Scuba anyone?
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Our Dive Master last time we dived in The Maldives, got one as soon as he could after seeing my set up
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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For my sidemount rig I foresee 2x 8L, one for jacket, other for dry suit, and two equally competent 2nd stages (that I already use for years in the present setup)
I originally planned this setup for my cold-water dives, I would love to get the bottles to the water before I put on the dry suit, while diving from the shore.
But now I start to see the advantages of traveling with sidemount jacket. The weight is cut down substantially as there is no plate. -
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One of the girls in Raja dived sidemount. She always looked so at ease and streamlined under water. She was just diving with one tank.....
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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@Giles I need to consider this. I had few occasions where I shared air with other divers via my main long hose. In this situation I would have to use the inflator during the dive in the double role, right now I have the same 2nd stage on the necklace. In the cold waters I find myself in that could be risky. But in the warm ones I can only see advantages of your setup. Less dangling thingies means less trouble at any stage of the dive.
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@Giles said in Scuba anyone?:
One of the girls in Raja dived sidemount. She always looked so at ease and streamlined under water. She was just diving with one tank.....
It's possible, I had 2 guides in Egypt for last few years that were doing so. All their weight was in the opposite wing pocket from the tank. And as tank you can use normal 12L. But sidemount is just really flexible. Even when diving from the boat, people will even go with two 15L for a longer deco dive. And maybe additional 2-3 L for 50% nitrox for deco, or even oxygen at 6m.
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@Giles said in Scuba anyone?:
XDeep Ghost ordered for Paula......
It didn't take too much convincing, has it?
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The way I see it, at the core of it is the desire to have as little surface area exposed to water density as you want to move. Or not to be swept away by underwater currents.
The wing system has air and most of the bulk (plate) in the same place and it is at the top of your center of mass underwater (your mass together with tank).
And the weight pockets are in the same place in jacket and wing system - on the belt area. In case you want to dispose them, or hand over to someone before you give them the rest of the gear when coming back on the dingy. -
This is a pretty good read
I have always had real trouble staying horizontal in the water, I have big calves (read small thighs!), and I tend to vertical whatever I do, so I am very keen to get the wings and move my weights from my waist to higher up my back, I am sure this will help a lot. I want to learn to frog kick, to conserve air, but need to be horizontal to to that.
Also as @Karol says, reducing your surface area as you move through the water is a great helper in reducing air consumption, wings present a way lower water resistance than a jacket style BCD
