springs4me
Registered
What length of hose are you using for your SPG's and are you mounting SPG's forward or down the length of the cylinders?
My venture into Sidemount.
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hudson
Contributor
You can do both, I used to run them forward, now I've switched, and I may switch back. Running them forward will dig into silt when you are tackling tight passages, but it's probably not an issue when you are just starting out. It does create a little more clutter, but that's not a bad trade off for the convenience of having the SPG in front of you.
6" hose is fine for both configurations. Some use 9" for running SPGs down the tank, but I don't see a need.
springs4me
Registered
Yeah, I prefer 9'' hose running down my cylinders and 6'' hose pointing forward when I'm using stages. I stack my stages on top of my primary cylinders. Stages always banged into SPG's when they were on top of primary's. No issue's having the SPG's pointing forward, my regulators HP port angle slightly up so SPG's rest close to my chest so no digging in silt or limestone! I could bungee them in if a problem should arise. You are right about clutter but it's not from the SPG's it's from all the cylinders & regulators I have to carry!
OP
I am using a 6" miflex hose and have the SPG's hanging for now, but I intend to strap them onto one of the other hoses so it is not hanging.
OP
Of course you may. We are both in the learning process with the Nomad.
I will say that I think I may have to do something different than the 6" ring bungees that it currently uses. I am finding them a bit of a pain right now. I have added two quick links into then to get some more length, but then the tanks flop a little too much.
springs4me
Registered
I'm not fond of miflex hoses they tend to fray a lot faster with me and tend to become useless within a short time. If your mind is made up miflex is the way to go you might want to try hose protectors to get rid of the droop or you can simply run the SPG's under your harness strap's but this depends how close your regulators are under your arm pits. Strapping a SPG hose to another hose well I have to say it's a very unique idea. I've never seen it done, I personally wouldn't, my concern would be that strapping a SPG to another hose may restrict the free movement of that hose.
Sidemount diving is a very creative diving specialty and it takes a lot of time to become proficient in sidemounting. One of the best ways to achieve proficiency and to be safe in the water is to find a good sidemount instructor. I really hope you reconsider and find an instructor, the training is well worth it!
OP
Well for now I am going to stick with the miflex hoses for what I am doing, but I do know what you mean about the hoses fraying, I have one that came from my instructor(who is a cave diver) and he stopped using it for that reason. I think in the near future I am going to put a longer hose on the SPG's and bring it up to one of my d-rings.
I do realize that sidemount diving is definitely a "different" specialty, I will at some point find an instructor, but I will do that when I decide I am ready for the caves. Right now I have turned to sidemount because I cannot handle backmount doubles due to some injuries.
springs4me
Registered
I'm glad to hear that you will eventually seek out a sidemount instructor. Injuries can definitely dictate how you set up your rig, what's good for you might not be good for someone else. It all falls into your own physical limitations and the type of sidemount diving you plan to do.
OP
Well as of right now I plan on doing more wrecks than anything, I am not fond of penetrating them as of yet. I am working with three instructors who are diving sidemount right now, and all three are diving it for different purposes, so I have three different perspectives I am getting to pick and choose from. One instructor is a cave diver, the other is a deep wreck diver, and the other does long deco dives. I am finding the cave input to be most helpful though, although maybe that is also because he is the instructor that I originally got certified with and was held to higher standards, I have also taken numerous classes with him because I like the input I get from the cave perspective.
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