No hip D-ring on right. Armadillo butt plate for bottom of tank. Top held with bungy
Hybrid Tech
- Thread starter Don Wallar
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I am currently a rebreather diver with no official recreational decompression training as of yet. However I am a retired Navy Diver who was trained in surface supply decompression diving and the Mk-16 rebreather so I do have some background in gas planning. However I have not done Mod 2 or Deco procedures yet. Since I have no real desire to dive with heavy doubles and since I mostly dive with friends in the northeast off of six pack size boats going sidemount is really not an option, I would like to explore this configuration as well.
I am looking into Deco training this year but would like to do either Helitrox or air Deco procedures on normal scuba first. However I would like to keep my gear configuration as close to my rebreather configuration as possible.
Now hear me out and keep an open mind. I was thinking along the same lines as the OP with diving a large single 130 with an 80 slung on my left side sidemounted and a 40 with deco gas sidemounted on the right side. (This is the way most of my rebreather buddies carry their deco bailout). The 130 would have the long hose and the 80 would have the short hose and be necklaced off as normal. I would run my 130 spg down over my left shoulder and would use a sidemounted SPG variation on the 80.
As far as gas management plan, I was thinking I would breathe on the long hose from the surface to the bottom. Switch to the short hose till my my rock bottom reserve for me is left in the 80 and switch back to the long hose till rock bottom for the reserve left for the buddy and my ascent gas to first deco stop.
So please I would like to hear feedback on this configuration and plan and if there are any Tech instructors who would be open to allowing a student to dive that way. I know this is not going to get me into the GUE world and may even be frowned upon in the cave diving community but I think the configuration has merit. It is essentially independent doubles albeit with different size doubles. I am carrying 210 cu ft of gas which is more than double 100s. I do not ever plan to go deeper than @ 150 ft with this configuration as I think a rebreather makes way more sense at that point.
Let the comments rip.
I am looking into Deco training this year but would like to do either Helitrox or air Deco procedures on normal scuba first. However I would like to keep my gear configuration as close to my rebreather configuration as possible.
Now hear me out and keep an open mind. I was thinking along the same lines as the OP with diving a large single 130 with an 80 slung on my left side sidemounted and a 40 with deco gas sidemounted on the right side. (This is the way most of my rebreather buddies carry their deco bailout). The 130 would have the long hose and the 80 would have the short hose and be necklaced off as normal. I would run my 130 spg down over my left shoulder and would use a sidemounted SPG variation on the 80.
As far as gas management plan, I was thinking I would breathe on the long hose from the surface to the bottom. Switch to the short hose till my my rock bottom reserve for me is left in the 80 and switch back to the long hose till rock bottom for the reserve left for the buddy and my ascent gas to first deco stop.
So please I would like to hear feedback on this configuration and plan and if there are any Tech instructors who would be open to allowing a student to dive that way. I know this is not going to get me into the GUE world and may even be frowned upon in the cave diving community but I think the configuration has merit. It is essentially independent doubles albeit with different size doubles. I am carrying 210 cu ft of gas which is more than double 100s. I do not ever plan to go deeper than @ 150 ft with this configuration as I think a rebreather makes way more sense at that point.
Let the comments rip.
There seems to be a large camp in new england that teach the left lean/right rich stuff.
That was kinda of why I posted. To get some feedback from Tech instructors and some critique from others other than "You are going to die" or "That is just the way we do things." Sidemount was not a mainstream philosophy when manifolded doubles replaced independent doubles.
I do have an Tech instructor that is a friend who taught me to dive on one of the rebreathers I am currently certified on and I may convince of my configuration. He has been diving long enough to remember when independent doubles were the norm in tech diving. He is a TDI instructor which according to their standards seems to allow for this type of configuration. I still would like to get some feedback as I think there are a lot of divers out there like me and the OP who would like to dive a configuration similar to this for various reasons and understand its limitations.
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Good question. I know I have that option but what if my rebreather head is in for service during the high point of my dive season? Also I would like to get the training and experience in open circuit decompression diving without having to spend money on gear that I may hardly use. (sidemount bcd, doubles wing, manifold) My bailouts will always be ready and available and the 130 would be fine for teaching open water students for two dives without having to switch out tanks in between.
In theory I can teach BSAC accelerated deco to people with a configuration like the one you suggest. Basically, back gas, bailout and deco gas. I have never seen it happen though. I would really want a twinset of some sort rather than essentially a large pony. OC with two deco gases I dive rich right and CCR my shallow bailout is on the right. If I only need one deco gas or one bailout it is on the left. Some BSAC people teach rich right to mean putting a single deco gas on the right.
My suggestion is not to waste time with OC. Just do the Helitrox CCR course now. Your instructor will probably want you to put both bailouts on the left eventually.
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