buiszie
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We like to start teaching sidemounting. Which system do u reccomand for teaching pure sidemounting? i like to choiuce between the Hollis sms50 or razor systems.....
for sidemounting Hollis SMS50 or Razor?
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DevonDiver
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IMHO, the SMS50 is probably better suited to an instructional/rental role. The Razor needs extensive set-up, and if you're not intimately familiar with the rig (as an instructor) you might struggle to get that fitting right...and it'll take you an extra couple of hours to do. In contast, the SMS50 is quicker to get up and running.
Review of SMS50
Aron Arngrimsson – SMS50 review #3 | Team Blue Immersion
Review/Description of Razor based sidemount course
Deep-Sea Sherpa » Basic Sidemount Class – Day 1
The Razor is arguably the more refined unit - but that refinement needs specialist instruction and time. The SMS50 is a little bit more 'grab and go' - lending itself to the task of recreational sidemount lessons.
What I'd suggest was that, if budget permitting, your center got both, so that instructors could be intimately familiar with either rig and you could offer advice and training on both options. There's only a few sidemount rigs on the market currently, so a sidemount instructor/course should be able to offer some personal wisdom to students about the pros and cons to either solution.
I am also assuming your intention is basic/recreational, not tec level, sidemount courses...
Review of SMS50
Aron Arngrimsson – SMS50 review #3 | Team Blue Immersion
Review/Description of Razor based sidemount course
Deep-Sea Sherpa » Basic Sidemount Class – Day 1
The Razor is arguably the more refined unit - but that refinement needs specialist instruction and time. The SMS50 is a little bit more 'grab and go' - lending itself to the task of recreational sidemount lessons.
What I'd suggest was that, if budget permitting, your center got both, so that instructors could be intimately familiar with either rig and you could offer advice and training on both options. There's only a few sidemount rigs on the market currently, so a sidemount instructor/course should be able to offer some personal wisdom to students about the pros and cons to either solution.
I am also assuming your intention is basic/recreational, not tec level, sidemount courses...
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I agree with Andy, the Razor is an excellent rig, but the Hollis is less expensive, simple and would lend itself very well for students.
Assumption here (based on location) is that you dive wet and so do your students. Agree that the Hollis is the way to go. Their SM line of products are well built and perfect for rental/training. I use them myself (the SMS100) for SM clinics.
What unit do you personally dive? Curious since you are going to teach and most instructors I know have pretty extensive experience on one or more units before taking on the responsibility of recommending something to a punter.
What unit do you personally dive? Curious since you are going to teach and most instructors I know have pretty extensive experience on one or more units before taking on the responsibility of recommending something to a punter.
OP
buiszie
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thx for all ur advices....
billgraham
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From what I've seen of the Razor, it does not have a lot of flexiblity for different diving situations. Does it have a real bladder yet?
cool_hardware52
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I had been considering a more minimalist sidemount system since DEMA two years ago and considering it even harder since a cave diving trip to Mexico last year. I have also been diving a Nomad and while it does everything ok and will carry a lot of weight ( steel 95s, stages and deco bottle) it is a little bulky for some of the SM diving we are migrating to.
This most recent trip to cave country I bought an SMS 50 as it was basically what I wanted - a minimalist razor style harness with a fairly streamlined 25 pound bladder. I used it on dive three of three dive days (shorter dives well suited to twin AL 72s) and found it to be very easy to set up and trim out in the water and it needed no more than about 20 minutes of futzing to set up and tune for my particular needs.
It worked great with AL 72s and AL 80s and there is adequate lift for a couple of AL stages in addition to the two primary tanks. It also worked fine with a single steel LP 95, although it needs a few pounds of trim weight to keep from rolling you tank side down in a hover. With 2 LP 95's and a 5mm wet suit, it would need about 4-5 pounds more lift to achieve neutral buoyancy, but it would be easily do-able with a drysuit.
I suspect there will be adequate lift to support a pair of X7-100s even in a 3mm wet suit, so it may replace my Nomad for anything other than LP 95 diving.
As a rental, it would have bags of excess strap and should fit anyone. More importantly, it also has places for the excess strap to be neatly stowed, so there's not much need to cut the straps for a smaller person. In my case, the only trimming I did was about 15" off the left hand side of the waist belt.
This most recent trip to cave country I bought an SMS 50 as it was basically what I wanted - a minimalist razor style harness with a fairly streamlined 25 pound bladder. I used it on dive three of three dive days (shorter dives well suited to twin AL 72s) and found it to be very easy to set up and trim out in the water and it needed no more than about 20 minutes of futzing to set up and tune for my particular needs.
It worked great with AL 72s and AL 80s and there is adequate lift for a couple of AL stages in addition to the two primary tanks. It also worked fine with a single steel LP 95, although it needs a few pounds of trim weight to keep from rolling you tank side down in a hover. With 2 LP 95's and a 5mm wet suit, it would need about 4-5 pounds more lift to achieve neutral buoyancy, but it would be easily do-able with a drysuit.
I suspect there will be adequate lift to support a pair of X7-100s even in a 3mm wet suit, so it may replace my Nomad for anything other than LP 95 diving.
As a rental, it would have bags of excess strap and should fit anyone. More importantly, it also has places for the excess strap to be neatly stowed, so there's not much need to cut the straps for a smaller person. In my case, the only trimming I did was about 15" off the left hand side of the waist belt.
formula1mb@aol.com
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Which type of lp 95 tank you use for the single tank sidemounting, the faber or worthington tank? I've always heard single sidemount with steels doesn't work so curious how it felt. How much weight did you need to put on the other side to make it balance?
Although it is a bit harder to maneuver around I find the steels (PST HP 120's) just fine for SM, that is for cold water drysuit diving. Warm water caves I prefer steel 72's or AL 80's.
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