Mounting deco bottle on back with DR Nomad SM rig?

[Leam]

Morning all! My first post...

I'm trying to figure out the best place to put my AL 40 deco bottle on my SM rig. I've tried the front, clipped to shoulder and crotch D ring, and the side clipped to the same rings as the regular bottle. Tried it cam strapped to the back and that seems the most out of the way. Since I'm new to SM anything I can do to simplify and streamline is a good thing.

Are there any big reasons not to mount the deco bottle on the back? Any ideas about doing it well? My deco stops should not require more than 1/3 of the bottle so I'm considering just using a button pressure gauge.

I appreciate any wisdom you guys can share!

Leam

[mdax]

I make sure I can read the mod on my deco bottle and trace the reg

[gschaut]

Are you using this rig for open water deco diving?
With the deco on your back, you can't drop it near the entrance.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygPkE6OBCmc

This is a nice little rig that Edd came up with, I use it for my deco tank (AL40).
The deco tank rides nicely above and behind my right tanks. Easy to drop off
and pick up.

[DA Aquamaster]

I just bottom clip my deco bottle, much like you would a stage in back mount, especially when cave diving where you drop the deco bottle fairly soon in the cavern or first portion of the cave.

Stages I prefer to top clip in side mount as it's a little cleaner, which is another reason I bottom clip the deco bottle.

I would never consider strapping a deco bottle to my back as aside from not being able to leave it, it largely defeats the low profile concept of sidemount and creates some wonderful possibilities for ratcheting yourself into snug portions of the cave.

[diveconjeff]

...Tried it cam strapped to the back and that seems the most out of the way. Since I'm new to SM anything I can do to simplify and streamline is a good thing.

Are there any big reasons not to mount the deco bottle on the back? Any ideas about doing it well? My deco stops should not require more than 1/3 of the bottle so I'm considering just using a button pressure gauge.

I appreciate any wisdom you guys can share!

Leam

Good morning sir! Interesting post. Curious what type of diving you were planning to do with this type of side mount arrangement

[JamesK]

I don't have a problem with top clipping stages that are the same gas as my main tanks, but I am a firm believer in being able to see any tanks that have a different mix. Since I don't do trimix, that would only be deco gas. I just feel much safer having them clipped I front where I can verify the gas.

[Slüdge]

Curious what type of diving...

I'm more curious why he would write "Morning all" on a post that was made at 9:03pm!

[RN]

If you can't see your deco cylinder then you have no business breathing from it. Top clipping deco cylinders isn't a smart thing to do. In cave diving you drop it at the entrance anyway and then pick it up on the way out. While with open water diving you will keep it with you the entire time, you need to trace the reg/hose back to the cylinder and confirm markings/MOD, etc. I'm not even close to being that flexible. I had a student recently that was taught by another instructor to top mount his deco cylinder. This guy can zip and unzip his own back zip dry suit (he's that flexible) but he can't see the cylinder when it's on his back. He wasn't top mounting it during his Apprentice class with me. For open water decompression diving I front mount and use an additional bungee loop to keep it in tight. This keeps it in a very low profile position and I can still see it.

[stairman]

For a 40 deco bottle I just clip the left upper d ring and leave the bottom loose till I drop it on the line behind the sign.

[Leam]

A-ha! I knew this was the right place to be!

The ink is just about dry on my "Side mount" and "Intro to Cave" cards while my "Adv Nitrox" is still being printed. My knowledge is very limited and I'm only rated to be on the Gold Line.

I have added and changed a lot of gear in the past months and only have a few dives on anything that's been added. That includes side-mount. One of the strongest critiques my instructor and the boat's divemasters had is that I seemed uncomfortable in my gear. In my mind there is a lot of work to be done on how my stuff is arranged and I need to get a lot better at it. To that end the same setup will be used for all my diving, even if it's in a 30' river.

So the original question was based on stream-lining the gear so I could get in and out easier. However, you've raised a point that I hadn't even thought of; being able to stash the bottle near the entrance and keeping the rig thin. The issue with the front mount was a lack of stream-lining.

So let me re-phrase the question. "I need to mount an AL 40 deco bottle to my side mount set up in a way that makes it easy for me to deal with getting on and off by myself, and allows for a low drag in water profile. What are some recommendations?"

To answer why I started the post with "Morning All!"; I'm a morning person. The longer I can make myself think it's morning the more I get done.

Thanks!

Leam