Need a Lightweight Sidemount rig recommendation... please

[Cali_diver]

Hi ...my husband has been doing sidemount for a year now due to back problems (we picked up an older model for him to try/learn on) and he has appox. 180 dives on sidemount. Now he wants to upgrade. About him: He has had many back surgeries but is a very good/experienced diver. We dive in a lot of different tropical conditions with some high current situations. He will only use one tank for most of his diving. I am looking for a good lightweight set up for travel since we go to Indonesia 4 times a year. He doesn't wear wetsuits or need a lot of weight (only uses 3 kilos max) so he doesn't need lots of lift.

Advice or recommendations are much appreciated.

 

[grantctobin]

Deco sidemount harness + wing:

Scuba diving equipment specializing in sidemount wings and harnesses.

We are a manufacturer scuba diving sidemount wings and harnesses that sell direct to the consumer.

www.diveequipmentco.com

Note, the communication from the company is…not so great. Hard to beat this off the shelf solution in terms of size and portability. Thread weight either into the harness or use one of these:

Weight Plates - Set of Two

Weight Plates are a quick and easy way to add blocks of lead to { 2.0 in | 5.1 cm} webbing such as a harness or weight belt.

www.divegearexpress.com

Alternatively, if he wants to DIY a setup such as this: How To Build Your Own DIY Custom Sidemount Harness I have both a set of hardware and or an XDeep Classic Wing I’d part with relatively cheaply.

 

[Mobulai]

You can try and setup a razor clone using hardware made out of Alu(lot’s of parts on Amazon/AliX) or Ti (from DanSun, but pricier) to make it as light as possible (I got this recommendation from an experienced diver who did the same to be able to fly only with carryon for everything

I can provide you with links (in a bit — gotta run out the door now); but ideally you wanna match the hardware on your existing harness 1:1
What system/Harness has your husband been using so far? And what’s your budget?
And why the upgrade, is there something specific he dislikes about the current setup?

 

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

I have an XDeep Sidemount Classic that I can sell if you’re interested. Great shape. I purchased an XDeep Tech rig for cave and stages.

 

[Cali_diver]

You can try and setup a razor clone using hardware made out of Alu(lot’s of parts on Amazon/AliX) or Ti (from DanSun, but pricier) to make it as light as possible (I got this recommendation from an experienced diver who did the same to be able to fly only with carryon for everything

I can provide you with links (in a bit — gotta run out the door now); but ideally you wanna match the hardware on your existing harness 1:1
What system/Harness has your husband been using so far? And what’s your budget?
And why the upgrade, is there something specific he dislikes about the current setup?

He has an older Hollis and his chief complaints are that it is/feels floppy and moves around a bit. He doesn't like the over the shoulder inflator hose. He also just told me it doesn't feel like it has enough lift to him (this is a new complaint so maybe the above statement about lift is incorrect). He used to use a dive rite travel wing that has a couple more pounds of lift (25 vs 23) but he says he feels the difference. We do experience down currents in Indonesia so this is definitely a consideration. No real budget.

 

[Mobulai]

He has an older Hollis and his chief complaints are that it is/feels floppy and moves around a bit. He doesn't like the over the shoulder inflator hose. He also just told me it doesn't feel like it has enough lift to him (this is a new complaint so maybe the above statement about lift is incorrect). He used to use a dive rite travel wing that has a couple more pounds of lift (25 vs 23) but he says he feels the difference. We do experience down currents in Indonesia so this is definitely a consideration. No real budget.

If insufficient lift and floppiness are issues then an Xdeep stealth would be the all rounder solution — razor styled bladders tend to float a bit quite high when full, but stealth feel closer to the body (haven’t tried a razor but people who tried both mentioned it a lot) (and seeing pictures also aligns with that observation)
For monkey mount (one tank) a classic or a rec bladder is more than enough — the Tec would be overkill (it’s overkill for me with 3 Alu tanks and a rebreather even)
Over the shoulder inflator in SM is indeed plain confusing

Alk of the systems available have stainless steel hardware so they do weigh a bit, if you wanna reduce the weight consider replacing the HW pieces with lighter metal (like Alu or Ti); but you can also ditch a bit of the unnecessary pieces (fixed mounting drings, you’ll only need that for steel tanks)

E2A: the Weight-on-webbing is also an absolute genius solution for asymmetrical trim (like single tanks) — I used them tge 1st time when I did my deco pro class to offset the weight of the deco bottle; and with care, you can learn to slide it in/out mid dive as the buoyancy of the odd tank changes (mostly in so that the weight gets closer to the COG)

 

[Entertainter]

+1 on the xdeep classic. I got one for the exact purpose you’re describing and I dive it single tank often. Great travel rig, packs down well. I think my setup weighs just over 5 lbs just the harness and the wing. You can get it lighter than mine, I kept the spine weight pockets and some additional hardware. I initially got it as a travel setup but now it’s the rig I dive 9 times out of 10.

 

[grantmac]

Generally I like Xdeep and I use the Classic bladder on a custom harness.

My one observation would be that the factory shoulder strap attachment position onto the spine requires a bit of shoulder mobility. Running them to the waist with SumpUK hardware makes for an easier rig for me.
Also the SumpUK sliding D rings are simply amazing for trimming aluminum tanks.

 

[DOBY]

If diving tropical with two aluminum 80’s my first choice would be the razor harness. It’s by far is the most streamlined and lightest & smallest for travel. Either he raZor4 or Travel harness. It works very well with just a single tank as well due to how the tank bungee is setup.

ME-WE

We played a bit with our CCRs at the end of last year, trying to catch the beauty of natures refections under water. Thank you 2019 and Welcome 2020! Let’s keep treasuring nature and care for each other. A little more WE and less ME 🖤

razorgosidemount.com

The X-Deep Steakth classic would be my second choice.

 

[TheCatFish]

razor4 harness is great, highly recommend it. bladder is plenty for single tank aluminum diving