Sidemount BC

[mddolson]

I side mounted last year in Tulum but would have back mounted in Coz. yes, I brought both sets of gear.

Due to flight baggage limits (20 kg/44 lbs per bag) I bring sidemount & move a 2nd stage & wip to my long hose reg to go backmount. My SPG hoses are still long, & I loop them under 2" inner tube (for now) when sidemounting.

 

[decompression]

I don't want to bash UTD but I wanna comment on that video.
The most difficult thing when designing a sidemount rig is finding enough space for the wing to expand. You need to distribute the volume while remaining flat and 17l/0.6 cuft 4.5 gallons is not small. I have designed several rigs now and I have compared it to others. I really had a hard time making the wing big enough to fit this much volume.
Could somebody fill this this thing with water? I would love to know how much lift this and other wings really have.

Not a problem, Bennno, I can totally fill and see how much water it takes, kinda curious now myself. I'll let you know how I make out.

 

[decompression]

Do you side mount in the Caribbean or that just a doubles thing for you, like it is me?

I see a lot of SM in the Carribean, sadly it's me.

 

[The Chairman]

Due to flight baggage limits (20 kg/44 lbs per bag) I bring sidemount & move a 2nd stage & wip to my long hose reg to go backmount. My SPG hoses are still long, & I loop them under 2" inner tube (for now) when sidemounting.

I think we have a fifty pound limit, so no probs here.

 

[mddolson]

I think we have a fifty pound limit, so no probs here.

Used to be 50 lbs here also, I think Air Canada is still 50 LB,
but West Jet & Air Transat dropped to 44 when our dollar took a nose dive

 

[rongoodman]

I side mounted last year in Tulum but would have back mounted in Coz. yes, I brought both sets of gear.

I do the same on Mexican trips. I usually like to take a day or so off from the caves to dive on the reefs off Playa.

 

[Bennno]

Not a problem, Bennno, I can totally fill and see how much water it takes, kinda curious now myself. I'll let you know how I make out.

Thanks, that'd be cool. The sms75 also looks kinda small for the lift it's supposed to have.
I have a modded SMS100 and when I had a little screw up last summer, I had swim on the surface for quite a bit and I could hardly stay afloat... which was weird since "38 lbs" should have been enough by a good margin.

 

[decompression]

I've used the SMS 75 with my HP 120's, no issues. One of my students dives a SMS100 with LP 85's and is weighted almost perfect with 8 lbs. (drysuit).

 

[Bennno]

I've used the SMS 75 with my HP 120's, no issues. One of my students dives a SMS100 with LP 85's and is weighted almost perfect with 8 lbs. (drysuit).

I bought the SMS100 from Edd, so it's pretty much the same as the 75... I used the 75 too.
When I'm diving it's great. I would just like a little more lift for 'choppy' water. So for lake and cave diving it's enough... for ocean diving I'd like just a little more, just for comfort.

 

[decompression]

Hey Bennno, not counting the water I splashed around the sink, I got about 14 liters into the wing (alpha/delta, claimed lift is 37#). I estimate that it was about 3/4 or more full of water. There was some room for expansion when I sealed it and then inflated the rest with air. So I'd say it could hold about 16 or so liters. I'll do a calc to figure lift in pounds.