Recreational divers, post your rig here, let's share good and bad ideas

[LI-er]

Well a reef hook can also be used when people are doing coral reconstruction work where rebar is set down but the currents are strong. Such as in Indonesia. So much easier to hook in and do your work without needing to struggle in a current.

Also on some buoy lines there is a lot of sharp stuff that can tear through gloves which I don't wear. so have used my reef hook when currents are strong. Reef hooks are required for diving in some sites in Indonesia.

I admit my ignorance when it comes to reef hooks. I've seen them overused and stuck in reefs where they don't belong. Thanks for the info.

 

[Soloist]

I looked at the SeaQuest Balance specs, but they neglect to provide a dry weight for the BCD. Weird. Considering you use this for travel, do you know what the base unit weighs...before the cornucopia of whimsical gadgets are applied to it?

I noticed it has a horseshoe bladder. Is this your preference? Spec sheet states up to 50 pounds of lift. Awesome! Have you raised any ship wrecks or sunken booty?

 

[SelfDiver]

@LI-er
You have so much patience in answering everyone. The level of negativity here is baffling.
Your gear has no effect on anyone else so why are they so worked up?
You made some good points, let's discuss?

The black rubber keeper for your main regulator is not needed if you put a clip on the regulator itself.
This is easy to dive with and clip when not needed.
There are hundreds of videos on YouTube when you search "regulator bolt snap"
Andy Davis has a nice tutorial: How to Make a Sidemount Break Away Hose Connector
There are different ways of doing it

The little red clip for the computer can just be on the computer. A better place for computers is the foot pocket in the fin. The computer will be somewhat protected from jostling and rough handling. Some people have bungee fin straps so the little red clip can snap right on it or you can loop the computer bungee on the strap. It also works well for freediving since the computer(depth gauge) is already with the fin and the mask can go in the other fin. If you have an arm slate, it can go in the fin with the computer.

Can you think of a way to get rid of those retractor thingies?

The surface marker setup only really needs the two clips. Double enders will give you more options, in my opinion.
Some people have a finger spool connected to the surface marker. They have 100ft of line and only need one piece of brass.
The surface marker does not need a dedicated clip, but if you feel like you need one, then a double ender gives more options.

The Mini SPG is a backup for a tank pod?
Why have it at all? It is just another failure point and another hose for no reason. Your emergency procedure should stay the same as all other recreational divers: No gauge = abort dive. What does your gas planning look like?
Most modern (free) software, have a gas consumption calculator based on your surface air consumption, tank size and tank starting pressure. Even without an app, you should know your turn-around pressure and time.
I see no reason to add another hose. And you have your pony bottle, so if the main tank transmitter dies or fails, you have a whole other tank to save your lifestyle.

The "Stony" bottle:
Yoke is wonderful. A DIN regulator would eliminate the big plastic screw head of the yoke. (One less piece of plastic sticking out. Right now you have the transmitter, tank valve and yoke screw)
Go to a motorcycle shop and ask for some trash inner tubes. Slip a couple of inner tube rubbers on the tank and keep the regulator there.
You don't need the necklace for it. A bolt snap on the regulator will keep it anywhere you want. It is easy to transport all bundled like that. When you are in the water and comfy, you can grab the pony regulator and clip in anywhere.
The elastic keeper also allows you to have any length of hose for the pony regulator and it will not get in the way. Detaching the pony in the water or at the surface is also easier.
Consider getting rid of the metal neck ring on the pony and use a girth hitch with the double ender. It is easier to move the entire rigging to a different pony (AL40 or AL80) and gets rid of a metal-to-metal connection. The other side of the double ender can connect directly to the left chest D-ring.
The bottom rigging of the pony bottle looks like a sheathed stainless hose clamp but you have a metal ring on it. Get rid of the metal ring and put a rope loop under it instead. Girth hitch the bolt snap from picture Q to the pony bottle and the rope length can be as long as you need for the bolt snap to reach your BCD "stony bottom clip".
Practice your frog kick, back kick and helicopter turns in this new configuration. The pony should be horizontal when full and should not interfere with your propulsion or trim.
Please reconsider taking a spare mask in the water with you. Not really necessary for recreational divers but you are diving solo.

If you have a reel, you need a line cutter. The shears should be enough. When was the last time you tried cutting webbing or a line with them using only one hand?
You have a clutch reel, the drum can spin only when the handle is compressed. I have every confidence in your ability to operate this reel correctly. It should not be used with a surface marker because anything but a firm grip means that the surface marker is taking the reel with it and your hand with it. Please consider a finger spool.

Do you have redundant bouyancy?
You can get a surface marker with oral inflation. They provide enough lift to stay in trim and neutral bouyancy.
Some people prefer a surface marker with a pouch. the pouch provides less of a snag hazzard and protects the inflatable from getting nicked or scratched.

Do you have pictures from the back?

 

[Soloist]

@LI-er
You have so much patience in answering everyone. The level of negativity here is baffling.
Your gear has no effect on anyone else so why are they so worked up?

Don't confuse negativity with amusement. The OP has a great sense of humor and knew exactly the types of responses this post would generate. This has been one of the most fun threads in a long time. Thanks @LI-er!

 

[greatwhite1]

I admit my ignorance when it comes to reef hooks. I've seen them overused and stuck in reefs where they don't belong. Thanks for the info.

A r hook should be used in a rock slit/hole/gap where no harm can be done.

 

[LI-er]

The black rubber keeper for your main regulator is not needed if you put a clip on the regulator itself.

I'd prefer the rubber keeper on the D ring rather than a metal clip on my regulator.

The little red clip for the computer can just be on the computer. A better place for computers is the foot pocket in the fin.

Those computers go on my wrist and I'd rather not have a clip hanging from my wrist or placed in a footpocket of a fin, they're safely clipped to my BCD where I can see them and they're up and away from anything possibly being dropped on them.

I have a small slate on the back of my compass which I keep in a pocket. As most of my dives are solo I rarely use it.

Can you think of a way to get rid of those retractor thingies?

Most could be replaced with D rings. The retractor on the knife is a backup in case the knife slips out and it's the best option I've come up with (I first used a coiled lanyard and a length of bungee, neither was adequate). The retractor on the BCD hose keeps it snug to my torso, but allows for easy manipulation of the hose to vent, and the dive torch on the retractor is more convenient than carrying on my wrist, or clipping/unclipping while I'm holding a camera.

The surface marker setup only really needs the two clips.

I don't follow. Unless you refer to the clip on the SMB which you brought up again and I replied to below.

Some people have a finger spool connected to the surface marker. They have 100ft of line and only need one piece of brass.

100 ft of line isn't enough for the diving that I do on deep wrecks. I have a separate finger spool that I carry if I'll be penetrating wrecks.

The surface marker does not need a dedicated clip,

I'm going to remove the clip from the SMB as suggested by others.

The Mini SPG is a backup for a tank pod?
It is just another failure point and another hose for no reason. Your emergency procedure should stay the same as all other recreational divers: No gauge = abort dive.

I would rather have the mini spg than abort a perfectly good dive and it's a convenient way to check tank pressure pre-dive. My older Oceanic computers occasionally lose signal during the dive so it's nice to have another way to check it until the signal is reacquired.

What does your gas planning look like?

My gas planning varies for each dive and sometimes changes during the dive depending on the conditions and what I'm seeing down there.

I see no reason to add another hose. And you have your pony bottle, so if the main tank transmitter dies or fails, you have a whole other tank to save your lifestyle.

I don't want to shorten my dive and switch to my stony bottle if I lose the ability to read tank pressure with my AI computer.

Yoke is wonderful. A DIN regulator would eliminate the big plastic screw head of the yoke. (One less piece of plastic sticking out. Right now you have the transmitter, tank valve and yoke screw)

I'm good with the yoke set up, thanks.

Go to a motorcycle shop and ask for some trash inner tubes. Slip a couple of inner tube rubbers on the tank and keep the regulator there.

I prefer the the necklace which is manufactured specifically for that reason as opposed to bicycle inner tubes and I prefer this configuration to a bungeed regulator. Easy enough to slip the necklace over my head in about 3 seconds.

Consider getting rid of the metal neck ring on the pony and use a girth hitch with the double ender. It is easier to move the entire rigging to a different pony (AL40 or AL80) and gets rid of a metal-to-metal connection.

I'm good with the metal ring I'm not rigging any other bottles except my other 30cf and it's all set up.

The other side of the double ender can connect directly to the left chest D-ring.

I tried that, the bottle was too close and too tight, by clipping it to the ring it drops down and back to a very comfortable out of the way position.

The bottom rigging of the pony bottle looks like a sheathed stainless hose clamp but you have a metal ring on it.

It is. Seem to work just fine.

The pony should be horizontal when full and should not interfere with your propulsion or trim.

It is and it doesn't. I could use a half pound of lead in the opposite BCD weight pocket to offset it.

Please reconsider taking a spare mask in the water with you. Not really necessary for recreational divers but you are diving solo.

I've thought about it. Carried it last month when I was required to demonstrate my skills so I could solo dive on the liveaboard. It went back in the tool box and it's going to stay there.

When was the last time you tried cutting webbing or a line with them using only one hand?

Nixon was president.

You have a clutch reel, the drum can spin only when the handle is compressed. I have every confidence in your ability to operate this reel correctly. It should not be used with a surface marker because anything but a firm grip means that the surface marker is taking the reel with it and your hand with it. Please consider a finger spool.

I have a finger spool, I rarely carry it because it doesn't have enough line. I have deployed an smb dozens of times using that Manta reel with no issues and yes I realize you have to give it a good hard squeeze and hold it so it doesn't lock up.

Do you have redundant bouyancy? You can get a surface marker with oral inflation.

I orally inflate my SMB.

Do you have pictures from the back?

I didn't take a photo and all the stuff is repacked after I unpacked it to post the pictures at the beginning of the thread. Not really all that much to see on the back of the BCD.

 

[lexvil]

There seems to be one overriding theme here; don’t ask for other people opinion here! dive “your way”

 

[Pavao]

Thread 'Recreational divers, post your rig here, let's share good and bad ideas'

Sunday at 3:36 AM

Special thanks to @Tassie_Rohan, without his input on my other thread this one would not have existed.

I've tweaked my rig for the past 4 1/2 decades, being rather OCD I've tended to the smallest details such as the type and size of each clip and the best use of retractors, keeping in mind their inherent unreliability. Note that all retractors confirm to one of my 3 sacred retractor rules as per this thread:


Recreational divers only, please feel free to post your own rig here to share your...

• LI-er
• Replies: 175
• Forum: Basic Scuba

• 

When do you plan on sharing the good ideas?


FFS op, take a hint!

 

[Soloist]

@LI-er, my post regarding the weight of a stock SeaQuest Balance BCD and the horseshoe wing design were actual questions (believe it or not). Cheers!

 

[Eric802]

100 ft of line isn't enough for the diving that I do on deep wrecks. I have a separate finger spool that I carry if I'll be penetrating wrecks.

I thought this was your "recreational diving" set up. What kind of "rec diving" are you doing on "deep wrecks" that involves 100 feet of penetration?