Hollis SMS 75 is here! But I need help with it.

[TigerDiver8]

Hey everyone,

So i got my SMS 75 the other day. I wont start my padi sidemount course for sometime now but wanted to get in my pool with it and start tweaking out weighting and just getting comfortable with it to be better prepared for the course.

The weighting is something that isnt clear to me.

I dive cold water in a 7mm wetsuit is Southern California. I normally dive a HOG single tank wing with a SS backplate and use 10# on my weight belt.

I will be diving rock reefs, kelp forest, and wrecks. No caves for me yet =0

I will be diving single tank and double tank with AL 80s

Options for weights i have seen are the weight plate from hollis or i have seen hard weights weaved through webbing in various places, or can i use my weight belt. Although i feel the weights on the belt will bang against the tanks and be uncomfortable.

Most of those option seem to get away from the saftey of having ditchable weights. Is there something I am missing

For single tank, if i did a weight belt or weight plate do i load the non tank side substantially or just a couple pounds to off set the al 80 goin 3.4 lbs positive towards the end of my dive.

I hope that makes sense of what i am asking.

Let me know what i should start working with in my pool to get these tweaks out of the way before class.

Cheers!

 

[Patoux01]

Don't really want to look into the safety thing, I have full confidence in my swimming skills to carry a twin-12 with a 7mm wetsuit. If you really want to, just put 6# or whatever you think you need to be safe on a weight belt and make the rest non-ditchable.

For single tank, if i did a weight belt or weight plate do i load the non tank side substantially or just a couple pounds to off set the al 80 goin 3.4 lbs positive towards the end of my dive.

No. That's something you might do for single steel tank, but not for a s80.

 

[Oldbear]

The SHS 75 weights about seven pounds, which should be pretty close to your SS BP/W. So you might only need the same 10 pounds. You might try a couple of 2# on the harness and the remaining on a weight belt. I would play with it in the pool.

 

[decompression]

Good on you for getting to know your rig! When it comes to weighting and ditchable weight, I hope your SM instructor will explain a balanced rig to you. He should also cover the drawbacks of deep diving in a thick wetsuit.

Anyways, you're using about 18# neg, that's a good starting point. There are many options, once you've determined the appropriate amount of neg weight you require then it's a matter of placing it around the rig to achieve perfect trim. The Hollis weight plate is very useful as it holds a large amount of weight and is near your center of gravity. Weights around the waist can be too low, small weights attached to the shoulder straps are useful to help with trim. More than likely you'll be placing your weights in several places around the rig and once everything is balanced and trimmed, then the need for ditchable weight is negligible.



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[FishLovingStudent]

I dive the SMS75, with drysuit and AL80s. I wear an 18lb weightbelt and the diverite backplate with 18lbs. I have been considering switching to all attached weights though. The weight belt can get annoying though it would be a lifesaver in emergencies without having to ditch all the $$$ and helps distribute the weight (I already find it annoying my BCD weighs ~20ish pounds when washing it and moving it around let alone ~40lbs)

 

[TigerDiver8]

Well I worked with it in the pool today. I love it but it will take some getting used to.

I do need help with hose routing. I felt as if I had hoses running all over the place.

Can anyone send me a diagram or detailed pictures and hose lengths. I have a HOG D1 single tank package that I am using. 7ft primary, 22 inch secondary etc. I ordered 2 6 inch HP hoses and 1 more SPG. I am assuming the LPI hose is the correct length since it came with the SMS system.

Unfortunately I have not ordered left and right hand valves yet and am using my two standard AL 80s with standard valves.


Also for now I am using a yoke adapter for my HOG D1 and the other first stage I am using is a Scubapro MK10+. Yoke might be a cardnial sin with the SM community but I want to make it work until I can buy a new HOG D1.

* Just so you know I am not cave diving or wrecks with this configuration

 

[Oldbear]

There are a lot of YouTube Videos that are helpful with the routing. I like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n5RMSLdwI8

Have you bought your course book (materials) yet?

 

[Dhboner]

If you have the opportunity to train with an accomplished sidemount instructor (|I trained with Steve Lewis aka "Doppler") you will save yourself immeasurable time and grief. A good instructor like Steve will ensure that your rig is set up properly for you, that your hoses are the right length and routed properly and will show you some great shortcuts for rigging your tanks to ensure optimal trim.

 

[decompression]

Agree with Dhboner, but if not, take the course and get what you can, ask the instructor; how long has he been diving SM, what configurations, what environments? Just casual questions.......

He should show you many ways of running hoses and the good/bad of those. Also tank rigging, securing tanks to harness, manipulating tanks.....

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[ffdiver]

I used to teach a few different hose configurations and I found that it just confused students and lead to a bunch of bad ideas coming together after the course.

Since then I teach one way to do but mentions others have found other way to accomplish what is important to them.