I like to butt mount my primary light for sidemount diving. Smaller lights can be mounted on the waist, but I want easy access to my light. All of our lights now come standard with a Quick Belt Mount. This gives a quick mounting solution by slipping the QB Mount through the crotch strap on the back of the Nomad. The light will have some movement, but not the same amount of play you get with quick links.

Now I can just reach back and remove the light if I get into something small and just move it to my waist. It’s a small thing, but a great solution. VIDEO: Sidemount Diving: Quick Belt Mount For Primary Lights

Lamar

The JT is totally different from the other Nomads. We addressed some requests from cave divers. The over pressure valve with pull string dump (OPV) is not on the neck, but on the under side so it’s protected from the ceiling of caves. It can’t be ripped off going thru a restriction and locating it on the underside helps keep water out. It won’t stop it, if you pull on it and air doesn’t come out immediately then water is going in, it’s  just physics. We also put an OPV on both sides of the bottom of the bladder to take advantage of the 360 flow thru on the bottom. Talking to some explorer buddies they got themselves into some situations where the ability to dump from either side was a good thing because of  stage bottles or an awkward restriction.

The corrugated hose and inflator is positioned above the waist belt so it doesn’t interfere with the waist belt and d rings.

The problem with switching the OPV and inflator on a standard wing or Nomad is the inflator assembly has to come up from below the waist belt so there is some congestion at the belt area and by removing the OPV from the bottom of the bladder has created some stressful situations for divers in a head first vertical restriction. By locating the OPV on the bottom and top we can move the inflator assembly to a more convenient location on the under side of the wing.

The Nomad JT was designed for the cave diver and the features are designed for the overhead, sidemount environment. It doesn’t have the flexibility of diving alternate tank configurations, but it sure is fun to dive. VIDEO: Nomad JT Inflator Placement

Lamar

When I am out diving I see all types of rigging on sidemount bottles. None are a surprise to me because they are all something I have done before: the clip and hose clamp or the carabineer and cam strap. Over the years my thoughts for rigging have changed. Basically every bottle I own could be a stage bottle or a sidemount bottle. I travel around the world and need to carry my bottle rigging with me so I wanted an easy way to do this. It all came together with the ring bungee system.

I need a standard stage strap, webbing or rope, doesn’t matter. The key is the neck clip has to be on the curve of bottle neck so the gate of the clip lays up against the neck of the cylinder and the choker goes around the valve and thru the gate to hold it up tight against the neck. This keeps the cylinder close to the body. The only way to mount the clip on the curve of the cylinder is to use a standard stage rig.

I rig my bottles with a stage strap with a 2″ cam strap for the mid bottle attachment so I can take the rig off a set of bottles at home when I travel. The stage strap set up ensures the mid bottle clip is in the same place every time I set it up. This can be everyday when I travel.

If your worried about the bulk on a webbing stage strap, just slide the plastic handle off the webbing. I prefer to keep it on the rig because people will offer to carry a bottle for you if it looks like it has a handle. VIDEO: Stage Strap Tank Mounting System

Lamar

When I was in the Dominican Republic teaching rebreather this summer, I had to get creative and make some sidemount bungees for the guys I was diving with. They liked the way I sidemounted my bailout, but I didn’t have more bungees on hand for them. I improvised a solution only to find I like it better than what we had.

The new bungee is 5/16 diameter and makes a loop with the terminating end taking a quick link to attach to a backplate while the loop end can loop through a ring or go over a cylinder valve. One bungee works for both styles of carrying bottles and the smaller diameter cord has more stretch so it can pull the bottle a little tighter under the arm.

Necessity is the mother of invention. The new 5/16 D-ring Loop Bungee have detachable hardware so a spare is cheap and you can get creative. VIDEO: Sidemount Diving: 2012 Daisy Chain Loop Bungees

Lamar

Over the years I have done numerous sidemount clinics. My first was in 1984. The number one issue always seems to be trimming out heavy legs. When you clip bottles to your hips, butt mount a primary light, add reels on the butt plate and then dive a wetsuit it becomes work to trim out. Adding weight to the shoulders seems like an easy solution, yet it requires a number of practice dives with a specific set up since cylinder size and exposure protection are a factor in determining the amount of lead needed. Change any of these and the amount of weight needed can change.

I wanted a more flexible solution to weight, one that can travel with you and adjust to changes in equipment configuration. After getting your rig trimmed out with steel cylinders and a drysuit you change to a wetsuit and aluminum cylinders and you once again need to trim out with a different set of shoulder weights. Divers want an easy first dive solution. After the JT launched I got many request for a solution to heavy legs so after a few prototypes I came up with a pillow that mounts under the buttplate with 10 pounds of lift. I was amazed at how well it worked. One of my concerns was control of the lift in the pillow; I found I could fully inflate it and forget about it. With only 10 pounds of lift it didn’t affect my buoyancy on ascents. The Trim Inflation Pillow comes standard with a 12″ hose and elbow with a 15″ inflator hose to come up on the right side opposite your BC but the OPV is on the left so you can flip them if you want. VIDEO: Sidemount & Rebreather Trim Inflation Pillow

It will do the job on the very first dive and give you flexibility to change your gear set up as well.

Lamar

BC2720 TIP

After we launched the Nomad in 2007, the first upgrade we did was to the outer bag changing it to a tough fabric known as SuperFabric, made in the USA and lives up to its name. I have tested it in small caves and expeditions and it does the job. Earlier this year we launched the Nomad JT for the dedicated, hardcore sidemount divers using SuperFabric, again it does the job.

So now we are launching the XT signature line with the Travel, Voyager, Rec, CCR and Classic all getting the SuperFabric addition. The line will also get a bladder upgrade, the same material used in lift bags. The total construction of an XT wing will consist of three layers, the tough bladder, a protective 1000 denier inner bag and the SuperFabric outer shell. The competition touts making a thicker material wing is stronger, but actually strength comes from adding layers so each barrier adds protection. The wings will debut later this month.

The new XT line is so tough that it comes with a lifetime warranty on everything. I’ve been diving the XT for a few years so if you do have a warranty claim, don’t be surprised if I contact you about the dive or ask to join you.

Lamar

Nomad XT Wing w SuperFabric

The interest in sidemount diving caught the industry by surprise, particularly in terms of open water applications. Cave diving, definitely, but the amount of interest for the open water diver was astounding! Questions at trade shows tech tours and just talking to people at club meetings have been dominated by the topic.

When Joe Porter of Wreck Diving Magazine expressed a personal interest in the technique and sought training I was impressed. We worked out a training schedule for Joe and his son, Philip, in Florida. Mike Hanna, Dive Rite’s SE Field Representative asked to join the group to expand his personal knowledge. It was a quite a surprise when Brian Carney of TDI asked to join the group.

Fully expecting to have this group of professionals plow through the program as quickly as possible. It was pleasant surprise as each individual diligently paid attention and completed every skill necessary. If you have ever taught Instructors, you’ll know how “some” try to bulldoze their way through a class. “Hey I am an Instructor!” is the general manta. Brian Carney actually commented on the dives, “You don’t spend a lot of time talking on the surface!” “No Brian it’s a diving class we stay until the skills are done, that’s why we have a lecture, pre and post dive briefings. If you have a question use your slate!” It’s the way I teach. My yellow slate has been nicked named. “The Yellow slate of death!” My students usually know another drill is on the way when the slate comes out. I had a blue one but I wore it out.

See ya in the water….Don’t talk, write!

Wreck Diver  Magazine Sidemount Profile

Pete Nawrocky,
Dive Rite National Field Sales Manager

I recently spent a great week diving in DR. I stayed in Santo Domingo, which proved to be a good location for ocean diving and cave diving. Both the ocean and caves sites were between the city and airport only a 25 minute ride with traffic.

Unlike our caves in Florida, the DR caves are beautifully decorated. Ocean dives consist of wall dives with a few wrecks. This is not a place to venture out on your own. The ocean diving requires a boat charter and the caves are on private property in housing areas. Denis Bourret at Golden Arrow can take care of all your diving needs and help you find a place to stay. I wouldn’t recommend renting a car, the traffic laws are non existent, so I don’t think a week is long enough to get comfortable with the traffic.

On this trip I had to carry 4 rebreather heads, my rebreather and personal gear, plus 3 regulators. I also had to take a Jetsam booster pump for the oxygen fills on the rebreather. I packed it all in two 50 pound bags, a small carry on and my backpack that had my laptop, IPad and clothes. Good thing Dominican Republic is a warm place, I didn’t need much in the way of clothes.

Lamar

I got an email about the NiTek Q compass accuracy. Believe me, I wanted the most accurate compass we could get because I explore caves when the opportunity presents itself. The exploration isn’t done until the directional survey and distance measurement is done. With all the compass technology out there today there are a few misconceptions of compass accuracy. The new age compasses on phones are not all true compasses, but rather GPS technology with compass graphics interface so the degree of accuracy is different from that of an electronic compass chip.

The accuracy of the compass chip in the NiTek Q is +/- 3 degrees and tilt compensation is minimal so keep it level like a mechanical compass. I have used a Casio watch compass for survey and compared it to my mechanical compass survey and found the variations to be acceptable. I was getting +/- 3 degrees on the resurvey of passage or from one surveyor to another, part of that is most mechanical compasses used for underwater, (Silva) are in 2 degree increments so there in itself lies a degree of error. The survey specialists still prefer a mechanical compass when they are looking at short distance loop closure on a project, but for expedition style survey to capture trend and direction the electronic compass can do the job.

There are only a few electronic compass chips on the market so beware of advertisements of a greater degree of accuracy on a device unless you are paying $450 for a digital compass only, then make sure the accuracy fits the claim. They sound good until I read the fine print on the accuracy.

Lamar

The biggest power drain on the NiTek Q dive computer is the display…the bright, yellow  OLED display is power hungry. The computer has battery protection to keep it from going into deep discharge, but this protection is overridden when in dive mode. It will stay on as long as it can.

Of course, I test everything to failure so I had to see what would happen by diving the Q without charging it until it died. I finally got the battery indicator to drain completely on a dive and after the dive it went to sleep and wouldn’t wake up. I thought I had taken it too far. I put it on charge and pressed a button, nothing happen, oh sh!?t I drained it. After 5 minutes of charging it came back and all was good. I called the developers to confirm what happened and see if I did screw it up. All is good and this is what I learned : you can’t overcharge the computer, leave it on charge if it’s convenient. A full charge takes 4 hours.

Reducing the contrast (brightness) can give you up to 20% more battery life. The battery has a very low discharge rate so it can go six months in standby mode.  Since the display is the power drain, when you turn the computer on and let it stay on for ten minutes that’s ten minutes of battery life. So put the computer back to sleep when not in use by holding the B button for 3 seconds.

Lamar