Nomad Vs Aramdillo

[phillip1]

I would like to know which one you think is better and why.
I currently dive a Nomad and have not found anything wrong with it so far, I use the choker system with stage straps, we do allot of lugging tanks down dry cave and stuff and it is more comfortable to carry tanks with the straps + I find that it is very easy to to attach tanks with that system, also when need be to detach a tank to pass a tight spot the tank is secure and wont come of the bungee strap.
I have seen peopel with the Armadillo and it seems a bit more streamlined than the Nomad but I personally really like the Nomad.

[Kelly Jessop]

I would like to know which one you think is better and why.
I currently dive a Nomad and have not found anything wrong with it so far, I use the choker system with stage straps, we do allot of lugging tanks down dry cave and stuff and it is more comfortable to carry tanks with the straps + I find that it is very easy to to attach tanks with that system, also when need be to detach a tank to pass a tight spot the tank is secure and wont come of the bungee strap.
I have seen peopel with the Armadillo and it seems a bit more streamlined than the Nomad but I personally really like the Nomad.

I've never used the Armadillo,but I common complaint I hear is not enough lift.

[JimC]

I owned a 'dillo and dove it until it fell apart. Then I got a Nomad. My experience the Nomad is better at 'big' cave where you might want larger tanks or stages and the 'dillo is better for the bottle removal and squeeze stuff (but not into nomount harness land). Overall I prefer the Nomad, since there are few places where the 'dillo works better but you don't want a wingless harness.

[jpdiver]

I dove an Armadillo for 2 years. I then sold it and bought a Nomad. For me, the Nomad is much better. As everyone says, the Armadillo does not have enough lift. That is true. I sidemount 108's. There is not enough lift and the lift is not on the hips so keeping a heads down position is difficult. Add a stage and O2 bottle and you won't get off the cave floor in a wetsuit when all tanks are full.

I also thought that getting it on was cumbersome since you have to thread the waist strap through the two shoulder straps. The Nomad is a standard harness type entry. In addition to more lift, it puts more in the hips so a heads down position is much easier even with heavy tanks.

The Armadillo is a bit more streamlined with less snag points. However, I am very glad I moved to the Nomad. It also works great on my rebreather and allows me to sidemount my bailout bottles.

[DeepSea]

I also thought that getting it on was cumbersome since you have to thread the waist strap through the two shoulder straps. The Nomad is a standard harness type entry. In addition to more lift, it puts more in the hips so a heads down position is much easier even with heavy tanks.

The Armadillo was not originally intended to sidemount 108's, carry multiple stages, etc. It was developed for exploration in Mexico and digging. It is also a rig that one must "personalize". If you want something off the shelf that is a good sidemount rig the Nomad is it hands-down.

I dive and Armadillo and my wife has a Nomad. She has done nothing to the rig and it is perfect on her (Thanks Jerry for the initial fitting). On my Armadillo, I have 3# weights on the shoulders (needed when drysuit diving), changed bottle hangers (and added), moved bottle hangers, removed excess material behind my head (this is now a standard) changed to harness type rig (versus straight up and down), changed the dump valve spring to support deeper depths, changed the bungies, lengthened bungies, shortened bungies, used Nomad bottle restraints, and now back to the original bottle restraint configuration. Soon, I will be replacing the bladder (to get standard fittings), replacing the crotch strap with a Stanley FatMax double webbing special and a few other "tweaks".

[phillip1]

I have messed around with the Nomad for a bit till I got it right, hwoever it was pretty close to good just off the rack as you mentioned. I do allot of climbing, trekking and stuff in full gear and the Nomad works good, it feels light when rappelling and does not really get in the way. I have not tried the harness with longer bungies and no stage straps, but as I have it now it works well and I like stage straps anyway for carrying tanks down & diving of the boat.
I wonder why more people don't dive off boats sidemount, it is so much easier to manage than lugging doubles around! no comparison, not to mention 100% redundant separate air supplies, seeing the valves etc..
We used to always do our deeper ocean dives using doubles and it sucked on small fishing boats with doubles.

[DeepSea]

I have messed around with the Nomad for a bit till I got it right, hwoever it was pretty close to good just off the rack as you mentioned. I do allot of climbing, trekking and stuff in full gear and the Nomad works good, it feels light when rappelling and does not really get in the way. I have not tried the harness with longer bungies and no stage straps, but as I have it now it works well and I like stage straps anyway for carrying tanks down & diving of the boat.
I wonder why more people don't dive off boats sidemount, it is so much easier to manage than lugging doubles around! no comparison, not to mention 100% redundant separate air supplies, seeing the valves etc..
We used to always do our deeper ocean dives using doubles and it sucked on small fishing boats with doubles.

The Aramdillo also works great with a harness and chest ascender...With the Stanley FatMax modification it will be much easier to manage a rack as well. One of the original design concepts was to have a harness built in (something like a Dragon harness).

[phillip1]

The Aramdillo also works great with a harness and chest ascender...With the Stanley FatMax modification it will be much easier to manage a rack as well. One of the original design concepts was to have a harness built in (something like a Dragon harness).
What is that modification exactly?

[DeepSea]

What is that modification exactly?

Double crotch straps vs. a single once...Creating a "V" from the butt pad up to the waist strap.

[phillip1]

ok got it.