Side- and front-mounting cylinders is a common practice among divers carrying out deeper or longer dives. In some cases large-volume tanks such as 12 or 15 litres filled with different gas mixes must be transported throughout a dive in addition to a back-mounted twin-set. In these situations it’s vital to be familiar with your kit configuration. Breathing the wrong mix of gas or simply not being able to find a second stage when it’s time to switch gases can be fatal. Unfortunately when you get on a plane to go diving it becomes difficult to keep that perfect configuration. Hiring cylinders means you’ve got to take all the bands and clips off your cylinders, bring them with you, and re-configure everything before you dive. RED UK has an answer in its new Quick Stage system that is easy and quick to adjust without using tools. DIVE’s test team took it to Gibraltar where we were diving with ten and 12 litre cylinders in front-and side-mounted positions.

The Quick Stage consists of two sections. An adjustable cam band (the same you find on the back of most BCDs), fitted with a stainless steel D-ring, offers a strong locating point to clip on to, at the base of your cylinder. It can be adjusted to fit cylinders from three to 15 litres. A separate top fastener wraps around the cylinder neck and attaches with a brass piston clip. RED UK has also incorporated a Fastex buckle that clips to your second stage for neat storage during every dive.

The system was used by four of the DIVE teams who all commented on the ease of preparation and the total comfort in water. Switching mounting positions underwater was also very easy to carry out.

The de luxe kit includes: base band with D-ring, top valve strap, regulator clip, ties, bronze clip and silicon retainer. Price £29.99. Contact Rescue, Exploration & Diving UK Limited on
01703 454550.

We reckon
A great product for quick, easy cylinder staging.
+ simple, easy to set up and attach
+ flexible