AA PPRRIIMMEERR FFOORR SSIIDDEEMMOOUUNNTT AANNDD TTEECCHHNNIICCAALL DDIIVVIINNGG EEQQUUIIPPMMEENNTT CCOONNSSIIDDEERRAATTIIOONNSS SSiiiddeemmoouunntt,,, TTeecchhnniiiccaall aanndd WWrreecckk DDiiivviiinngg EEqquuiiippmmeenntt 0 | P a g e ©Andy Davis 2015 www.scubatechphilippines.com Andy Davis First Published 2015 Copyright Andy Davis Photography, illustrations and text by Andy Davis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, or stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission of the publisher. All registered trademarks acknowledged. This publication is not intended to be used as a substitute for appropriate dive training. Diving is a dangerous sport and proper training should only be conducted under the safe supervision of an appropriate, active, diving instructor until you are fully qualified, and then, only in conditions and circumstances which are as good or better than the conditions in which you were trained. Technical scuba diving should be taught by a specialized instructor with training credentials and experience at that level of diving. Careful risk assessment, continuing education and skill practice may reduce your likelihood of an accident, but are in no means a guarantee of complete safety. This publication assumes a basic understanding of diving skills and knowledge. It should be used to complement the undertaking of prerequisite training on the route to enrolling upon technical diving training. Contents Sidemount BCD ......................................................... 2 Sidemount Regulators .............................................. 3 Cylinder Bands and Hose Retainers .......................... 5 Fins ........................................................................... 6 Technical Dive Computer .......................................... 7 Mask ......................................................................... 8 Wetsuit ..................................................................... 9 Gloves ....................................................................... 9 Primary Reels .......................................................... 10 Finger Spools .......................................................... 11 Lights ...................................................................... 12 Technical Primary Light ........................................ 12 Technical Back-Up Light ....................................... 14 Equipment Stowage ................................................ 15 Dive Ancillaries ....................................................... 15 Spares and Repairs.................................................. 18 A Primer for Sidemount - Technical Diving Equipment Considerations I wrote this equipment primer to help you select and configure the optimal gear prior to your sidemount/technical/wreck training. My advice and recommendations reflect my own personal approach to sidemount technical wreck diving; which is, in turn, shaped by the conditions that I dive in, my unique goals and personal preferences shaped by decades of advanced diving. There is more than one way to approach sidemount configuration and you are encouraged to investigate options and alternatives for yourself. This is especially true if you primarily dive in a cold-water environment, not the tropics. That said, there is a lot of sub-optimal diving equipment on the market; and some equipment philosophies that don’t stand up to experienced scrutiny or in-water testing. If in doubt, do contact me directly and we can discuss your personal needs. Cheers, Andy 1 | P a g e Sidemount BCD There are many sidemount BCDs on the market. Quality, functionality and appropriateness to environment/activity vary between the models on offer. The main considerations when selecting a Sidemount system are the necessary lift, redundant buoyancy and the amount of weight/bulk that you can tolerate. Those three factors are primarily determined by whether you will be using the system for recreational or technical diving; and whether you will be diving in cold water with steel tanks or warm water with aluminum tanks. There are two dominant ‘styles’ of Sidemount BCD; heavy-weight cold-water rigs and lightweight, minimalist warm water rigs. For diving in SE Asia, the warm-water rigs are more than sufficient. They have the added benefits of being very lightweight for travel and lower profile for confined overhead environment diving. Recommended Options: XDeep Stealth 2.0, Tec and Rec (redundant buoyancy options pending) Razor 2.0 (oral-inflate redundant buoyancy) UTD Z-Trim (no redundant buoyancy) Aquamundo (no redundant buoyancy) Apeks WSX-25 (no redundant buoyancy) Please note that PADI TecRec course standards require redundant buoyancy for Tec45 and above. If your Sidemount system does not include redundant buoyancy, then you will need to address that deficit by either wearing a drysuit or adding a supplementary bladder (for instance, a 10l MSR hydration bladder with oral inflate). 2 | P a g e Sidemount Regulators Regulators are a critical part of any diving system, but especially so with sidemount diving. Hose routing is a critical factor in making Sidemount effective, comfortable and to reduce task loading; so your choice and configuration of regulators plays an important role in the core of your system. Regulator 1st stages should be configured with a rotating barrel and an ‘end’ port (or ‘5th port’). For technical diving, they must be balanced design, reliable and deliver copious gas. The 2nd stages should be lightweight, sturdy and reliable. You will need to source custom length/sidemount specific hoses to configure your system optimally. Rubber, not nylon/Kevlar hoses are preferable – especially on the long 2m hose. The basic layout is as follows: Right Side Regulator (as worn): 2nd Stage on a 2m rubber hose Small boltsnap attached by zip-tie to hose near 2nd stage Small, bare (metal/glass) SPG on 6” rubber or nylon hose 9” Low Pressure hose for DRYSUIT ONLY (if used) on 5th Port Right Side Regulator (as worn): 36” rubber regulator hose (with rubber necklace) 9” Low Pressure Inflator hose, rubber or nylon, on 5th port Small, bare (metal/glass) SPG on 6” rubber or nylon hose Recommended Options: Scubapro Mk25 1st Stages with S600 2nd Stages Apeks Hog UTD Halcyon 3 | P a g e These are my primary sidemount cylinders configured with ScubaPro Mk25 1st Stages and S600 2nd Stages. You can see that the left side (as worn) cylinder is set-up with the 1st stage horizontal. The 9” Low Pressure Inflator hose routes out from the end (5th port) of the 1st stage – to directly connect into the inflator mechanism that routes across my chest from the left side. Note the bungee necklace on the 36” regulator hose. Here you can see the routing of the sidemount hoses, as worn. The short hose routes directly up and around the neck, stowed in the bungee necklace. The long hose is is stowed under the cylinder bungees with sufficient length deployed to hog loop the neck and reach the mouth. 4 | P a g e Cylinder Bands and Hose Retainers You will need cylinder bands and hose retainers for each cylinder you use; primary, deco and/or stage. There are three main choices for cylinder bands: Cam-Bands, Mini-Cam-Bands and Worm Screw Bands. I recommend using worm screw bands as they are more secure, less likely to get entrapped in the overhead environment, lighter and less bulky to travel. The only downside is that you need a screwdriver to change them between cylinders. When shopping for 316 stainless steel, worm-screw, cylinder bands, please note the following sizes: Pony - 4.50”/11cm diameter fits AL-13, AL-19, Luxfer AL-30 Deco - 5.25 “/14cm diameter fits AL-30, AL-40, LP-45, LP-50 Primary - 7.25”/18cm diameter fits LP-72, LP-80, AL-80, HP-80, LP-85, HP-100 X-Large - 8.00”/20cm diameter fits LP-95, AL-100, LP-104, HP-119, HP-130 You can cover the cylinder band with 1”/2.5cm tubular nylon webbing, if you like. This helps protect the metal and also your exposure suit against wear and tear. You will need length to match the diameter of the bands. Use a short loop of 440 cord to attach a medium sized (3.75”/9.5cm) 316 stainless steel boltsnap (the type with a large ‘eye’ on the swivel). To retain hoses on the cylinder, I recommend making some simple loops of 6mm bungee. Allow 3 per cylinder for primaries, 2 per cylinder for deco tanks. This is a cheap and long-lasting alternative to commercially manufactured hose retainers. Deco and stage cylinders also require a 440 parachute cord ‘choker’ with a medium sized (3.75”/9.5cm) 316 stainless steel boltsnap to fit around each cylinder neck. 5 | P a g e Fins Technical and overhead environment diving demands fins that primarily provide control and maneuverability. They should offer sufficient thrust/propulsion to overcome water resistance and propel a fully equipped sidemount / technical diver in the water and deal with moderate-strong current if necessary. The main characteristic of technical/overhead environment fins is precision control. This is generally provided through a rigid, short design. Highly flexible and/or split fin designs provide efficient forward thrust, but offer too little stiffness for fine-control maneuvers; like the helicopter turn and back- kick. Whist these propulsion techniques can be learned over time in any type of fins, choosing an inappropriate fin will significantly hinder your