First time out on sidemount - Good time!

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

I've been a technical diver for many years with over 2000 dives using back-mount setup, but finally it was time to update my gear and after some pondering, I decided to get into sidemount... This is my first dive ever using a sidemount setup. Any constructive feedback is appreciated!

The SM equipment I am using:

Hollis sms75 with double Faber steel 100s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjBDMKdTLDM&feature=youtu.be

Regards,

Peter

 

[Omisson]

Peter- welcome to sidemount! A few tips.
You may want to examine the ring bungie system, it makes donning easier. Also, I have generally not clipped the top bolt snap on the front dring- rather either the round harness ring on the SMS 75 or add a one inch eylet loop on the harness exclusively for the bungie boltsnap. Another great tool is playing with the door handle and standard rear butt plate bracket - adjusting the location often improves reach. The rear crotch strap loop is an important piece of hardware for tec config a as is the front for DPVs but in rec mode only the rear is necessary to place a reel. An SMB pouch and can light mounts well across the back of the sms75. The other good bungie trick is to swap out the hollis bolt snaps for the big 4.5" ones which make even cold water gloves functional- have fun!

 

[Patoux01]

Hey =)

Welcome.

My 2 cents, although not completely familiar with the sms75:
- You noticed by yourself that the tank bands were too low and thus pushing your tanks too far in front of you. In fact, you'll notice you can put the tank bands quite high on the tanks, and you'd still be able to dive them well.
- I feel like your tanks don't follow you like they should, they tend to have the "Hey diver, do what you want, I'm staying horizontal"-attitude, which usually means the bungee at the top doesn't do its job correctly. Not sure how to fix that on your rig.
- Those tanks you're using, assuming they're indeed those ones (at 12.2liters they seem to be 100 cuft, the long ones, not compact) get quite tail floaty at the end of a dive. You've probably noticed that. When I use them (with a Stealth), I clip them on the back until I feel they're getting out of trim, then I clip them on the waist. I'm not sure how that would work for you, but if those tanks are gonna be used more often, you might want to add (if not already there) a d-ring on the waist belt. Just do a dive without them and see how it goes.

That being said, it still looks MUCH MUCH better than what I see in my area during or after classes. Next step is probably cleaning up the dangling parts. (while still having fun!)

Cheers

 

[Sidemount_Stu]

Hi, welcome to Sidemount!

I'm not hugely experienced with SM yet myself, i'm still pretty new to it. I dive a Stealth, not SMS so i'm not familiar with your rig in particular.

Watching your video, the first and main thing i noticed was the cylinders sitting too far forward, but then you spotted that yourself and changed it. Other than that, as has already been said, if you're diving Ali cylinders, or any cylinder that gets floaty as the pressure drops, you'll need to chuck a D ring on the waistbelt, so the connection point can be moved during the dive when the cylinder changes from negative to positively buoyant.

I don't know if your long hose regulator was clipped off on your right shoulder D ring or not, it looked very dangly and either needs to be clipped off when not in use, or if it was clipped off, you might want to move the boltsnap closer to the 2nd stage so it tidies the dangle a little.

The rest of it is all about getting in the water, playing with, getting familiar and having fun...... I think for a first dive.... you looked like the setup was pretty good..... you'll refine it as you go and as you learn more anyway!

Good luck with your continued learning, and have fun!!!!

 

[Dhboner]

Looking good...you might want to shorten the line on the bottom clips to pull the tanks a little closer to your body at the butt end.

 

[Subcooled]

You could start experimenting with swimming next. Hug the cylinders and spin. You can dive on your side and on your back (you may need to support the cylinders a little with arms then). You can bend backwards and do a sommersault backwards. The hip rotates now too. You can look back the same way as you do on the street. Have you tried dolphin kicks yet? Perhaps not an optimal kick, but give it a try. There are many fun things that this configuration allows you to do.

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Hi everyone, and thank you for your help!
Although you don't see it in the video my balance, after I adjusted the tanks back and rotated the valves, felt pretty good in my opinion... I was able to be neutral and not leaning or dropping to any side. Stayed even and flat if you will. At first the tank valves were kind of out to the side and the tanks were pushing against my underarms. After I adjusted the valves and first stage, it all aligned nice and by bringing the tank back more it almost felt like there was no tank there making it feel really free and comfortable.

I do like my tank valves pointing up with the first stages pointing to me. I like the idea of having the valves and first stages being protected. Now I'm working on figuring-out the bungee... I think I got it correct, but not sure yet! Looking into the various ways out-there like the loop vs ring, etc... In the pool I was doing the loop method. I am using the sms75.

As DHBONER mentioned I probably should shorten the line on the bottom clips to pull the tanks a little closer, the only thing is I could feel the tanks already as it is on my legs and if I bring them closer it might get "crunchy" ... I am also now in the process of making clips and such to make sure nothing is dangling.

Keep does comments coming and thank you again!

Peter

---------- Post added March 9th, 2015 at 12:14 PM ----------

Hey Patoux

My tanks are not the long ones on your link! They actually stay negatively buoyant that's why I got them... Heavy suckers do! I think it's these ones: XS Scuba. 100 Cubic Foot High Pressure Steel Tank. HP100 with reviews at scuba.com

Hey =)

Welcome.

My 2 cents, although not completely familiar with the sms75:
- You noticed by yourself that the tank bands were too low and thus pushing your tanks too far in front of you. In fact, you'll notice you can put the tank bands quite high on the tanks, and you'd still be able to dive them well.
- I feel like your tanks don't follow you like they should, they tend to have the "Hey diver, do what you want, I'm staying horizontal"-attitude, which usually means the bungee at the top doesn't do its job correctly. Not sure how to fix that on your rig.
- Those tanks you're using, assuming they're indeed those ones (at 12.2liters they seem to be 100 cuft, the long ones, not compact) get quite tail floaty at the end of a dive. You've probably noticed that. When I use them (with a Stealth), I clip them on the back until I feel they're getting out of trim, then I clip them on the waist. I'm not sure how that would work for you, but if those tanks are gonna be used more often, you might want to add (if not already there) a d-ring on the waist belt. Just do a dive without them and see how it goes.

That being said, it still looks MUCH MUCH better than what I see in my area during or after classes. Next step is probably cleaning up the dangling parts. (while still having fun!)

Cheers

 

[FiddlerOnTheRoof]

Now I'm wondering if maybe I should use bungee instead of paracord on the bottom clip of the tanks... What do you think??

 

[Dhboner]

The bottom clip is a fixed position so you don't want any stretch.

 

[Patoux01]

I'm surprised by tanks at 3442 PSI and others at 3365. But well, just see how they behave underwater

Nope, no bungee at the bottom. Although some of the view here is for a stealth, parts apply in the reasoning for you.

Reasons for bungee at the bottom that I was given:
- It allows for shorter leash to the clips => it can't be any shorter than what I use (the boltsnap is literally against the tank)
- It gives more slack when you want to use the clip => I don't need that, so why would I want it?

I want that attachment to be as tight as possible as to not give too much freedom to the tank. Hence the cord and not the bungee.

But if you want to try that kind of things, I'd suggest waiting a bit so that you have the configuration under control and know what influence different parameters have.

Cheers