SM Stages - Top Mount vs Bottom Mount

[Manatee Diver]

Another question. Valves, how should I have them configured.

Oxygen is a standard valve so it goes on my left. Would I then for a 50% bottle go with a mirrored valve and put it on my right?

Stage bottles: One of each valve?

 

[JBFG]

Left lean, right rich. Your left bottle should be 50% valve up (so standard valve) and your right deco bottle should be your 100% again valve up so uncommon side valve.

 

[PfcAJ]

Left lean, right rich. Your left bottle should be 50% valve up (so standard valve) and your right deco bottle should be your 100% again valve up so uncommon side valve.

Gah.

Do people really still do this??

 

[grantctobin]

Another question. Valves, how should I have them configured.

Oxygen is a standard valve so it goes on my left. Would I then for a 50% bottle go with a mirrored valve and put it on my right?

Stage bottles: One of each valve?

Depending on your rigging choice, valve sidedness shouldn’t (doesn’t) matter for your deco bottles. Are you going to have a left handed AND a right handed Oxygen bottle for single deco vs two deco gas dives?

Opposing valves for “back” gas, everything else a standard valve with normal DIR stage rigging (or the increasingly popular Mexico style w bottom bungee.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Depending on your rigging choice, valve sidedness shouldn’t (doesn’t) matter for your deco bottles. Are you going to have a left handed AND a right handed Oxygen bottle for single deco vs two deco gas dives?

Yes, two deco gas for trimix dives. I was thinking with my 50% bottle I might want it on my opposite side just for balance. But I'm not sure I've never carried more than the oxygen bottle for any of my dives, as helitrox we only used one deco gas. I might be upgrading to full normoxic soonish. So I am considering these things.

Opposing valves for “back” gas, everything else a standard valve with normal DIR stage rigging (or the increasingly popular Mexico style w bottom bungee.

Would my standard SM rigging work (bolt snap paracorded to valve with another on a hose clamp) or is there a disadvantage of not having the carry handle?

 

[grantctobin]

Yes, two deco gas for trimix dives. I was thinking with my 50% bottle I might want it on my opposite side just for balance. But I'm not sure I've never carried more than the oxygen bottle for any of my dives, as helitrox we only used one deco gas. I might be upgrading to full normoxic soonish. So I am considering these things.



Would my standard SM rigging work (bolt snap paracorded to valve with another on a hose clamp) or is there a disadvantage of not having the carry handle?

I don’t find the handle or lack thereof as much of a problem as I do having a boltsnap that isn’t always in the same place every time as well as where that boltsnap sits in relation to the crown when it’s not woven into a stage kit. The tighter you rig your stage and deco bottles, the harder gas identification and restowing the spent regs is (with the trade off of a larger profile). If using your rigging, you unclip the bottom snap of a rigged bottle to bring it forward to restow the hose, the bottle has the potential to rotate inside your paracord top boltsnap Loop and require rotation back around to restow. I think there’s a ProTec blog post that’s more eloquent than whatever I’ll write.

Edit: www.protecblog.com/3031/adjustable-stage-rigging-kit/

 

[rddvet]

Gah.

Do people really still do this??

sadly way too often in side mount

 

[Manatee Diver]

Gah.

Do people really still do this??

sadly way too often in side mount

I'm only considering one on each side for balance reasons, I don't think I should rely on bottle position for identification.

But I am curious what you guys would do in sidemount, as GUE procedures are often used in the cave community even among non-GUE dudes (as I often joke we are DIR adjacent).

 

[Manatee Diver]

The tighter you rig your stage and deco bottles, the harder gas identification and restowing the spent regs is (with the trade off of a larger profile).

Edit: www.protecblog.com/3031/adjustable-stage-rigging-kit/

I noticed that, now that I've been shortening my oxygen bottle bungee it is getting harder to take it on or off. But I get a better profile in the water. Though I use a top bungee with the bolt snap (which I won't be doing with the 80 for 50%) so I can pull it out a little to make seeing the mix tape easier, and getting to the reg.

 

[rddvet]

I'm only considering one on each side for balance reasons, I don't think I should rely on bottle position for identification.

But I am curious what you guys would do in sidemount, as GUE procedures are often used in the cave community even among non-GUE dudes (as I often joke we are DIR adjacent).

multiple stages on one side does not cause you to feel imbalanced. There’s no reason to put one on the right. It is just a way to entrap your long hose, even in sm. I’ve carried 3+ bottles on the left and didn’t feel skewed to the left.

if you’re full cave consider a stage course.