Best Sidemount System For Cold Water Diving

[Razorista]

Well if everyone recommends outside the four system he mentioned himself:
Either buy a Razor or a Ratatosk.
You could also take the Stealth (I prefer the Classic Wing), but with a drysuit the soft webbing has no advantage comfort-wise, it will take less punishment than the other two and complete with pouch and all options it isn't significantly cheaper than the Razor and way more expensive than the Ratatosk.

 

[Bison Ravi]

Well if everyone recommends outside the four system he mentioned himself:
Either buy a Razor or a Ratatosk.
You could also take the Stealth (I prefer the Classic Wing), but with a drysuit the soft webbing has no advantage comfort-wise, it will take less punishment than the other two and complete with pouch and all options it isn't significantly cheaper than the Razor and way more expensive than the Ratatosk.

I'd buy a stealth classic wing, which in my opinion is close to perfect. Plenty of lift exactly where you need it, low profile, and packs very small. Then I'd buy 2 harnesses for cheap with from DECO - Dive Equipment Company - Home page. One harness for warm water one harness for cold water/drysuit. I'd also get 2 sets of LBSR sliding d-rings. Or I'd buy parts from Sump UK and build an adjustable harness.

Other harnesses are a pain to adjust if you switch from wetsuit to drysuit.

Last time I checked the Ratatosk was way more expensive and the razor, well I just don't like the wing and the price.

 

[DevonDiver]

The question that's not been asked is what cylinders are being used. I am guessing steel?

The Two Schools of Sidemount Diving Heritage

 

[Bison Ravi]

The question that's not been asked is what cylinders are being used. I am guessing steel?

The Two Schools of Sidemount Diving Heritage

He's diving single tank, but even with two common sidemount steel tanks and a dry suit he'd be ok with the stealth wing IMHO.

 

[DevonDiver]

Just about any sidemount is 'ok'... but there are features and approaches that can make one approach better than the other for particular circumstances.

Systems using rails tend to be very convenient for steel tanks - especially with thick gloves. But rails cause issues with tank trim when you have to move aluminum cylinders. In the same respect, there's no point paying a premium for sliding d-rings etc when using steel tanks that don't need to be adjusted for trim as you consume gas.

Other factors to consider are aspects like LPI routing can make a difference, depending on the regs you have/plan to use. Location of pull-dumps, size of D-rings - all have an impact if wearing thicker gloves etc. Different rigs are supplied with different bungee methods - whilst these can changed by the individual, it's an extra cost element. Some bungee methods suit steel or aluminum cylinders better.

 

[victorzamora]

I think the tanks you choose are more important than the water temperature you dive in. If you're diving very, very light steels (like the Euro12s that behave almost like Aluminum 80s) then the "warm water" Razor-style is the better choice, in my opinion. If you're planning on carrying 500cuft (14000L), then you really need one of the SMS-like rigs. I think that the very-heavy steel tanks don't trim out as well when you waist-clip them (they tend to hang lower than I like), so that's more of the "tank selection matters more than water temperature" that I follow.

 

[mddolson]

I dive a Dive-Rite Nomad XT, with viking drysuit & 400 underwear in Great Lakes & gulf St Lawrence (4-8°C below thermocline)
I wear the nomad with a 3mm wetsuit when I dive the Caribbean on holiday. No big adjustments required , other than tighten up the straps.

Mike D

 

[Patoux01]

If you're diving very, very light steels (like the Euro12s that behave almost like Aluminum 80s)

Surely you mean Faber 12, not Euro12 (EuroCylinders 12 or ECS12)? There's quite a difference from what I've seen.

 

[victorzamora]

Surely you mean Faber 12, not Euro12 (EuroCylinders 12 or ECS12)? There's quite a difference from what I've seen.

My understanding is that the Faber12s and ECS12s get very light and the tail starts floating early in to the dive. I've heard the concave-bottom ECS 12s are less dramatic, but the round-bottom ECS12s are very tail-floaty and that they and the Faber 12Ls are similar to AL80s in that the tails float when empty.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My understanding is that the Faber12s and ECS12s get very light and the tail starts floating early in to the dive. I've heard the concave-bottom ECS 12s are less dramatic, but the round-bottom ECS12s are very tail-floaty and that they and the Faber 12Ls are similar to AL80s in that the tails float when empty.

They don't even have to get empty ... I tried using Faber LP95's for sidemount when I first started diving that way. At around 1500 psi they start getting butt-light. With cave fills it's not an issue, as that's about when you're ending your dive anyway. But for basic recreational diving ... when you need less reserve ... these are not an optimal choice for sidemount diving.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)