Drawbacks of Sidemount, compared to backmount diving

[FoxHound]

Yeah ive never noticed the balance of the tanks being an issue at all either. Even single tank SM, i don't need any counter weight.....if you think about it, its no different then carrying a single 40 or 80 stage in backmount style......if these throw you off, you are doing something wrong


I find getting on a boat easier in sidemount wearing tanks....my center of gravity is lower and closer to my body instead of backmounted tanks trying to pull me off the ladder

as for familiarity.....its coming around.....all the boat ops up here are fairly familiar with the kit set up and more then willing to help out if need be.

I still leave my can light on the waist belt....i can reach it and work it no problem, may move it to the butt plate, but dont need to right now.

 

[The Chairman]

I still leave my can light on the waist belt....i can reach it and work it no problem, may move it to the butt plate, but dont need to right now.

Yeah, I actually moved it to the left side, but it being on the waist belt does not create any interference or problems for me at all.

 

[SangP]

As I said I'm mostly self taught as there are no sm instructors that I know of around me. Trial and error is how I have to do it but the balance trip bit is a bit tricky initially, it's of course getting to the point of being the same as back mount but it takes more time to figure things out initially.

The rock solid secure of a bm is the only thing I really miss but overall, sm is isn't for the uninitiated.

 

[FoxHound]

Its like everything else, practice makes perfect.....i was lucky enough to have a sidemount instructor come into my area just as I was making the switch over....really helps the learning curve.....since being dialed in, its been fantastic

As I said I'm mostly self taught as there are no sm instructors that I know of around me. Trial and error is how I have to do it but the balance trip bit is a bit tricky initially, it's of course getting to the point of being the same as back mount but it takes more time to figure things out initially.

The rock solid secure of a bm is the only thing I really miss but overall, sm is isn't for the uninitiated.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Exactly, you were already a cave diver. I can't think of a single non-cave diver I've trained in sidemount that told me he/she wanted to dive in small passage, even after completing their cave training. Granted, some of them probably change their minds after a while. In fact, I know some have. I regularly dive with one of them now. But that has only come after full training. The decision to go sidemount has never been to go small but rather because of the other benefits they see to the configuration.

When I started my sidemount training I told my instructor that ... as an old, fat dude ... I had no interest in doing small passages. Coupla days later, after wriggling through a passage smaller than anything I'd been through before, my first words upon surfacing were "that was pretty dang cool" ...

That said ... my reasons for deciding to go sidemount had nothing at all to do with restrictions, or even overhead. For me the benefits are primarily the ease of reaching my valves, the independent redundancy, and the inherent ease of maintaining a sense of balance in virtually any position I (as a photographer) put myself in order to get the shot I want to take. Almost all of my sidemount diving is in non-overhead conditions ... and solo.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post Merged at 04:12 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 04:05 AM ----------

Its like everything else, practice makes perfect.....i was lucky enough to have a sidemount instructor come into my area just as I was making the switch over....really helps the learning curve.....since being dialed in, its been fantastic

We're seeing more and more sidemount instructors in my area. From my observations so far, most of them shouldn't be. Seems like all it takes to become a sidemount instructor is to go out and put a few dives on a sidemount rig.

For those seeking instruction, my advice is find someone who dives sidemount primarily ... as opposed to someone who "qualified" simply so that they could add the class to their repertoire ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DevonDiver]

When I started my sidemount training I told my instructor that ... as an old, fat dude ... I had no interest in doing small passages. Coupla days later, after wriggling through a passage smaller than anything I'd been through before, my first words upon surfacing were "that was pretty dang cool" ...

You must by lying...

...and so must I.

Because according to HowardE:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ad...iving-north-east-great-lakes.html#post6504642

Doubles or a large capacity single with an H valve is much more suited for the wreck environment.... look at the environment inside most wrecks (upright). Doorways and compainionways are tall and narrow. Simple for moving around in doubles. More complex for sidemount. We had a diver in our New Jersey class who was diving sidemount, and we found a place that got him stuck. He had to unmount all of his gear just to fit through a restriction that I could easily fit through.

We're seeing more and more sidemount instructors in my area. From my observations so far, most of them shouldn't be. Seems like all it takes to become a sidemount instructor is to go out and put a few dives on a sidemount rig.

6 Dives.... to be precise. That's what it takes to get the PADI Sidemount instructor ticket via a 3-day instructor development class.

The results....are as you'd expect them. Dreadful. It's a big band-wagon...and many will be jumping upon it.

There'll be a lot of badly trained sidemount divers... who'll struggle in the rig. Howard seems to have encountered one such already...

The worst impact of these 'bad' sidemount divers, is that they'll give a very stark under-appreciation of the rig capabilities to observers who know no better (i.e. Howard). That's very counter-productive in the long-run.

 

[Kevrumbo]

My only difficulty with sidemount is floating on the surface pre-descent in open ocean waters, with two full AL80's and two AL30 deco bottles. The Z-trim 9kg/20lbs wing provides good lift and trim at depth, but its buoyancy design for the hips and lower back translates to poor floatation characteristics at the surface (now considering a tropical drysuit like a DUI 30/30 just to augment surface lift).

I'm taking off for Chuuk and Palau tomorrow for the whole month of Oct, and bringing both doubles BP/W and Z-system sidemount --might even try a "back mount/ side mount hybrid", and d'off the backmount doubles to penetrate the wreck at depth (San Francisco Maru at 51m).

http://www.unifiedteamdiving.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=0kp5wtjltdn6a

 

[FoxHound]

We're seeing more and more sidemount instructors in my area. From my observations so far, most of them shouldn't be. Seems like all it takes to become a sidemount instructor is to go out and put a few dives on a sidemount rig.

For those seeking instruction, my advice is find someone who dives sidemount primarily ... as opposed to someone who "qualified" simply so that they could add the class to their repertoire ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Should have mentioned that as well, this guy dives only sidemount, has been diving sidemount for years and years in caves......that makes a huge difference......its sad but i have more dives on sidemount then required by most agencies to become and instructor and I feel like im just scratching the surface of it.

 

[CamG]

As with any diving configuration mastery and proper technique take time to develop.
Awareness grows at a significant rate once you master the basics.
On other web sites the significant rise in SM divers and instructors is being noted as well.
Any trend or current scene will create a significant financial temptation to Agencies as they try to stay afloat admits a rough economy.
One of the greatest hazards of SM are instructors turning out sub-par students who are able to penetrate overhead environments before they are ready.

Fox your statement is very true with 150+ dives many hrs I am still tweaking my rig.
Trying new things to discover what works best and being open to new ideas from those who have spent years developing techniques.
My biggest fear for any diver is when they stop learning, stop being a student, unwilling to humble themselves and admit short comings.
I desire to learn and constantly improve my technique to be the best diver I can be this means I train most of the time and am open to new ideas and tech.
Read many diving books, GUE, DIR, TDI,SDI, NACD, NSSCDS, INTD, and countless others from divers!
Meet the SM founding fathers and they will teach you many things and WHY they are important!

CamG

 

[danvolker]

As with any diving configuration mastery and proper technique take time to develop.
Awareness grows at a significant rate once you master the basics.
On other web sites the significant rise in SM divers and instructors is being noted as well.
Any trend or current scene will create a significant financial temptation to Agencies as they try to stay afloat admits a rough economy.
One of the greatest hazards of SM are instructors turning out sub-par students who are able to penetrate overhead environments before they are ready.

Fox your statement is very true with 150+ dives many hrs I am still tweaking my rig.
Trying new things to discover what works best and being open to new ideas from those who have spent years developing techniques.
My biggest fear for any diver is when they stop learning, stop being a student, unwilling to humble themselves and admit short comings.
I desire to learn and constantly improve my technique to be the best diver I can be this means I train most of the time and am open to new ideas and tech.
Read many diving books, GUE, DIR, TDI,SDI, NACD, NSSCDS, INTD, and countless others from divers!
Meet the SM founding fathers and they will teach you many things and WHY they are important!

CamG

I have to say, if something is not broken, why try to fix it?
I don't see any negative issues with back mount.... 100% of the diving I care about is boat based diving, and of this, 90% is non-penetration. Of the penetration I do engage in, I have never had any limitations whatsoever, from my backmount..whether single or double.

Back in the 90's, I would used doubles with independant regs, before I got into using a manifold, and before we got into trimix.... I am not saying there is any big trick to needing to monitor each tank, but there are so many things that are not optimal for most SM divers, things they will need to "fix", that they would not need to fix with BM... I just don't get the "WHY" of this whole thing.... Is it the weight on your back? What is it?