sidemount for deep diving?

[carrielsal]

I don't dive too many wrecks. I see you're in Florida. What I would recommend is to start talking to divers in your area. Go dive the springs and talk to the cave divers. Ask them what they dive and why it makes sense to them. Divers love to talk about their equipment.
Get out and dive. Work on buoyancy skills and navigation. Get experience diving in fresh water and salt water. If you haven't purchased a set of equipment yet, think about getting a bp/w instead of a BC and a good entry level can light instead of a hand held recreational light. A bp/w system is modular, so if you decide to move to doubles in the future you're only having to purchase a different wing. Buy a good quality regulator that you will not have to replace.
AND...did I say this? Get out and dive and find out if this is your passion.

 

[palmm]

i will make my way up to ginnie and talk to some people, thanks.

 

[Dive-aholic]

good point carrie, looking to move into cave and would like to do some deep wreck diving. how does sidemount do in wrecks?

It depends on the wreck. Some wrecks are better suited to backmount. If the wreck is sitting upright in sidemount you may have to swim angled to the side to make it through narrow corridors. In backmount, that isn't an issue. However, there are some openings that are better suited to diving in sidemount because of the need to remove cylinders to get through the opening. When I dive backmount, I just attached the cylinders to my sidemount rig. It works very well and the muscle memory for locating the LP hose and dump is unchanged.

 

[palmm]

interesting setup.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

If y'all wouln't mind interrupting your squabbling to answer another question . . .

What made you decide to go sidemount, Bugman? Thanks!

Several factors honestly. I dive alot out of a small zodiac on the rivers. Its very hard on your back to dive BM out of these little things, especially if you can't touch bottom and all the land around you is privately owned. The other big reason... I got REAL tired of passing up perfectly good cave thats restricted(often only at the entrance) to BM diving.

 

[Rick Murchison]

question was merely money based ...

ok... this is an entirely different subject, with its own set of pitfalls and dangers.
"Tech" diving ain't cheap.
And while being frugal is a virtue, letting money drive decisions on tech equipment can get you killed.
The Rouses' story is germane. (If you have not yet read "The Last Dive" do it now.)
Another Red Flag!
Rick

 

[Rick Murchison]

...how does sidemount do in wrecks?

Look at the head-on profile of the sidemount diver vs the backmount diver... Sidemount is wide and flat (that's the point ), while backmount is more "circular." I prefer backmount for negotiating most wrecks - hatches, doors and hallways (unless the ship's on its side) are easier to get through if you're "narrower."
To summarize the differences:
Backmount gives you a narrower and taller profile than sidemount. This can be an advantage (wrecks) or a disadvantage (caves) or not relevant (open water) depending on the dive site.
Sidemount (especially with steels) is far more stable for maintaining proper trim than backmount.
Backmount is less "floppy" than sidemount if you have to roll sideways or onto your back for some reason.
Gas management is a little more complicated in sidemount (or independent doubles backmounted) than in backmount (backmounted meaning manifolded doubles with isolator); in some situations backmount can give you more usable gas than sidemount in an emergency.
Sidemount is far easier to transport and handle above water (may take more trips to stage everything, but each trip is a lighter load).
As far as rentals, you can mount independent doubles either back or side, depending on your "druthers" so that's not really an issue.
When you start slinging stages, there are so many variables in rigging, positioning, stability etc., etc., ad nauseum that we could go 'round and 'round with that discussion forever. It really does become a "what's best for this dive?" discussion. (indeed, I've been known to make significant changes to bottle arrangement between two of the "same" dives)
Rick

 

[TecXX]

To touch back on an earlier subject of why one chose to do sidemount...and why I stuck with it.

I didn't see anyone directly mention that it is a whole lot easier for the smaller type people to handle.
I first tried sm at JB. Fell in love with it instantly. I could now carry my body weight in two trip instead of one that kills my back. Let me tell you, for someone my size, carrying double 95s on your back is a pain. After having to switch back to bm for full cave, I will never ever go back to bm. Sm is very streamline and almost forces you to be trim (if you have it set up right).

My family is very sm oriented. Me, my dad, and mom dive it (the only reason my brother doesn't is because he is 10 and one 45 is enough for him ). My mom just finished her AN class and will be doing Deco in the next few weeks. To do this class, she must be bm doubles. Needless to say, she hasn't liked that very much. She is smaller than I am and her knee and back has just not been able to handle the strain of carrying those 95s up and down the hills to the water. Another couple we are friends with have gained interest because of the back issues the lady has. I find that sm is a good way to bypass the strain done on your back. This is just on land of course.

About 6 moths ago I completed my CCR Mod I class. During this class, the classic bailout valve was taught. When I returned home, my dad switched me over to CCR with sm as bailout.

Keeping everything sm decreases the amount of switching around gear configurations. There is always a common factor in every dive I do and I dive the same way everytime.

I have done ocean, cave, wreck, CCR, ow, deco diving all in sm and for all but CCR done it all in bm. From my experience, sm rules.

The only issue I ever have is going back to divemaster OW classes. Switching to a single and a wetsuit is very very different from dry suit diving with sm 95s

 

[TecXX]

Backmount is less "floppy" than sidemount if you have to roll sideways or onto your back for some reason.
Rick

I have to disagree with that. If you have your sm configuration set up well, there is no 'floppiness'. I do some pretty crazy stuff in my sm. Including going through tight restrictions. I scooter with my sm all the time. I have never once had an issue with my sm being floppy, that is if its hooked on right. Oh, and you can't really turtle in sm

 

[Jax]

One "has" to be back-mount to do Advanced Nitrox, Deco, and cave? Is this truly a requirment?

How can an agency require that? Or is it just something "expected?

If someone has the source, I would love to know how the "back-mount" became a requirement. I could understand a preferred configuration, but not as a requirement.