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Side Mount Aluminum 80s, setup with no weights?
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texspeleo
Contributor
That only works for steels...
steve martin sliding d rings - Google Search
look at the videos.. I too am making the change to sm. and just did my first trial today. I dont know if I like teh sliding bracket the the d ring is webbed in with as much as I like the idea of the d ring being welded as part of the slide device. I dont use al tanks I use steel bot will have a bit of the same problems when they run low. the video shows measuring the position the tanks by checking level of the tanks in relation to your but cheeks. the more the tanks hide your butt the more you move the sliding d ring towards you gut. There is merit to having an instructor to get you through the conversion but in my case that is not available to me so I have paid for the martin videos and did my own set up and have to say it is performing pretty well. I can only imagine what it will be like with some knolwgeable help. Good lock with it. And as far as comments from a dir practitioner with an advertized 0-49 dives I would not sweat the comments. I fully believe you ahve to get past the basics to be good at anything and that is what you are trying to do, as I to am doing. keep us filled in on your success and failures in the process. I know i will be watching for both your comments and the solutions of others. I am trying to find a source to buy some of hte sliding d rings like is in the videos. If you dfind a source let me know
As a piece of advice. While the videos can get you somewhere close, at some point being in the water with a person that has significant experience and knowledge of your chosen system will pay dividends in really refining the rig.
Also, don't be afraid to experiment with some hardware to see what works best for YOU given the type of diving you do and tanks you use.
As a for instance. I use mainly AL80 on SM, I tried both the sliding D ring and having 3 on either side in fixed positions. I preferred the latter - just moving the tank clip rather than sliding a ring up and down my webbing
I tired different types of D-Rings, Standard, welded fixed and drop rings, before I found the ones and combination that worked best for me - kitting up on a boat, moving tanks underwater. I prefer ring bungee rather then the conventional bungee at the front.
My point being is I know having tried different minor configs what works best for me in my environment, but that doesn't mean it'll be the best solution for someone else.
My pile of discarded hardware is a testament to the minor changes and evolutions I've gone through in the quest for the perfect rig and config
I like the multi d ring idea and have been getting the parts to try that my self. not sure what you mean by ring bungy can you send a pic. I know what you mean buy piles of stuff. Every thing is a tough roadd till it works right for you . thanks. I was amazed how well the video alone got me as close as it did. And I agree I have to find some one to get me dialed in to make it even better. At least I am not so grossly off when I do.
Different Bungee Setups LIke anything on SB you will get lots of strongly held opinions on which is best.
Ignoring Dive Rite saying this is an exclusive system to them, I have in on my X-Deep Stealth. At first I simply shortened my loop bungees to test teh system and work out the kinks, before permanently rigging the bungee to harness attachment in a neater way
Why I like the Ring Bungee system.
Primarily because I dive off boats and when out of the water or climbing ladders etc the weight of the cylinder is transmitted to the harness via the metal ring and bolt snap, not dangling and stretching the bungee. Also all my AL cylinders are set up with stage slings and chokers anyway, thus everything is just compatible. Plus my cylinder slings are set up so that I can just rock up to any shop world wide and throw them on their cylinders and go.
Someone just using their own cylinders and only making shore entries may prefer another system since each has its advantages and disadvantages
Do not underestimate the amount of tweaking that may be required from a rough set up you feel is close, to getting it actually dialed in. Seeing yourself on camera and how your tanks actually trim, rather than how you thing they do can be very enlightening
I agree with the tweaking part and use of a camera. the benefit I would see is that a experienced user can see if the tank attachment points need to be moves a bit to make the tank hug tighter or a loosening of a bungy would torque things differently. I dont know what I dont know. It like trying to tell someone about the difference between trim and buoyancy after watching them riding a bicycle at 40 ft. You just need that professional 3rd person evaluation to say good or could be a bit better. the attachment points i am using on the bottom off the tank is about 45 degrees off the valve body line in the direction of the back of he valve. maybe it needs to be less for my lp50's and more for the lp85's that is an experience thing that I lack. back mount is easy, as it is tank placement and weight placement. there are a lot more dimensions involved in SM as I am finding out. I do feel i am more than close enough to hit the open water now as it is set up. the bungies are really tight and perhaps could use a bit of loosening. I have been offered a chance to go to dallas to a shop where they have a large SM group that I can work with. I would like to be relative close in settings to get the most out of the time to tweek and understand the torques and things. In the end I am ogin to mark my tanks where the points are when i use them as SM rather than BM for quick set up.
So far I have 2-3 people that are being very helpful in this conversion to SM. Its always a mixture of confidence and physics that make the final result work. We will chat again I am sure. I like your perspective on things.
Matthew Spears
Registered
Update: I got a chance to dive a friend's Dive Rite Nomad LS and IMMEDIATELY returned my SMS100. At least for me personally, the Nomad felt much better and more comfortable with AL80s than the sms100 did.
One thing you will need to adapt to, is "re-calibrating" your senses. For instance I thought and felt that my cylinders were in trim, until I saw them on camera, and realised a change I'd made while fixing one problem had caused another
I was able to chat to @RainPilot , who figured out the problem, we met up for a dive, he simply changed the rear bolt snaps for a size smaller and changed the way they were attached to the sling. We took one short dive where he made minor underwater tweaks which, when we got onto dry land, fixed so they were permanent and hey presto. No way would I have been to sort that without a second set of experienced eyes and hands.
Regarding precise gear configs, this being SB, some people will have entrenched views insisting their way is the best and only way. Certainly for some parts of a config there is a proper and best way, but for other parts of the rig, what might be optimal in one circumstance, may be sub optimal in others.
For example. Most of my SM is warm ocean diving in big currents. Because I won't be wearing a D/S and I don't like tec shorts, I have a storage pocket on each tank, and on my harness have attachments to keep my reef hook and pointer tidy and streamlined but in easy fast reach.
However if I'm making a wreck penetration, then this config offers too many negatives and entanglement possibilities, so I have minimalist cylinder harnesses and store all my line reels, smb etc on my rear butt plate. I don't like stuff on my rear plate, but for an overhead it's a necessity and the best way, so I'll tolerate it. On OW ocean dives, this isn't a necessity - driven by other circumstances so I don't need to tolerate stuff at my rear
Other people might feel differently and are happy with stuff at their rear - it's not an issue and what works best for them and their diving..
So for secondary gear, and rigging, don't be afraid to experiment as long as isn't detrimental to the primary rigging and keeping the cylinders correctly positioned
The attached is my SM waistbelt, with a fixed loop at the back and a sliding D-ring. I've been changing to the front ring at 150 bar, that felt awesome. Then I saw some pictures and the tank butts were high. I either I need to change earlier, I also think I need to tighten my bungees more and that is contributing. Not sure but I'll try some stuff, learn stuff, buy stuff and then I'll try some other stuff.
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