SPG placement

[wrybosome]

A lot of the buddies I dive with are GUE trained and wear their spg clipped to the left hip d ring. This seems less convenient than the way I wear mine, where the hose is routed under my arm and shoulder strap then clipped to the left chest d ring. This allows me to see my pressure by just looking down. Additionally it keeps the spg handy when I sling a pony, which I do on the left.

Asking my friends about this hasn't gotten me a better answer than "it's easy to unclip and look" so I was hoping you folks here would be able to explain the logic to me.

 

[rongoodman]

Once you mount a couple of stage/deco bottles there, in addition to a back-up light, it's going to be in the way. It's not something you need to have in view constantly anyway, especially since you might not even be breathing your back gas.

 

[DevonDiver]

I keep mine at the end of a high-pressure hose.

 

[TSandM]

rongoodman nailed it. The gear configuration for DIR is designed so it scales -- what you start with, using a single tank, still works when you are carrying multiple stages/deco bottles. Since the backgas SPG only needs to be referenced at intervals (and during some dives, perhaps not at all) it isn't kept where it adds to the clutter on the left chest d-ring.

 

[emoreira]

I keep mine at the end of a high-pressure hose.

Though I'm not GUE nor DIR nor TECH, I just do the same.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

it adds to the clutter on the left chest d-ring.

Carrying it on the left hip d-ring just adds to the clutter there too :sigh:

This creates the same clutter and problems when carrying stage bottles, deco bottles.

 

[wrybosome]

Thanks for the replies. It's good to hear the reasoning behind these things.

Once you mount a couple of stage/deco bottles there, in addition to a back-up light, it's going to be in the way. It's not something you need to have in view constantly anyway, especially since you might not even be breathing your back gas.

I've never dived with more than a single Al40 mounted there so maybe I'm not picturing it correctly. Wouldn't the area around the left hip be *more* crowded?

I keep mine at the end of a high-pressure hose.

Hey, me too! High five. It works much better than just slipping it in my pocket.

Carrying it on the left hip d-ring just adds to the clutter there too :sigh:

This creates the same clutter and problems when carrying stage bottles, deco bottles.

That was my thought too.

 

[rjack321]

A) I'm not checking my backgas very often at all. Sounds lazy I know but really don't need to anymore.
B) When I do check, I may also show it to a buddy which requires it to be "free"
C) I often have 2 other spgs in that area (stages)
D) The more hoses and other stuff I can route "down" along the plane of my body the better I think, less to snag.

 

[aquaregia]

The shorter hose that would be used on the chest dring would make it harder to operate, say, if it came undone I think it would be difficult to recover and replace. In my experience, clutter is worse on my shoulder because of the regulators and gauges on the stage. I do get irritated having to push a stage out of the way to get to the SPG though.

 

[Seraphimx]

I'm pretty much a new diver but I had the same problem;

CONS of HIP D-RING:
1) I HAVE to wear 5mm gloves minimum and unclipping the SPG and looking at the gauge is a real chore.
2) It takes me a good 2 min in which I am totally concentrated only on my SPG.

I asked a diver and he told me he puts it on his chest ring.

PROs of CHEST D-RING:
1) I just have to look down to see it.
2) I have to monitor my gas constantly because if I get caught up in current the SPG going down fast will remind me to slow down, relax and take it easy.
3) I don't carry deco bottles.

I understand the need for standardized equipment, but I prefer to be in control how I dive before changing it, maybe later down the road I'll go with the hip D-Ring, but not at the moment.

If he is carrying a Pony bottle it can be for multiple use, maybe for deco on deeper dives or simply as backup gas. If it's the second option he will still need to monitor his backgas.

Furthermore, the 24in SPG hose is not long enough to create drag if under left chest D-ring. It stays snug against the body and has enough loose (2in or so) not to be too tight. With the same hose lenght you can attach it to the right chest D-ring, but the fit is too tight for me and it's more of a hazard than a tool.

What is annoying with the left chest D-ring is that the Inflator, SPG and Backup light are all in the same spot.
I change the backup light to the right and it's a better setup but the mixup with the inflator and SPG is present.

Do whatever YOU like, a lot of people take the DIR setup as GUIDELINES and adapt some of it. I'm trying out the left chest d-ring, at the moment I like it.