Newbie needs lightweight and compact BCD recommendation. Maybe even a hybrid?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

fuzzybabybunny

Contributor
Messages
325
Reaction score
16
Location
Australia
# of dives
100 - 199
I'm a newbie to sidemount. A year ago I dove 20-some times with an AL80 slung on my side cobbled together with hardware store stuff and attached to a standard backmount BCD with another AL80.

I do mostly solo dives and I really enjoyed having the extra tank mounted against my side, so I figure that if I'm going to be doing dives with two tanks, I might as well have both be properly sidemounted.

I travel a lot and my current kit is an older Zeagle Express Tech Deluxe with 19kg bladder that only weighs around 2.4 kg and packs down really small and flat.

I read a thread here where people try to convert the Express Tech (and similar backmount systems) to sidemount with bad results, so I think that I'm unfortunately going to have to sell my Express Tech and just go all-in with sidemount, especially with my solo dives.

- The XDeep Stealth 2.0 Tec with 19kg bladder is 2.8kg, so a bit heavier than my Express Tech.

- The XDeep Stealth 2.0 Classic with 16kg bladder is 2.4kg, the same as my Express Tech.

- Are there any other BCDs that I should be looking at, and what are peoples' opinions on the XDeep stuff? I've never heard of them until I started looking into sidemount.

- When traveling I'm also going to be adding extra weight and bulk because I'll need to bring all the sidemount rigging stuff with me so that I can rig up the rental tanks. That's another weight consideration. With a typical backmount I can just plop in a rental tank and go with no additional rigging.

- Because of the above, are there any really lightweight and modular BCDs that allow you to switch easily between sidemount and backmount?
 
It's unclear why you want to switch between the two modes. Decide what you want to do and then get the appropriate gear to do it. I did my all my side mount and subsequent cave diving with the Stealth Classic and was very happy with it. It's light, compact, and the extra gear to set up the tanks weighs practically nothing. Which set-up did you use in your sidemount training?
 
It's unclear why you want to switch between the two modes. Decide what you want to do and then get the appropriate gear to do it. I did my all my side mount and subsequent cave diving with the Stealth Classic and was very happy with it. It's light, compact, and the extra gear to set up the tanks weighs practically nothing. Which set-up did you use in your sidemount training?

I want to switch modes for the ease of general diving. In my head, I'm imagining that if I had a BCD that could do both back and sidemount I could simply convert it to singles backmount and directly plop in rental tanks and and just leave the sidemount rigging at home. For when I'm actually diving my own tanks I can change it back to sidemount. With a sidemount-only BCD I'd have to bring along the rigging and rig up the rental tanks each time.

I want to be able to do both but I don't want two different BCDs.

Never had sidemount training. I cobbled together the rigging from hardware store stuff by following sidemount YouTube videos and slung the AL80 on a standard backmount BCD I found for cheap and dove happily with it - one tank in the back and the second slung on the side as a stage. No issues with trim.

I could just continue to do this with my current Zeagle Tech Express - one on the back and one on the side. When I'm solo diving I clip the second tank to my side. When I'm diving with others I just leave the second tank behind and do regular backmount.
 
If you're just interested in slinging a stage as a back-up for your solo diving, a perfectly reasonable idea, why even worry about sidemount? You appear to be confusing two different modes of diving. The 20 dives you mentioned at the start weren't sidemount dives, but backmount with a slung stage. Just to confuse things a little, you can carry that stage tucked in a little closer, sidemount style, but it's still just a stage bottle.
 
If you're just interested in slinging a stage as a back-up for your solo diving, a perfectly reasonable idea, why even worry about sidemount?

That's not all I'm interested in. If I'm going to be diving two tanks, I might as well have both be side mounted, but I want to also have the option of not having to bring along sidemount rigging and rigging up rental tanks if I'm just doing a single tank dive with others while traveling.
 
I think I'm just going to continue diving backmount with a slung stage.

Cost to do proper sidemount (AUD):
XDeep Stealth 2.0 Classic: $730
HOG D2 First Stage (I already have a D1): $300
SPG: $100
Sidemount Rigging: $60 x 2 = $120

Total: $1250

Cost to create a basic stage tank (AUD):
Secondhand First and Second Stage with Gauge Console: $100
Servicing: $50
Sidemount Rigging: $60

Total: $210
 
Another option if you only need one tank is single-tank sidemount, with a DiveRite LT, for example. The only thing needed with a rental tank is a lightweight (narrow) cam band to go around the base of the tank to connect it to the bottom plate on the BCD. With two cam bands and an extra first/second stage, you can go full sidemount.
 
How cold is the water where you dive? That affects what is practical. As in how much lift you need.

The oft mentioned small rig is the DECO. Mostly straps and a 22# MSR water bladder type wing. DECO - Dive Equipment Company - Sidemount - BCD's. It would be difficult to get smaller, short of a belt and some behind the shoulder bungee cord. I'm working on creating a second harness that I'll use with that wing.

The tank rigging kit is not much. Just a cam strap or hose clamp, big bolt snap, neck leash, double ender, one or two rubber hose retention bands per tank. In the scheme of carrying your BC, I don't think that is much. The picture in this post, Starter Scuba Suiting Scrooge-Airline’s Suitcase, has the hose clamp in center, and my hose retainers up top (white and black dive rite). I now like these better: DGX Elastic Hose Retainer | Dive Gear Express®, as retucking the hoses is easier and they do not have a death grip on the hose. Plus a tape measure and a screw driver, like maybe Handwheel Nut Tool (Flat Profile) | Dive Gear Express®., whose handle works nicely.

So the gear to do the rigging should not be onerous.

Doing the rigging is not time consuming. Slip on the hose clamp with bolt snap, align with tape and for rotation by eye. Tighten. Slip one or two hose bands on. Slip neck leash on. Done. (Avoid dropping the little bits through the dock into the water...)

Whether double (or single) sidemount jives with the boat or group plan may be a different issue. If you need side and back options, I think separate rigs is the best. Particularly if the DECO can be your side, which almost fits in the side of your bag. If you need a bigger wing like the xDeep Tec, carrying two big rigs gets harder to justify.

You will need to swap some hoses. The long hose can be reused, and maybe the short hose. But you would need to swap out the inflator and SPG hoses. If switching during the trip.

I have ~25 dives on the xDeep Tec. I like it a lot. It is also the only sidemount rig I've dove. Though I'm progressively moving most of it to SumpUK hardware. My dives are with AL40 or LP50s above about 50' shore diving in NorCal. For travel, or to play with diving no BC, I going to a second harness (with SumpUK parts) and the DECO wing, plus the xDeep center pouch and some trim weight pockets as in the other post.

ETA: The xDeep classic bladder might still be small enough to tuck away fairly easily in luggage. The Tec has a plastic plate in it and would take up much of a carry on bag.

Many (most?) vacation shops will rent a back-mount BC. So renting a BC for the dive can be the backmount fallback plan. Though it might not be the backmount BC you are used to. You still need the extra SPG and inflator hose to swap the regs.

Thin SPG with hose is $70 at DGX, I've liked them. The plastic face (small/thin) do not droop like the brass and are nicer for sidemount. If you are switching with backmount, having two dedicated sidemount SPGs lets you swap the hose and SPG at the first stage, and not mess with the HP swivel and SPG connection side of the hose.

Rigging kit is $28 each: sheathed clamp $6, bolt snap $5, hose retainers $6 x2, some 550 cord, double ender $5.
 
What about buying a sidemount rig and keeping the ET as a backmount single tank setup for when you travel? It's a little heavier but packs small.

IDK of a switchable side/back mount rig but I suspect if tfere is one, it's not optimal for either.

Sibce it's an older ET, you're not going to get much for it anyway, a new ET Deluxe (adds the pad kit) is $385US New,
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom