouch you get the added advantage of being able to do all this right in front of your face if you want. If I only need the item I'm pulling out for a minute or two, and/or if it takes two hands to get it out or use it, I will temporarily clip the butt pack to my chest D ring until it's time to zip it up and move it back to my butt. These are all things you can't really do with thigh pockets, so I've taken to using my pouch not only for side mount diving, but often even with my back mount doubles a lot of times. This also means I don't have to move all my stuff back and forth between the pouch and my pocket shorts when switching back and forth between SM & BM, and I'm always reaching for it in the same place.

 

[Rayk]

If you diving dry while using canister light/heating battery as well as suit inflation, you may want to check those brackets.

Works with Apeks SM BCD.

Argon / Battery clamp for XDEEP / APEKS – D°LUXE Dive Gear

dluxedivegear.de

 

[mdwalter]

If you diving dry while using canister light/heating battery as well as suit inflation, you may want to check those brackets.

Works with Apeks SM BCD.

Argon / Battery clamp for XDEEP / APEKS – D°LUXE Dive Gear

dluxedivegear.de

View attachment 744477View attachment 744478

Thanks for the link. These brackets are really cool looking and seem like they would work well for me to mount a AL6 suit bottle on the left and maybe either a DSMB or my canister light on the right. The down side for me is that they are only available from Germany, so to order a pair will not only cost the $53 euro (which does seem high for 2 bent pieces of stainless steel and 2 meters of 5mm bungee), but the shipping to the USA will be another 25 to 50 euro. I do notice that they take off the VAT when shipping outside the EU, so that brings the cost of the 2 brackets down to 43 euro, but that's still $70 to $95 USD with shipping. Maybe I'll try to DIY something similar to mount my stuff in this position using something like a pair of counterlung triglides (bent to be similar in shape to these brackets) or something like that before investing in these brackets from overseas.
Maybe I will cut the middle rail on one or two of these XDeep canister holders (which I already have) to form a hook like the brackets have and then just use some longer bungee so it can wrap the tank and hook just like they do with the brackets. The problem will be that it will be wider than the space where the back strap weaves in and out of the weight pockets, so I'll have to skip some of the loops (probably not a big problem). I'll post pics if I give it a try.

 

[Rayk]

Thanks for the link. These brackets are really cool looking and seem like they would work well for me to mount a AL6 suit bottle on the left and maybe either a DSMB or my canister light on the right. The down side for me is that they are only available from Germany, so to order a pair will not only cost the $53 euro (which does seem high for 2 bent pieces of stainless steel and 2 meters of 5mm bungee), but the shipping to the USA will be another 25 to 50 euro. I do notice that they take off the VAT when shipping outside the EU, so that brings the cost of the 2 brackets down to 43 euro, but that's still $70 to $95 USD with shipping. Maybe I'll try to DIY something similar to mount my stuff in this position using something like a pair of counterlung triglides (bent to be similar in shape to these brackets) or something like that before investing in these brackets from overseas.
Maybe I will cut the middle rail on one or two of these XDeep canister holders (which I already have) to form a hook like the brackets have and then just use some longer bungee so it can wrap the tank and hook just like they do with the brackets. The problem will be that it will be wider than the space where the back strap weaves in and out of the weight pockets, so I'll have to skip some of the loops (probably not a big problem). I'll post pics if I give it a try.

View attachment 744618View attachment 744622View attachment 744623

Personally I wouldn’t place DSMB there, will be difficult to reach, I think butt pouches better idea for DSMB, spool, wetnotes etc.

What I do is, I unclip to pouch completely, bring it to front and clip left d ring, then take whatever I need to use because everything in there secured with double enders to the loops inside the pouch.

 

[mdwalter]

Personally I wouldn’t place DSMB there, will be difficult to reach, I think butt pouches better idea for DSMB, spool, wetnotes etc.

What I do is, I unclip to pouch completely, bring it to front and clip left d ring, then take whatever I need to use because everything in there secured with double enders to the loops inside the pouch.

Yeah, as I said in an earlier post to this thread (just yesterday, in fact - see above), I keep most everything in the pouch. But if I want to have a larger DSMB or lift bag that doesn't fit in the pouch, this could be a good spot where it will be protected by the wing but still easy for me to reach.