Dive Rite Nomad Ray

[lostsheep]

Are you insinuating that the Xdeep/armadillo/razor are somehow the same thing?

Yea they are all clones. Razor and armadillo were out first. Both were different than the typical sm bc’s of that era. The stealth is just xdeeps interpretation of that style of sm rig. The k2 is a clome as well. It’s generally acknowledged at least here in florida where we have a long history of sm that the razor/armadillo/stealth all are very similar in design and therefore are referred to as clones of each other. That doesnt mean they all look alike and have the same features. But at the end of the day they all share similar dna.

Quote where I said they are the same.

There ya go.

. You used clone and same as synonyms, I just rolled with it.

 

[berndo]

There is no intention to clip cylinders to the half D’s on the back of the wing cover.

You sure they didn't put the D-rings there to give the option to clip in tanks. Seems like a really bad place to clip of other stuff, not that it's great to attach the tanks there.

 

[grantctobin]

You sure they didn't put the D-rings there to give the option to clip in tanks. Seems like a really bad place to clip of other stuff, not that it's great to attach the tanks there.

Quite sure.

 

[stuartv]

You sure they didn't put the D-rings there to give the option to clip in tanks. Seems like a really bad place to clip of other stuff, not that it's great to attach the tanks there.

I have one and it never even occurred to me to clip tanks there. But, I haven’t found any other use for those D-rings, either. In other words, they are useless, to me. Definitely not for clipping tanks to.

I have been clipping my tanks to the rails on the butt plate. But, I clipped them to the drop D rings on the Ray and that seemed better, so I would probably do the same on my K2, if I ever dive it again.

 

[Manatee Diver]

You sure they didn't put the D-rings there to give the option to clip in tanks. Seems like a really bad place to clip of other stuff, not that it's great to attach the tanks there.

Pretty sure, I saw one of the last production prototypes at CA. They used that for reels and spools. Might have a use for the Sidewinder, but that is how I saw them use them for OC.

 

[lostsheep]

Got my Ray and took it for a dive yesterday. Overall I’m pretty happy with it.

Pros:
This thing is lightweight; I haven’t actually weighed it but everyone immediately notices.

Ability to easily change / customize the harness; I swapped everything except the crotch strap immediately and I decreased the total number of components.

Sewing the harness rings into the wing creates a very sleek fit and keeps the wing streamlined. I’ve always thought using screws through grommets was 1/2 assed design, this is much cleaner.

Wing maintains a decent shape until fully inflated.

Internal weights work well and contribute to the sleek fit.

Easily adjustable loop bungees are awesome.

Lower dump is much easier to find than the corresponding k2 dump. I don’t get to cave dive very often so no idea how well the external positioning will hold up long term.

Cons:
I’m not a fan of the factory hardware; primarily because there’s too much of it and I hate chrome. Me having an absurd amount of diy plates didn’t help.

The super fabric skid is almost stiff enough to function similar to the panel inside my K2 but not enough to prevent all beach balling. The K2 stays flatter when fully inflated.

The instructions are to set the Ray’s wing height just above your butt regardless of size. That works well for setting the bungee height for me because I’m average height (5’ 10”) but taller or shorter people might have an issue. DR could install an extra grommet hole or two for vertical adjustability.

15 lb weight limit kinda sucks. It’s cold here in NorCal and I need the weight. My hp100s were fine but I’d have to add weight pockets for my LP50s, LP85s, or al80s. I won’t be doing that. This is likely a non issue for other locations.

 

[stuartv]

The instructions are to set the Ray’s wing height just above your butt regardless of size. That works well for setting the bungee height for me because I’m average height (5’ 10”) but taller or shorter people might have an issue. DR could install an extra grommet hole or two for vertical adjustability.

I'm 6' 1". The bungee position works fine for me. My friend Amanda is short. 5' 4" maybe? It works fine for her, too.

Also, IIRC (I'm not home and don't have my Ray here), the bungee tab has 3 holes and the bungee comes out of the bottom 2. I suppose you could re-do it so it came out of the top 2. But, I think that would only move it up an inch(-ish), so maybe not even worth the trouble.

 

[lostsheep]

You sure they didn't put the D-rings there to give the option to clip in tanks. Seems like a really bad place to clip of other stuff, not that it's great to attach the tanks there.

Quite sure.

Ha!

I don't clip bottles to the wing mounted drings either but I found this video and it gave me a chuckle because of this thread. Looks like a temporary clip but he did do it

I'm not advocating for or against, FWIW.

(

 

[PEDiver]

How is everyone mounting their canister light on the Ray? I just got one and that is something I am trying to figure out. I have the Dive Rite HP50 with the expedition battery. I usually see people butt mounting it, but without a butt plate on the Ray, it doesn't seem to be as easy. I'm used to doubles so I've thought maybe just mounting it on the waist strap like I normally would. Thoughts?

 

[grantctobin]

Ha!

I don't clip bottles to the wing mounted drings either but I found this video and it gave me a chuckle because of this thread. Looks like a temporary clip but he did do it

I'm not advocating for or against, FWIW.

(

View attachment 794094

Ha, nicely found. I do use them as a temporary leas but they weren’t intended for it nor are they worth anything for primary bottle placement.