Dumping air from Katana 2 Sidemount

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VWRdiver

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Hello all,

I've started diving sidemount recently, and wondering how everyone else dumps air from their harness. I have the Kitana 2, and find the power inflator dump doesn't work well unless I really break trim.

However, the dump valves aren't the easiest to use while using dry gloves. Do you guys use the power inflator valve to dump air, or do you use the dumps with the pull cords.

I've also thought about relocating the inflator hose to the dump valve towards the base of my neck and routing it over my shoulder like a conventional BC. Thoughts on this?

Thanks.
 
Put on the harness, insert your hand into your dry glove with 1-2 pairs of undergloves, and gain muscle memory. Because the between-the-shoulder dump string is routed adjacent to the inside of the left shoulder so tightly, it rarely (if ever) moves. The toggle that's tied in is sufficient to find. Doubly true with some practice. The dump being on the inside of the wing renders it a very poor place to run a backmount style inflator. Lastly, running the inflator over the shoulder generally renders reg to inflator hose routing a fugly mess.
 
Okay, that's kind of what I figured. Just have to get used to it.

Oh yeah, that's why I didn't pursue moving the inflator in the first place now that I remember - the inflator hose routing would be a mess.

So, you generally use the dump valve on the left shoulder? That's the one I've been using too, so probably just need to get used to it more.
 
That’s the one. I don’t find the other dumps of much use.
 
I really struggled with the Kanata 2 rear dump when using dry gloves. I found it hard to locate the knob on the string, so I tied another knot to make the knob stay very close to the little guide tab at the edge of the wing, otherwise the knob can disappear under the wing. Makes a huge difference, now I can nail it every time.
 
On the Katana II rear dump: I've been out of diving for a few years and I bought some new gear. The pull dump on the bottom of the wing has a rather large button and a longish string. After moving some stuff around to tighten things up, I did a dive and as I was exiting the cave up into the cavern, I heard some bubbles going past my ear, what the heck? When I was taking my gear off, I realized I had clipped the string for the dump into the butterfly clip for my tank. When my attitude in the water changed to slightly heads up, it pulled the dump! So take a look at that and shorten up the string as much as possible...
katana string.jpg
 
Okay, that's kind of what I figured. Just have to get used to it.

Oh yeah, that's why I didn't pursue moving the inflator in the first place now that I remember - the inflator hose routing would be a mess.

So, you generally use the dump valve on the left shoulder? That's the one I've been using too, so probably just need to get used to it more.

Put your right hand on the shoulder strap and slide it down until you feel it.
 
Earlier this year I gave up on finding dump knobs on a string. Katana II dual - I put two pull dump inflators on the shoulder ports, and two standard dump valves with short strings on the bottom ports. The inflators are plugged into 12 inch hoses coming off the top of the regs, and tied off with a short bungee to the top d-ring. No problems anymore with dry gloves.
 
Earlier this year I gave up on finding dump knobs on a string. Katana II dual - I put two pull dump inflators on the shoulder ports, and two standard dump valves with short strings on the bottom ports. The inflators are plugged into 12 inch hoses coming off the top of the regs, and tied off with a short bungee to the top d-ring. No problems anymore with dry gloves.
Why were your dump knobs moving?
 
I have the SMS75 and it has a similar problem. I use the shoulder dump and kind of tie it down so you know where it is and get used to it.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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