"Sidemounting With Benefits" - Lessons from a newbie Sidemount Diver

[SlugLife]

Hi Sluglife, could you please post an image of your “drop clips” rigged. They sound like they would help me diving off my boat. I use the loop of cord method with a double-ender but find it a bit tricky to manage due to its proximity to the New Zealand ROC (Ring of Confidence for Hydro/Visual date) plastic loop around the tank valve. A tied on bolt snap does sound easier…

I'll post some pictures within the next couple days (maybe later today). Feel free to remind me if I forget.

I'm not familiar with the NZ ROC, could you post a picture of that?

 

[SlugLife]

Hi Sluglife, could you please post an image of your “drop clips” rigged. They sound like they would help me diving off my boat. I use the loop of cord method with a double-ender but find it a bit tricky to manage due to its proximity to the New Zealand ROC (Ring of Confidence for Hydro/Visual date) plastic loop around the tank valve. A tied on bolt snap does sound easier…

It's not the best picture, but you can see it on the blue-tank near the valve. The paracord starts at that small 1-inch d-ring, and goes to the large bolt-snap.

My loop I think is 6-8 inches when stretched straight. However, there are a lot of variables here, such as my height (I'm about 5ft 11in), where the cord starts, tank-height, bolt-snap length, chest-d-ring position, etc. What you'll want to do is start out with about a 7-inch loop, and then see how that works. You want it long enough to provide adequate flexibility when donning gear, but short enough that when you stand up straight, the bottoms of the tanks are lifted off the ground by at least a few inches. The idea is to be able to clear small obstacles and take a giant stride.

As a "DIY pro tip" on not wasting paracord, start out with about 20inches of paracord, and tie the 7-inch loop, and don't trim the ends. See how that works, and then tie/untie it longer or shorter as needed. Only trim and burn the ends of the paracord once you have a length you like. (I find I more frequently waste more material, by starting out too-short, than too long).

As far as that plastic ring, this "drop loop" doesn't have to be "tied" anywhere specific. For example, I could even secure one end around the valve-neck, and the other on the bolt-snap, although the paracord might want to tangle with the regulator.

 

[SurteesDiver]

I'll post some pictures within the next couple days (maybe later today). Feel free to remind me if I forget.

I'm not familiar with the NZ ROC, could you post a picture of that?

Thanks for the pic Sluglife. This text from NZ Diver Magazine… they go around the valve and are a bit of a pain from a sidemount perspective.
The 'Ring of Confidence’ (ROC) cylinder tag, is a coloured disc secured to a dive tank after an annual inspection has been carried out.
ROC tags are stamped with the letter ‘H’ if the last annual inspection was a Hydrostatic Test, and with the month, year, test station number and station mark if the last annual inspection was a Visual Inspection.
The colour of the ROC tag denotes which year the cylinder had its last annual inspection:-
• 2019 Grey
• 2020 Dark Green
• 2021 Mauve
• 2022 Yellow
Air Purity is the exclusive provider of ROC tags and currently holds the New Zealand Trademark. Air Purity is part of New Zealand Underwater Association.

 

[SurteesDiver]

I'll post some pictures within the next couple days (maybe later today). Feel free to remind me if I forget.

I'm not familiar with the NZ ROC, could you post a picture of that?

And here they are on my sidemount tanks, showing the proximity to the cord loop for the doubleenders.

Think that I’ll have a play with Boltsnap on 6” on cord tied around the valve stem. Probably could leave the boltsnap connected to the shoulder d ring after the loop bungee is on? One less thing to do on the way down?

 

[SlugLife]

And here they are on my sidemount tanks, showing the proximity to the cord loop for the doubleenders

I could see how those might sometimes be annoying. I think the setup I showed would work. Let me know if the photo I posted is clear enough, or you want me to take additional photos, or a better description.