Nomad

[IowaCaveDiver]

Hey...
Anybody diving the Dive Rite Nomad yet? Any feedback? Is this question against forum rules... I havn't read them lately or ever... sorry.

-Matt

[FW]

It is ok to talk about a piece of equipment, as long as you don't say anything about the manufacturer.

FWIW, I have dived with a Nomad owner, and it appears to be a good sidemount system.

[aainslie]

I have about 20-30 dives on one. However this is almost 1/2 my total sidemount dives, so I post with that caveat.

It's exceptionally good IMHO. It offers better lift than the single piece competitor, but the lift is lower down which is great for keeping a good head-down position. It's a vast improvement on the nomad's predecessor, which was already pretty good. The bungee system is better than before, and the attachment to the harness is much more sensible.

One minor issue is that one user I know didn't like the hard butt plate as it goes down pretty far - it's great for me at 6 ft 2 but not good for shorter divers. Easily fixed - the nomad's predecessor had a softer setup with higher rings - just use that.

I think it's the best rig out there right now. It also has the rigidity to scooter well and to carry stages comfortably. I don't like using backmount in the caves any more - this rig gos anywhere comfortably.