Questions re Armadillo style system

colinicky

I dive a Vision in a Kent tooling frame & hate having my cylinders side mounted so thinking of Armadillo system but I have a couple of questions :-

Where should the Valve of the stage be ? looking at some pictures I have seen them level with your armpit or some a lot lower almost by your kidney level or is it personall preference relating to trim ?

how long should the elastic loop be ? to short & I can see that it would be difficult to hook on & off ,to long & it would not keep it pulled in snug .

The but mounting is not an issue as I will utilise the corner loops on the frame
All sugestions gratefully recieved

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Colin

I trust my rebreather completely ,
I just don't trust the user

onwards & downwards

Curt Bowen

One of the main reason we designed the armadillo sidemount system was to pull the valves of the cylinder up just below the armpits keeping the valve and regs from hanging down in the way of the divers chest.

The bungee size depends on how big your chest is. For a simple rule I shorten mine until I can just barely get my thumb into the loop by straining a little. Don’t forget to put in bungee retrieval straps or you will not be able to reach your bungee when needed.

The main reason for the armadillo butt pad and attachment points was to get the lower section of the stage cylinder back further and lower onto your butt. If the attachment points are too high on your back and low on your sides the cylinder will hang too low on your sides. When this happens the tanks will get in the way of your thighs when swimming.


For a complete FREE Armadillo manual see

ADM Online

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mempilot

Thanks for the link Curt. I've been toying with the idea as well. My regular dive buddy has been using the Armadillo system for about six months now and swears by it. The only drawback, if it really is one, is that when diving from a boat, he has to stand up and get some help clipping in. Sitting on the bench seems to be a problem while rigged up. I know this system was designed for cave use, but he benefits from it's use while wreck diving. Great piece of gear!

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MEM "Da Pilot"

Black holes are where God divided by zero.

"If at first you don't succeed, don't dive silent."

"Would you mind not shooting at the thermo-nuclear weapons." ~ Vic Deakins

"Donkey's kill more people annually than plane crashes."

ScubaDadMiami

Still very much worth it though. It is not a problem removing and replacing the tanks while in the water, or removing to hand up to the boat. It is only a problem when gearing up out of the water. Like everything else in diving, it does have a trade off.

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Howard Packer
IANTD CCR Instructor
Miami Beach, Florida
CCRDiveTraining.com

mempilot

Howard, I forgot you were using the system, too. I guess I'm the only one without it now. Scott, Marc, and you leaves me behind, me thinks. I'll place the order next paycheck!

__________________
MEM "Da Pilot"

Black holes are where God divided by zero.

"If at first you don't succeed, don't dive silent."

"Would you mind not shooting at the thermo-nuclear weapons." ~ Vic Deakins

"Donkey's kill more people annually than plane crashes."

Curt Bowen

Here is a little tip.

On the neck of the stage cylinders place a small clip on a short lanyard. Setting on the dive boat, stand the stage up, clip the lanyard onto the upper chest d-ring. Standup, the clip will hold the weight of the tank. Walk off the boat. Once in the water clip the tanks to your butt handles, then strap the bungee on the valve. Make the lanyards long enough so the tank has room to pull up under your armpits without having to unclip the lanyard from the chest d-rings. leave it clipped the whole dive.

When you are ready to get out of the water, un-bungee the cylinder necks. This will allow the tanks to drop down in front of you. Either remove the cylinders and hand them up, or if you’re tough enough walk up the ladder with both on and set down.

Sometimes, I un-bungee my stages while on decompression and let them drop down just for comfort. It gives me a place to rest my arms like a recliner chair.

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kieranu

Since when were stage / bailout bottles NOT a problem when gearing up out of the water without an Armadillo - I find under the counterlung d-rings help somewhat but its still a helluva lot easier in-water.

mempilot

Curt,

Thanks. I'm forwarding this to my buddies that aren't reading this thread.

Eric

__________________
MEM "Da Pilot"

Black holes are where God divided by zero.

"If at first you don't succeed, don't dive silent."

"Would you mind not shooting at the thermo-nuclear weapons." ~ Vic Deakins

"Donkey's kill more people annually than plane crashes."

silent running

Hello Curt, I just purchased a sidemout kit from Golem and I noticed in the Armadillo manual that it says the lower mounting points are not intended to bear the weight of cylinders out of water. The butt mount pc seems very sturdy and I'm guessing that people have done giant strides with 80s when diving off a boat, or at least walked with them to the ladder. Is this something that is still discouraged and if so, what is the recomended way to deal with a situation where a quick descent is required, like a live drop with current, where spending extra time on the surface hooking up tanks could cause you to miss the site? What about small cylinders, like 40s, are they OK to hang from the butt mounts out of water?

Thanks, -Andy

PS. Thanks to Jakub for getting the kit to me so fast and easy with the online store.

Ben Field

I must admit I've been hanging my stages off the lower/butt clips out of the water, but I only use 3 and 5ltr bailout bottles currently. And yes, they are a PITA to clip on above water but the payback is Superb comfort, trim and access underwater, I wouldn't go back.

I will have to try the idea of a surface kit up position then moving them once in water, I don't see this being an issue even on a quick descent, you can always splash and drop then refit them once on the bottom, in fact that might be better- less risk of dropping your bailout!

I found that I needed the top bungies long enough to reach "half way" from their mounting point to the chest d-ring (about direct under my armpit!) I rely on the retreival leash to get hold of them.

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Beware Fridge Suck