Thanks for posting. I was going to do just that, until I saw your post - Andy has done a great job of summarizing as many of the available systems as could be hoped for, when the available pool of gear is inexorably expanding.
Pros and cons of various sidemount harnesses, especially for cold water tech diving.
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MSargeant
Contributor
I chose the Razor because of the complete barebones concept of it, add what you want, take off what you don't want etc, and it's completely minimalist, It gives me limitless adjustment. I would like a stealth because I like the look of it and having helped to fit one to a friend (Who took it to 100m on the same Egypt Trip with 5 cylinders) I like the customisability of it, hate the rubber rings on it though.
As for the "nomad style BCDs" I like the older Nomads, the modified SMS100 + 75 and the Halcyon Contour. Find what you enjoy, and dive it
As for the "nomad style BCDs" I like the older Nomads, the modified SMS100 + 75 and the Halcyon Contour. Find what you enjoy, and dive it
tiki_bill
Contributor
The Razor is great in that it is minimalistic but lacks ease of adjusting and some people don't like the profile of the wing when inflated.
Stealth is easier to adjust however I'm not a fan of the pull dump on the bottom nor all the bungees for the wing.
The Armadillo is not as minimalistic as the others above and doesn't have enough lift around the hips. I really like the construction of it though.
I'm waiting to try the SMS75.
If you're going to be switching back and forth from cold water and steels to warm water and aluminums I would suggest getting a few rigs. I find it easier to dive the rig for the environment and not mess with adjusting one rig all the time.
For only two aluminums and warm water check out this setup: DECO - Dive Equipment Company - Sidemount - BCD's
For cold water, steels, and stages, I would try the SMS75 or Stealth.
By the way, how do you mount your stages...top or bottom?
Stealth is easier to adjust however I'm not a fan of the pull dump on the bottom nor all the bungees for the wing.
The Armadillo is not as minimalistic as the others above and doesn't have enough lift around the hips. I really like the construction of it though.
I'm waiting to try the SMS75.
If you're going to be switching back and forth from cold water and steels to warm water and aluminums I would suggest getting a few rigs. I find it easier to dive the rig for the environment and not mess with adjusting one rig all the time.
For only two aluminums and warm water check out this setup: DECO - Dive Equipment Company - Sidemount - BCD's
For cold water, steels, and stages, I would try the SMS75 or Stealth.
By the way, how do you mount your stages...top or bottom?
Andy is a great resource, certainly check out his site. I dive cold water (33-48 F), drysuit and steels. I've been using the UTD Z wing/harness conventional and isolator manifold. I use either 37# or 50# wing as they are interchangeable. Two HP 100's with 2 Al 40 deco bottles with no problems. I also use twin HP 120's with a single deco bottle. If other bottles are needed they are leashed. It's a very simple HOG harness and straight forward bungee to secure the tanks. I also use those wings with a SS backplate when extra weight is needed.
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Last edited:
Aquavelvet
Contributor
The XDeep Stealth can easily carry 18 lbs in pockets down the back, another 10 lbs in ditchable pockets on the waist, and three lbs in trim pouches on each of the chest straps. Plenty of options for weight with a drysuit, depending on the tanks you're carrying. It also strips down to a very streamlined harness for diving wet in the Cenotes.
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DevonDiver
N/A
I think there's a real difference between cold-water and warm-water optimized rigs. Likewise, the difference in demand between recreational and technical sidemount adds a lot of factors for consideration. Any rig will suffice the average non-technical/overhead sidemount diver; but the more demands your diving creates, the more you need a special-to-purpose rig.
If you will be frequently travelling, primarily using ali cylinders, diving wetsuit/warm-water...or going into restricted overheads, then I don't think you can beat the 'British' approach sidemount rigs; such as the Razor or Stealth. Minimalism is the key factor.
If you want something more heavyweight, with larger capacity and more weight options, for use with drysuit and/or steel cylinders; then the 'US' type rigs are hard to beat. I think the SMS75, Halcyon and Nomad lead the field.
I've got 5 rigs at the moment; ranging from super-minimalist (DR Trim Pillow on DIY harness) to very heavy-weight (OMS profile with Custom Divers Dual-Bladder TDB). Both of those rigs have specific purposes. For all-round diving, I use an Aquamundo sidemount - it's basically a Z-Trim copy, with some changes, made locally in the Philippines. That does fine for 2-4 Al cylinders and moderate tech or overhead.
I've recently been using a SubLevel rig, that was sent to me for trial. I really like the bladder design on that... but had to minimalise the harness to my own needs/specifications. It has dual-bladder option, so it fills my need (agency standards) for buoyancy/redundancy when I am teaching TecRec courses. I'm told they're doing some similar adaptations for a new tech-focused model at the moment.
---------- Post added July 3rd, 2014 at 08:35 PM ----------
I just noticed this new review on the Halcyon sidemount online: Scuba Tech Diving Centre, Cyprus: Halcyon Contour Sidemount System- A review
If you will be frequently travelling, primarily using ali cylinders, diving wetsuit/warm-water...or going into restricted overheads, then I don't think you can beat the 'British' approach sidemount rigs; such as the Razor or Stealth. Minimalism is the key factor.
If you want something more heavyweight, with larger capacity and more weight options, for use with drysuit and/or steel cylinders; then the 'US' type rigs are hard to beat. I think the SMS75, Halcyon and Nomad lead the field.
I've got 5 rigs at the moment; ranging from super-minimalist (DR Trim Pillow on DIY harness) to very heavy-weight (OMS profile with Custom Divers Dual-Bladder TDB). Both of those rigs have specific purposes. For all-round diving, I use an Aquamundo sidemount - it's basically a Z-Trim copy, with some changes, made locally in the Philippines. That does fine for 2-4 Al cylinders and moderate tech or overhead.
I've recently been using a SubLevel rig, that was sent to me for trial. I really like the bladder design on that... but had to minimalise the harness to my own needs/specifications. It has dual-bladder option, so it fills my need (agency standards) for buoyancy/redundancy when I am teaching TecRec courses. I'm told they're doing some similar adaptations for a new tech-focused model at the moment.
---------- Post added July 3rd, 2014 at 08:35 PM ----------
I just noticed this new review on the Halcyon sidemount online: Scuba Tech Diving Centre, Cyprus: Halcyon Contour Sidemount System- A review
My tech coldwater rig is a highly modified Manta. Custom plates, DR transplate harness, and Stealth central weight pocket. Carrying 22 lbs to be neutral in my drysuit without cylinders. It's very comfortable and has solved all the rigging problems I've found to date.
When tec diving in cold waters (say 40s and high 30s), obviously lift is the biggest distinguishing factor. With two steels, stage/deco bottles, I'm not sure SM rigs with lift in the 30s (e.g., Stealth 2.0, SMS 75) are the best choice. That leaves those with lift in the 50s (several models pointed out by Decompression and others). I dive the SMS100 in cold waters but with Edd's mod the lift is down to somewhere in the mid-40s which is adequate for my purposes. It's bulky but you can streamline it and dives fine. The other factor is you're wearing heavy gloves. Larger bolt snaps, pull dump knobs, etc. is strongly recommended. But these are not rig specific and can be customized. Outside of that, I see no special factors that are not shared with warm water environments.
Here's my history: Took SM from Edd. Dive an Edd-modified SMS100 and a Stealth in florida, mexican, and french caves. I personally would go with the stealth with the buttplate if I had to do it all over again. Here's my reasons: I like my SMS. It's a great piece of gear and with Edd's mods it is easy to jump into and get going. It has tons of lift and can handle lots of stages. There are also tons of places to attach stuff to it, such as can lights and extra cans for a heated vest. When I dive cold water caves in France, I need weight. I bought the weight plate and it works well. The issue is that with all the extra padding and stuff on the SMS, I need more weight than with the minimalistic Stealth. Yes you can remove the back padding, but there's much more unneccessary padding. If you plan to travel at all, skip the SMS. It doesn't fold down and takes up too much space. It's also much heavier than the stealth.
I bought my stealth after travelling to France with my SMS. It sucked and never wanted to do it again. The stealth really is the only other system on the market that thought out how to add weight for cold water diving. The spine weight system is awesome and you don't notice it. They also supply you with additional pockets that can be added all over the system. The only negative to the system is the butt dump. I hate the location. In thick gloves it can be hard to locate. I bought a replacement dump from DSS, the one with the thick shock cord and that solved the problem. Someone comented they didn't like the bungees on the wing. When I first bought it I thought it would be a pain. It isn't in the least. Don't let that deter you. My friend likes to build his own harnesses. I lent him my stealth wing and he fell in love. He built his own harness which mimics the stealth and added the stealth wing. I find the positioning of the wing puts you in perfect trim no matter what tanks you dive. It just works. The only other negative to the Stealth is that there's so many options for harness set up, it can be overwhelming to a newb.
I would suggest the Stealth and set it up with "old school bungees". You'll be more than happy.
My girlfriend dives a nomad LT. Don't even consider it. It's great for al80s, but that's it. It is very limited in lift and very limited in being able to add things such as an old school bungee set up or even weight.
The stealth may seem expensive at first, but buy it and the buttplate and enjoy cold water diving with no issue.
I bought my stealth after travelling to France with my SMS. It sucked and never wanted to do it again. The stealth really is the only other system on the market that thought out how to add weight for cold water diving. The spine weight system is awesome and you don't notice it. They also supply you with additional pockets that can be added all over the system. The only negative to the system is the butt dump. I hate the location. In thick gloves it can be hard to locate. I bought a replacement dump from DSS, the one with the thick shock cord and that solved the problem. Someone comented they didn't like the bungees on the wing. When I first bought it I thought it would be a pain. It isn't in the least. Don't let that deter you. My friend likes to build his own harnesses. I lent him my stealth wing and he fell in love. He built his own harness which mimics the stealth and added the stealth wing. I find the positioning of the wing puts you in perfect trim no matter what tanks you dive. It just works. The only other negative to the Stealth is that there's so many options for harness set up, it can be overwhelming to a newb.
I would suggest the Stealth and set it up with "old school bungees". You'll be more than happy.
My girlfriend dives a nomad LT. Don't even consider it. It's great for al80s, but that's it. It is very limited in lift and very limited in being able to add things such as an old school bungee set up or even weight.
The stealth may seem expensive at first, but buy it and the buttplate and enjoy cold water diving with no issue.
Thanks very much again for all the replies! Andy's post is great as an objective high-level summary, and it's nice to complement it with people's subjective opinions and personal experiences. Please, keep it coming...
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