Okay I am hooked on SM @ Blue Life Diving

[gfaith]

My wife/buddy and I just returned from a eight day diving trip to PDC. We dove with Blue Life diving and I would highly recommend them for diving reef, cenotes and training.

We did a two tank reef dive with Fernada just to get her out of the office (office manager) and to get buddy ready for cenotes. Second day we dove with Sara and did "The Pit" and "Dos Ojos" my buddy was a little nervous on the Dos Ojos but we continued. Third day with Rimas and we dove "Ponderosa" and "Tajma Ha".

Four day I started sidemount instruction with Suzy and I was hooked and wished I had done the course before the cenotes. Anyway my buddy decided she might just do the SM on the fifth days and now she is hooked too.
Confined training was done in the shallow open area 2 dives at Ponderosa and we finished the sixth day at "Casa Cenote" with 2 more dives. It was absolutely beautiful and very nice smooth diving.

Now I am researching the small minimalist rigs @ DECO - Dive Equipment Company - Home page my buddy trained in Fernada's SM rig and she will never dive cold water so AL 80's in warmer water is the plan. Any of you guys ever assembled one of these light minimalist SM rigs from these guys?

 

[DevonDiver]

Did a review of this - New System - The Deco Sidemount

The harness is very minimalist, so it'd be a cinch to set-up. Just follow basic principles on locating the shoulder and lumbar plates correctly.... then size the shoulder straps.... and the waist belt sorts itself out.

Shoulder plate just below the most prominent bone in the lower neck (about as far back behind as you could reach with your fingertips). Lumbar plate goes just above the 'crack' of your buttocks.... placing the waist belt low on the hips. Then - only after - tighten the shoulder straps down; to allow maybe 2-3 fingers width to slide underneath. Trim the waist-belt to size and fit front D-rings on the hips and buckle at the front. Lastly, fit the crotch strap so it's tight (in proper trim, with arched back, it'll be looser).

I'd go for a sliding loop bungee with rigs like this. Tie a small loop of bungee around each shoulder strap, below the D-ring. Route the loop bungee from the rear spine strap retainer. The bungee should run horizontal from front-to-rear. The correct tension/length on that bungee allows the loops to be pulled around to the nipples with moderate effort. Significant effort then needed to bring the loops together at the sternum. (plenty of threads and websites detail sliding loop bungee setup).

You could use the bladder completely stand-alone; bungeed over, not onto, the harness (as per an XDeep Stealth Classic); or you could use bungee to attach it in position to the harness (onto shoulder plate or spine strap (top)... and onto the lumbar plate (bottom)). Keep the bladder trim around the torso using a wrap-around stomach bungee.

 

[gfaith]

Thanks Andy and by the way nice review of the system. Your information was exactly what I needed to get the rig setup for my wife/buddy. The weight pockets on the spine strap are a good idea too. She did the first fw dive with no extra weight in a 5 mil wet suit and the second dive we added 2 lbs locked down to the spine strap with tie wraps. When diving in the ocean she will be in a 3 mil and we will adjust weighting as required.

 

[DevonDiver]

There's also some information on the 'Trim Pillow' rig I built on the link below. Very similar in many respects. I've put together a similar rig using an MSR bag....

Some Options for DIY Sidemount Rigs

Wearing a (quite compressed now....) 3mm XL wetsuit, with 2x AL80 (plus 2x AL40 on occasion), I just use 4lbs of weight. I'm dead-on neutral at minimum gas. Even the trim pillow, with <5kg of buoyancy can handle the weight of gas when full.

 

[uncfnp]

My wife/buddy and I just returned from a eight day diving trip to PDC. We dove with Blue Life diving and I would highly recommend them for diving reef, cenotes and training.

We did a two tank reef dive with Fernada just to get her out of the office (office manager) and to get buddy ready for cenotes. Second day we dove with Sara and did "The Pit" and "Dos Ojos" my buddy was a little nervous on the Dos Ojos but we continued. Third day with Rimas and we dove "Ponderosa" and "Tajma Ha".

Four day I started sidemount instruction with Suzy and I was hooked and wished I had done the course before the cenotes. Anyway my buddy decided she might just do the SM on the fifth days and now she is hooked too.
Confined training was done in the shallow open area 2 dives at Ponderosa and we finished the sixth day at "Casa Cenote" with 2 more dives. It was absolutely beautiful and very nice smooth diving.

Now I am researching the small minimalist rigs @ DECO - Dive Equipment Company - Home page my buddy trained in Fernada's SM rig and she will never dive cold water so AL 80's in warmer water is the plan. Any of you guys ever assembled one of these light minimalist SM rigs from these guys?

Thanks for the timely post. I dove a cenote for the first time in June as well. Just as a guided cavern dive so was in my standard rig but really interested in finishing up my cave certification there and appreciate the dive op recommendation.

I currently have the SMS 75 SM rig but loved the minimilist rig used by the guide with the al 80's. I asked and it was one he put together himself. Interested in doing something like that myself so please keep us posted on your progress.

 

[gfaith]

I am expecting some information on the inflator hose length that my wife/buddy was using then it will take off. I am having a debate with myself on the harness choice. Which would you choose?



My buddy is a very small athletic lady 5' 1" and about 110 lbs.

Then my next question will be the best attachment for the loop bungees. The Thoracic plate seems too high and has no drilled holes. I am considering other attachment options just below the upper plate.

 

[Coztick]

My harness is very similar to the example on the left. There is no need for a sternum strap and no change in tension of the harness through a full range of motion.
They don't have to be snug to be secure.
I like the eggbeaters
Keep in mind that the top plate position is adjustable. A triglide immediately below the plate would locate the bunggees.
Cheers

 

[gfaith]

Thanks @wetweldat that is the harness I decided to go with as well. No sternum strap planned and I can see a triglide working for the looped bungee. However, I think I will add a Double Offset S/S Rigid D-Ring from DGX $ 3.00 for the bungee loops.

I may end up with simple triglide but going to go with this one for now.
What are eggbeaters?

 

[Coztick]

What are eggbeaters?

Slang for the lower tank attachment points pictured. ( Think kitchen wisk)
I have D rings on the waist.
I'm thinking those would be easier to clip to.
Im totally hooked too...

 

[gfaith]

@uncfnp here are three photos of the SM rig that my buddy/wife used for our sidemount course.
My buddy's will be quite a bit like these.