Improving equipment!!

[Widiver_Paul]

Are you having issues with the current sidemount system you use?

That's not the point. Yes, I like it. But I don't think making them one at a time out of used Rangers is practical to mass produce. Many of us have a backplate system. It should be a simple matter of some nylon and a little hardware to make your BM into a SM rig, and allow you to have streamlining on the front and the familiar fit of your harness. No?

[sdenney]

I want air neutral tanks (steel 108s) that are negatively buoyant in the water.

[BillGraham]

Personally i'd like to see a better designed sidemount BC that doesn't hang to your kneecaps and can handle stage bottles. Or even better yet a "kit" to turn something like a backplate system (how about a Halcyon 45lb. explorer?) into a sidemount system.

Hey Paul!

I think the backplate has to go in any event, and if you figure out how to do this, I've got one collecting dust in my basement too.

[Tegg]

Are you having issues with the current sidemount system you use?

That's not the point. Yes, I like it. But I don't think making them one at a time out of used Rangers is practical to mass produce. Many of us have a backplate system. It should be a simple matter of some nylon and a little hardware to make your BM into a SM rig, and allow you to have streamlining on the front and the familiar fit of your harness. No?

That is what DiveRite offered with their transpack sidemount rig. Just add some hardware and remove the backplate, now you have a sidemount rig.

Rumor has it that the Armadillo might be re-released in a slightly modified version with more "suggestions" added in. Keep an eye out.

BTW, have you seen the Armadillo in person? It's pretty streamlined in the front and has a feel of just a harness.

[rchrds]

Are you having issues with the current sidemount system you use?

That's not the point. Yes, I like it. But I don't think making them one at a time out of used Rangers is practical to mass produce. Many of us have a backplate system. It should be a simple matter of some nylon and a little hardware to make your BM into a SM rig, and allow you to have streamlining on the front and the familiar fit of your harness. No?

That is what DiveRite offered with their transpack sidemount rig. Just add some hardware and remove the backplate, now you have a sidemount rig.

Rumor has it that the Armadillo might be re-released in a slightly modified version with more "suggestions" added in. Keep an eye out.

BTW, have you seen the Armadillo in person? It's pretty streamlined in the front and has a feel of just a harness.

Yea- but the Armadillo has a major problem- I hadnt realized it until I saw a gentleman with one at JB- The lower attachment points are not adjustable. There was no way to raise the height of the tanks on the body (i.e. move them further towards the back, so they dont hang so low.) If you are the size of Brett or Curt, it isint an issue, but for us twiggy guys it wont cut it- There is no way to make a strap short enough on the bottle for the tank to not hang too low. (You could move the attachment on the tank further down the tank, but then the necks ride up too far.) Perhaps this will be fixed in a new version.

J

[Caver95]

if you really wanted to you could move that bar, on the armadillo, around. it wouldn't be hard its just screwed in.

[Angie Reim]

A friend of mine converted a backplate to a sidemount harness. The issue that had the experienced sidemount folks worried was that there are some sidemount access only sites that require flexibilty in the back to get in and out. They were worried that he could get jammed up by a backplate in a squeeze. As my dives are going to tighter and tighter sites, I have to agree that it's a legitimate concern!

Police yourself if you convert a backplate to sidemount. You don't want to figure it out that your rig is wrong by getting wedged into some rock.

[Tegg]

Yea- but the Armadillo has a major problem- I hadnt realized it until I saw a gentleman with one at JB- The lower attachment points are not adjustable. There was no way to raise the height of the tanks on the body (i.e. move them further towards the back, so they dont hang so low.) If you are the size of Brett or Curt, it isint an issue, but for us twiggy guys it wont cut it- There is no way to make a strap short enough on the bottle for the tank to not hang too low. (You could move the attachment on the tank further down the tank, but then the necks ride up too far.) Perhaps this will be fixed in a new version.

J

This issue is addressed in the new version...

[Widiver_Paul]

Personally i'd like to see a better designed sidemount BC that doesn't hang to your kneecaps and can handle stage bottles. Or even better yet a "kit" to turn something like a backplate system (how about a Halcyon 45lb. explorer?) into a sidemount system.

Hey Paul!

I think the backplate has to go in any event, and if you figure out how to do this, I've got one collecting dust in my basement too.

Someone mentioned the existing systems out there which fall a little short for reasons mentioned, and I also don't like the whole transpac idea with all the plastic clips, etc. One should be able to take something simple and apply a simple solution to make it sidemount. Sure, you can buy a whole new kit just for SM, but that means more gear you need to drag around. Not that I don't like my retrofit rig - I love it - but it would be nice to have the weight and balance you're already familar with in the backplate - which ends up being about the weight I find myself adding to my SM rig when my tanks are running light - and it would probably be nice to have that familar balance when doing tank removal..

I know there must be a way to take a large piece of cordura (some people I know could really use Kevlar!) and sandwich it over the wing with a custom alumnium plate the size of a BP with an extra 4" at the botom and "ears" with attachment points for SM tanks. The cordura would keep the wing from being it's normal wing-y self and pull it down and streamlined. This could be clipped or bungied to chest rings, the innertube or bungy for the tank neck could be fit under or over the cordura shell. It could be workable also to use a poly plate just to keep the cordura in place and attach to the core BP one of the addon buttplate for SM that are being used like the one my "builder" put on my rig. Then the user could have adjustability of the height on the tank strap. I'm going to work on this one myself in the basement if I get a chance methinks....

If someone offered a kit like this for say, $199, how many of you would buy one?

[FW]

I know there must be a way to take a large piece of cordura and sandwich it over the wing with a custom alumnium plate the size of a BP with an extra 4" at the botom and "ears" with attachment points for SM tanks. The cordura would keep the wing from being it's normal wing-y self and pull it down and streamlined. This could be clipped or bungied to chest rings, the innertube or bungy for the tank neck could be fit under or over the cordura shell. I'm going to work on this one myself in the basement if I get a chance methinks....

That might be ok for springs that you can walk up to, but any extra bulky, or inflexible material is a pain, if the water is a couple of miles underground.

For a truly simple system, check out:

www.sump4.com/sidemount