Are there any videos that show how that bungee setup works. I’ve only used/known one way so I’m don’t understand the function of the rings, links, and bolt snaps.
I assume it’s possible to run just a bare bungee loop to wrap around the neck to the valve stem on this harness?
Yes, there is no need for the ring or link. You can loop the bungee around the valve knob, or around the projection for the burst disc assembly.
I prefer to pull the loop in between me and the tank and then under the tank and around either the valve handle or the projection for the burst disc assembly - which ever is on the bottom. This torques the tank in toward me. Given that I run the SPGs up so that they lie flat against my pectoral muscles, that inward rotation is important to keep the SPGs there when the tank gets light and the tail starts to want to float. Between properly clocking the lower bolt snap and that inward torque from the bungee you won't get the "shovel" effect with the SPGs hanging below you.
The reason for using a continuous loop bungee is to get more stretch out of the bungee so that you can use a shorter loop on each side that pulls the tanks up higher behind your arms.
The Dive Rite Ring bungee system, even just the ring, bolt snap and quick link, works against that as the length of the bolt snap and quick link becomes the limiting factor in how far up and back the tank can go. In other words the greater stretch of the bungee is wasted as it just pulls the bolt snap and quick link tight, and it then prevents the tank from being up where you want it.
There are some uses for rings, and they do not need to be used with a quicklink.
Below is a Hollis Katana 2, that I've rigged the same way as my Scubapro sidemount harness (which now lives in my dive locker down in north Florida). There is a ring on the right side to allow me to clip the upper bolt snap on my KISS Sidekick CCR to the ring - similar to the Dive Right ring bungee system, but without the bolt snap and quick link. Why leave them off? Because they impair the upward movement of the Sidekick, and because they just are not needed.
Note how short the bungee loop is on each side (it is also a single continuous loop). I can usually reach the ring when gearing up to connect the CCR. The olive colored 550 paracord however supports the Sidekick while I walk to the water and provides the same safety net as a bolt snap and quick link in the event the bungee ever breaks - in the water or out. The paracord loop on the other side lets me pull that otherwise impossible to reach bungee loop forward on the tank side (left side) so that I can reach the bungee to loop it over the valve on my LP85 dil-out bottle.
I also have a 6" paracord loop with a bolt snap on it that is larksheaded over the base of the tank valve (you can see it hanging below the second stage in the second image). If I am out of the water when I clip that tank on, that bolt snap and loop of paracord serves the same purpose as the Dive Rite ring, bolt snap and quick link - supporting the weight of the tank and taking most of the stress off the bungee. It will also serve as a back up underwater in the event the bungee ever breaks (although I've been diving sidemount for about 10 years and about 500 dives and have never had a bungee break yet).
The difference with the paracord loop is that I can adjust the length of the loop so that it is just long enough not to impede the ability of the bolt snap to pull the tank up and back where I want it to be so that it is in line with my torso. In short it does everything the bolt snap and quick link do in the Dive Rite system without the problem of being too short to let the tank ride properly.
