Waynne Fowler wrote:The videos awesome Richard. I thinkin you were the 2nd one down the line and in Sidemount who took the lead as you dropped down the chute? If so, ya look like you've got the SM rig dialed in for yourself... what system and size wing is being used if I may ask?
I am the only one in sidemount in any of the videos. Kevin is diving white backmount lp85s and Peter Norris is diving a Meg.
I am currently diving a Hollis SMS 100 with a variety of Edd Sorenson semi-commercially done modifications to the straps, butt plate, pull dump, and neck bungies. In theory it has a 52lb wing. But there are bungies on the bottom sides of the wing and some apparent additional compression from the SM tanks themselves. So I don't know the actual in "real life" lift.
I use 2 worthington hp100s as primary SM tanks. The 4 AL80s weren't all mine. I had 1 air bailout tank I agreed to haul into the cave for Peter Norris. But he forgot to get it on return, so I grabbed it on the exit as well. 2 of my AL80s had remnants of 21/35 in them and the third was a travel bottle of 32%. The hp100s were never touched, we dove stages only all week.
The travel bottle was a mistake, it cost us way more in time and energy than it was worth in minute helium conservation. As I exited left to right about 2/3rds of the way through video I was actually having quite a "moment". My wing dump was stuck open and the reed switch was acting up on my borrowed Cuda. So I was heavy as a brick, had to hold the trigger 1/2 way, and couldn't up or downshift. So mostly I was just trying to keep moving and not stop or crash into the floor. I switched to my own CSI Sierra for the rest of the week and fixed the wing dump by expanding the spring.
http://www.boydski.com/diving/photos/cave/default.htm
