Some advice on my set up please.

[lermontov]

you look pretty good -a fews tips....

wear a hood - if your going to to do penetration dives then you will at some point hit your head on window or door or something -and a bit of rusty metal can really give you a nasty cut and possibly an infection

tidy the spg up a bit they are can get in the way of a tight squeeze- i prefer mine on top so i can pull them up and see them and they dont get caught on stuff

dont get hung up on trying to emulate a poster boy sidemount guru- some things are important -many are preferences dive lots and find out what works for you .. you will no doubt make small changes as you go .......and have fun

 

[mdwalter]

Hah, retractors are one of those things which sound good in theory, but in practice I've found to be simply annoying, never works well, and (most importantly) better replaced by some alternative.

Currently, my "go-to" is to create a paracord or bungie loop, using a prusik knot, and treading that through a bolt-snap, and the item. The loop is big enough after being threaded to fit my hand through and act as a lanyard, so I can "drop" an item at any time. The bolt-snap is for a secure clip-off, just in case I need to temporarily clip it, or want an extra- secure clip-off in case if falls out of a sheath.

You might want to investigate what a prusik is. That's not what's shown in the picture you provided. This is a prusik knot (it's actually friction hitch used as an ascender or progress capture in climbing), which is made by wrapping a loop of thinner rope around a thicker rope. The loop itself is not made using a prusik knot, but rather is normally sewn or made using a double fisherman's knot with the two ends of the piece of rope used to form the loop. In the pic below you will see a loop of blue rope formed using a double fisherman's knot on the left. The loop is then used to form a prusik hitch on the right around the thicker red rope. This can then be slid along the red rope in either direction and will tension around the red rope when force is applied longitudinally on the blue loop. Here's how to tie it: Prusik Knot

 

[SlugLife]

double fisherman's knot

You're right, thank you for the correction.

 

[happy-diver]

It’s also really hard to get someone who doesn’t dive SM to take the photo that you’re trying to get to show your trim properly. And yes, I didn’t really know what I was doing on the upload.

Yeah what's funny and what you want the help do it again till you get it right no different than diving