Thread for Gear review and tips

[Grovspol]

Hello Divers

I looked through the forums and I could not find a common thread regarding sidemount gear setup, review and tips. Maybe this will be the one? Feel free to keep on posting in this thread, so we can keep collecting the knowledge to a easy place to find.

If there already is a thread with the same aim as i hope this one will get, please admin me to the correct thread and clear this post.

I might aswell start.
I am new to sidemounting, with roughly 10-12 dives in sidemount setup after the actual course. Yesterday I went to the pool for some skills training and to try out some changes I have done to my rig (changed bungee thickness). I used all the same gear as i do in the ocean, with exception of my hood and the thick socks. When just staying still, i found myself to be front heavy. When taking of my fins, it was almost impossible to get into position, even after emptying my feet from air.
At the moment I had a 2kg weight fixed between my shoulderblades, wich I removed today and moved to my waist. The total amount of led i use is 7kg.


This is how I don the led as of now.

My current setup is:
Drysuit (ursuk) with the Weezle extreme + as undercloathing (warm as hell in the pool)
2x 12l steel tanks
Agir Ratatosk sidemount rig with looped bungees
Apeks XTX 50 sidemount regulators


On the left Picture I'm having trouble getting into a good position and i think the problem is beacuse of the high up weight. It might also be because there is more air in the shoes than usual beacuse of not using the thick socks.
I also think that the right tank could just a little more twist upwards.

Thank you for any reply that could help improve the setup and feel free to post your own issues to add to the discussion.

/ Rasmus

 

[Ozwald]

10-12 dives after the course.....keep going buddy you'll get there. Personally I found the SM course to be pretty useless. I attribute that to the instructor. Find yourself a GOOD and REPUTABLE instructor, it'll make all the difference in the world and save you from the 50 or so dives it took me to get where I felt comfortable. There is no good SM instructor where I am from. One thing, what kind of fins are you using? I was feet heavy using my F1's and went with some Deep Six neutrally buoyant fins which sure did make as difference. Aside from that bit of advice the only thing I can add is keep moving the weight around....down a bit further if possible? Also, make sure you are not overweighted, do a proper weight check. Steve Martin has an awesome free video that explains how to do a proper weight check.....as a result I dropped 2 lbs of lead.

 

[Grovspol]

Hey Oswald and thank you for the reply.
After repositioning the weight between the shoulders to the waist and also dropping another kg, the weighting is so much better.
I use the poseidon trident fins, wich are negatively boyant. They work fine since I only use them with the drysuit.
I have also changed my bungees from the cheap 8mm to a different 6mm brand. I find that the stretch was way better and helps the cylinders rotate as the should.
I've watched lot of videos from Steve Martin and a load of others aswell, and no one says exactly the same as the other. I guess what works is somewhere in the middle and its just to continue testing different setups.