Ali 7 sling position ?

[colinicky]

Trying to sort out my Ali 7's to sling 1 left & 1 on the right for bailout .
Where do people position the slings on the cylinder? ie sling in line with the front of the valve ,back of valve ,in line with the knob or opposite the knob ? & does that change for the left & right sling .
I have tried all these with my left hand one & cannot get happy using it .
Also do you use monster size suicide clips or smaller dog clips ?
TIA

[Noel Johnson]

Hi Colin,

I only have 1 stage at the moment for 50% nitrox and I have it rigged on the left. I initially used a Narked at 60 stage strap but whilst this was fine for a pony for the ally 7 it held the cylinder too tight to the body. I have since changed to a DIY setup using webbing from Focus and the largest boltsnaps I could get from Portland Oceaneering which make the whole unit sit easier and have more space yo get my hands around.

Orientation: Face of valve points up with knob sticking to the left. I use a non handed reg tough.

When I move on to 2 stages I'll do the same.

HTH

Noel

[Digger]

I rig them with the rope on the same side as the reg, if you know what I mean. So the first stage points upward. It just stops them hanging down quite as much, and makes you infintecimally more streamlined. This means the knob sticks out to the side, not top or bottom. If you rig your stages left then they stick outwards, right then they stick inwards. I don't know which I'd rather have, personally I don't get different valves for stages and rig them lean left rich right so one sticks out and the other doesn't, I've not found any difference to me.

I use DIY kit because it's easier to have a length of rope and a few clips around than to have a spare stage kit. I use 4mm decent rope (I tend to avoid polyprop because it cuts into my hands more) and the biggest boltsnaps. They cost a good £7-8. BVut they need big eyes on them so you can get a finger in there, and mine have a big gate because I'm a bit clumsy and now use drygloves a fair bit.

I won't use suicide clips on my gear because I managed to clip my hand to my waist the once on a course, and it's dreadfully embarassing. I would suggest that stages are one of the worst places to have them too.

Digs.

[Dangerous Dan]

I used a stage kit, but its rigged like this:

DIR-diver.com - Stagebottle rigging,

HTH,

Dan

[Digger]

Yep, mine are like that. But without such a long tail, because there's only one on each side, so don't need any slack. Shouldn't make a difference right or left.

Digs.

[Col]

I keep the sling to the back of the valves, so that both stages face forward.
I use my right hand to turn them on and off, so it's easier for me to use this way.

[Nick_lincoln]

Mine's a little more simple than most. Two cut down 3 ltr jubilee clips with a D ring on each. One just back from the cylinder neck and another about 15 cm from the base. Big carabina on the front one which clips to my wing shoulder strap D ring and a small double snap bolt which clips to another D ring on the 'wing' section of the wing. This is for a 3 ltr cylinder with nitrox in.

IANTD ERD on the way so I might revisit this set up.

QUESTION: - Why do most rig stage cylinders with rope rather than jubilee clip attachments?? I read that it was so the cylinder could be cut off if needed?? Personally if I need to free myself of the 3 Ltr I can easily access the carabina and snap bolt.

[Andy Kerslake]

Originally Posted by Nick_lincoln

QUESTION: - Why do most rig stage cylinders with rope rather than jubilee clip attachments?? I read that it was so the cylinder could be cut off in needed?? Personally if I need to free myself of the 3 Ltr I can easily access the carabina and snap bolt.

Nick

the use of rope means that there are no metal to metal connections, also the rope and hose(fuel hose or similar) provide a useful handle underwater (not on dry land). And you are right if I ever got stuck somewhere and for example keyed into a hole, I could cut the rope - I would not be able to do this with a metal/metal connection

Andy

[Bob Cooper]

Originally Posted by colinicky

Where do people position the slings on the cylinder? ie sling in line with the front of the valve ,back of valve ,in line with the knob or opposite the knob ?

If you have the sling in line with the front of the valve and you haves your stage(s) on the left, you can use your right hand to pull out the reg and your left hand to turn on the valve. That way, if you are diving multiple stages or deco bottles, you can be sure that you are turning on the right bottle (assuming you dive with all the bottles turned off).

[ardhill]

I do what others have said:

The valve faces upwards, so the knob is out to the left. The stage strap is therfore in line with the 1st stage. I also use 120mm bolt snaps, nice and big and easy to manipulate.