DIY Sidemount setup, anyone built one with DECO harness and bladder? Other DIY tips?

[Cerulean]

Hey there! I'm toying with getting into sidemount but can't afford to drop the money for an Xdeep or the like at the moment. I'm interested in putting one together DIY and am curious whether anyone here has used the budget friendly options sold on DECO equipment co website. Additionally, any other tips and tricks that would be useful building my own setup?

Cheers!

 

[Gone for diving]

DIY Sidemount Rigs | Ideas For Homemade Dive Gear Projects

My DIY sidemount rigs from when commercially made sidemount systems were not commonly available. Ideas for sidemount home build projects

scubatechphilippines.com

How To Rig A Deco Sidemount Harness And Wing Perfectly!

How to assemble a Deco Sidemount harness that allows permanent & reliable attachment of the wing. This step-by-step guide shows you how!

scubatechphilippines.com

 

[Gone for diving]

I have modified a transpac....

Lot of people might not like this,
But you can modify your existing BP&W... even just to try it.

Here's the idea TODDY STYLE – Sidemount System

But any DIY you do have to like fooling around to get it trimmed right

 

[grantctobin]

Hey there! I'm toying with getting into sidemount but can't afford to drop the money for an Xdeep or the like at the moment. I'm interested in putting one together DIY and am curious whether anyone here has used the budget friendly options sold on DECO equipment co website. Additionally, any other tips and tricks that would be useful building my own setup?

Cheers!

Pirahna and Sump UK both make decent hardware. The Halcyon webbing is best. Have a diy harness with an XDeep Classic bladder as well as one with the DECO bladder. Would recommend having someone on hand to help size it if you haven’t done this sort of thing. Neither bladder loves being filled with gas but with a pair of AL80s, you shouldn’t need much of it anyway. The grommets in the DECO wing are smaller than the outer diameter of the female side of a standard sex nut, so you might need some fiddling or a standard washer and bolt if you went with a permanent attachment. Weave hard weights into the spine or use the LM or XS Scuba weight plates.

I’ll have to poke around but may have extra Pirahna plates and webbing hanging around from a precious project. Modifying a BP is a bit frivolous as the waist belt is in a silly place.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I built one a while back. Made the harness, hardware, and used a deco SM bladder. Perfectly fine for al80's or LP 72s. My 75.5s are too heavy for it. Randy at Piranha has all the hardware plus some neat little items that you won't see anywhere else to customize it.
He can also supply the webbing and bungee so other than the wing itself, you don't have to go anywhere else to get all the bits for it.
I will say this, if you are not already a sidemount diver with experience in different rigs, building one from scratch will not be easy. There is a lot to consider to get it right.
Before you build one, buy a used rig, take a class from a proper SM instructor, not some dimwit that got the instructor card after a weekend workshop on one rig, and get a hundred or so dives in.
That will make it much easier to build your own rig.
I have built three using a simple harness with the deco bladder, a modified HOG TBCS harness with an XDeep Classic wing specifically for heavy steel cylinders, and one for playing around with al40s and no bladder. Just using lung volume and proper weighting for shallow dives in a wetsuit.
I've also taught in or used HOG, Manta, Dive Rite, Hollis, and X Deep harnesses.

 

[Tom_Ivan]

Sidemount diving can be VERY cheap to get into if your willing to put a bit of DIY time into it.
You can make your own sidemount kit easily, for a fraction of the cost of an off the shelf system. The only parts you need to buy from the store are tri-glides, d rings, inflator and dump valve (I scavenged all mine from used equipment).

For making the wing go to a fabric store and get PVC lined cortex. Then use plumbers glue to seal the edges together and shape it however you want..
Cut out a top and bottom back plate from aluminum or SS sheet metal.
Most 2 inch webbing from your local hardware store will do.

Then subscribe to Steve Martins online training material www.sidemounting.com. Get in the water and practice.

The attached harness is completely DIY and has about 30 hours on it so far. I'll try get some pictures of it under water on Friday if you want.

 

[gmerick]

I attached a DECO bladder to each sidemount tank, and wore a DECO Y-harness. For WWPF dives, I only need 10 lbs of weight, so I attached 3 to each cylinder, and put 2 lbs on my shoulders for trim.
The setup will not save money, because the DECO bladders run $140 each, and the same thing from DiveRite about $200. Didn't have to take the harness off between dives, because nothing was attached to it. It is only a couple yards of 2" strap that I can carry in a ziploc baggie. This rig only worked because on WWPF dives I only use the bladders for floatation on the surface.

 

[happy-diver]

I made a DECO bladder out of an MSR water bag for a chestmount rebreather harness

Bit of a lump until I had a smaller thingo machined

 

[happy-diver]

Different diving now went a bit bigger

Tauchen BCD Auftriebskompensator Flügelblase 1050D Nylon 35lbs Seitenmontierte Luftblase Niederdruckschlauch Sicherheitsausrüstung Ausrüstung - AliExpress 18

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[happy-diver]