Drawbacks of Sidemount, compared to backmount diving

[Paul S]

Sorry Paul sort of missed my point of my comment.
I never said SM was bad because it would let you do more.
My point is the ease at which it can allow you into small areas that are difficult to get out of.

I got that. My point (rather flippantly made) was that this is a case of people exceeding their training not an equipment issue.

Let's flip this to backmount. I could do a 50m/150ft dive on air on a single cylinder on my back. Is that a good idea? No, so I don't do it*. Backmounted twins could take me to 80m/240ft or into a cave, but I don't do that either.

I don't cave dive because I'm not trained, not because I own the wrong kit. People who go beyond their skill set are stupid, but that's a very different discussion to the downsides of a particular kit config.

I wonder if a lot of this comes from there being a rash of poor divers using sidemount out there that is basically bad PR.

It is no skin off my nose but the recovery divers and family left behind I do feel sorry for.

A shared sentiment.

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* Actually I have done that, but it wasnt a good idea.

 

[CaveMD]

Wow one of the major drawbacks I can think of is it allows access to smaller cave / overhead environments.
Just recently I have been local quarry diving and seeing more SM rigs appear.
A big issue is in SM it is possible to access restrictions with more ease but not always the experience or training to get out safely.
I am not being accusatory or bashing anyone just making a observation.

I understand that it is common sense to not do something you are not trained for but then again OW divers are still finding their way into caves.
With the current trend and more SM divers trained and untrained out there we are undoubtably going to see some of this in the future.
Will it be any worse than BM? Probably not but SM will get you further into a tight squeeze than BM.

Lets see what happens and others think.

CamG

And that's some how different than a backmount diver going through a "backmount" restriction of the same magnitude, for a backmount diver, how exactly?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Width is the big one for boat entries. There are boats where it is not a problem, but for many boats it is a problem, and the diver has to fall in sideways. On a boat where the second tanks is stowed, sidemount kinda sucks, but BM doubles are no better because both cannot be racked. At least with SM, one tank is in the rack. It is harder climbing a ladder with SM tanks than with BM doubles, in some cases much much harder or impossible.

As a couple people have pointed out, if the gate is narrow, you just side step off the boat - it is really no big deal.

As for coming out, I can remember one exit in very short timed and nasty 8' seas coming up a ladder that was pitching though a 10' arc and coming entirely out of the water. That was in BM doubles and it was an interesting exercise in strength and timing to ride it up out of the water and the entire boat was lucky to recover everyone with no injuries. It's very true that I would not have wanted to come up the ladder with two side mounted tanks, but you have to take a very narrow view of diving to even think that this is necessary.

For example on a 4 bottle deep wreck dive in back mount, I'd normally take off the stage and deco bottle and either hand them up or clip them to a gear line before exiting so that all I had to haul out on my back was the back mounted tanks. The thing is that I'd do exactly the same in side mount, with the addition of removing one of the side mount tanks and clipping it of/handing it up as well. I'd have loved to have that option on the day with the short timed 8' seas as it would have made the exit a lot easier.

It's also true that narrow ladders can be an issue. But again you have the option of removing one tank and handing it up or clipping it off to be taken aboard later - just like a stage, a deco bottle, a scooter or a camera. It's not a problem it just requires a little flexibility in thinking.

It's unfortunate that some boats may be thinking of banning side mount divers. That's a reflection on poorly trained or inexperienced divers, not on the inapplicability of efficient side mount to dive boats.

And I agree with the posts above about the gearing up rapidly on the boat. I can configure my tanks and set up the regs in the back of my vehicle before I ever come aboard. As noted if racks are available one can stay in the rack and the other can be stood on the bench in front of it, then clipped and strapped to the other, although in most cases it just sits nicely under the bench along side my dive bag. When gearing up, I can delay almost until the pool opens, then hook up both tanks and be over the side in about a minute, two if I take extra time and chat a bit, even if I don't have enough space on the bench to sit.

---------- Post Merged at 09:33 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:23 AM ----------

And that's some how different than a backmount diver going through a "backmount" restriction of the same magnitude, for a backmount diver, how exactly?

It's the same as the cave damage argument. To consider side mount a problem you have to ignore the same problem or challenge in back mount diving and that seems to be what Cam is doing consciously or otherwise.

It's true that we go places that are tighter than we used to go in back mount, but we still went as far we could get in back mount without doing damage. The same is true in side mount, the only difference is the ability to get farther in a much cleaner configuration.

We also have a great option in side mount that we don't have in back mount. It's like 4 wheel drive - if you stay in two wheel drive until you get stuck then engage the 4 while drive you'll really have to work hard or act really stupid to get yourself seriously stuck. Similarly, in back mount we don't go through a restriction if it requires us to take of a tank or swing a tank forward (although I will do that to go through a restriction where it is not required in order to just do it cleaner). That then allows us the ability to take a tank off or swing it forward to come out of the restriction, adding some insurance against getting stuck on the wrong side of a restriction.

 

[BabyDuck]

i hate that adjusting one thing to an sm rig means at least three more adjustments to other parts - it is all so interconnected. it takes less overall upper body strength than bm, but more hand strength. you really need to try several approaches in a problem area and not just make do or make up for less-than-stellar rigging with sheer effort (but since i hate the futzing, i usually put this off.)

 

[JamesK]

If you know what you're doing then, as you say, most of the setup is done early.

If you don't, you're going to be trying to rig cylinders just before you jump and not making friends.

The same can be said about back mount divers. If you don't know what you are doing, you are going to be pissing a lot of people off during your setup. So this is not a drawback o the configuration, but of the skills of the diver.

I have seen many a poor back mount diver screw things up tremendously during setup. Do I think it is a disadvantage of the back mount configuration, no. It is the diver, not the kit. Even if their kit is a CF, it is still because of the diver.

 

[JamesK]

i hate that adjusting one thing to an sm rig means at least three more adjustments to other parts - it is all so interconnected. it takes less overall upper body strength than bm, but more hand strength. you really need to try several approaches in a problem area and not just make do or make up for less-than-stellar rigging with sheer effort (but since i hate the futzing, i usually put this off.)

You don't count. You have hired a futzes to do your futzing for you! Lol

 

[nielsent]

I'm not sure I understand this?

At dive center/home, the SM diver configures their bottles. Cam-band on, tank bands on, regulator on, stow hose.

They go to a dive boat, put on their BCD, mask backwards on the forehead, fins there - ready to go, able to move around on the boat, not encumbered, not at risk of catastrophic topple...

and then...

Lower clip, bungee left, spg connect, short hose around neck into bungee.
Lower clip, bungee right, drysuit connect, long hose around neck

Along the lines of... click, twang, snap, click twang, snap..."I'm ready, lets go...."

Is this "time to get kitted up" meant to reflect familiarity with kit (the people witnessed when drawing this conclusion were not slick with new skills), or is it being proposed that equipping with sidemount is sufficiently complex to be counted as a definitive drawback to the configuration?

Most of the time, I attach my tanks in the water (nice, I know). I'm more comfortable on the boat.. typically put my BCD on at the dive center and wear it to/on the boat. Ready to go at the site, just hop in the water, passed two cylinders.. a few seconds... and ready. I'm normally waiting for the back-mounted divers, who're still huffing and puffing on the boat.

Not sure why my experience seems so directly opposed to other views expressed here?

In my opinion, all things being equal (if everything is ready and setup at the beach or boat, and mask, fins, hood, wetsuit/drysuit, etc is setup and on) Then I find that with BM I can throw the harness on stow my hoses and and everything is done. with SM, I find that attaching and bungeeing the tanks then stowing the hoses takes slightly more time when compared to backmount.

I also put the SM harness on immediately and then put my tanks on in the water if I can, but I almost always dive from shore and very rarely have the opportunity to do boat dives. So when the weather is not playing nice, it is necessary for me to completely kit up on shore, and bungee in once I am in the water.

I would not consider this a drawback necessarily, but it is certainly something that requires more attention.

 

[CWSWine]

The last rec boat I was on with sidemount had 5 sidemount and 6 backmount divers. The sidemount divers would put the BC and fins on during the briefing when the pool was opened we stood up and took tanks out the tank holders - set them on the bench - bent over and clipped the top clip - got in line - while in line we chip the bottom clip - hookup the inflator hose - reg around neck - off the boat - on the way down we loop the bungees and did bubble checks. Granted that was single tank but we're always off the boat before the back backmounters. By the end of week the captain admitted the sidemounts were easier to deal with since we setup our own tanks we were less work for the crew.

 

[TSandM]

I would have said that SM takes longer to rig and get ready to dive, because my first several experiences with SM divers were people who weren't very experienced with it. After spending a week on a boat with Curt Bowen, I would definitely say that an efficient and experienced SM diver is neither an inconvenience to anyone else on a small boat, nor is he slower.

I WILL maintain that it is in some cases easier to get tanks to the water on your back, because I have carried tanks both ways, and I found it easier to get two Al80s down three flights of stairs on my back than it was to carry them in my hands. That may very definitely be related to my stature, because I cannot carry those tanks by the valve comfortably for any distance (they are too long), and I cannot put them on my shoulder.

 

[DevonDiver]

I have carried tanks both ways, and I found it easier to get two Al80s down three flights of stairs on my back than it was to carry them in my hands.

From a safety perspective, do you consider there to be pros/cons? For example, whilst going down that flight of stairs, you trip and fall....

I think the issue with carrying sidemount versus backmount is entirely determined by whether you find it easier to make two journeys with a single tank, or one journey with two tanks.

My personal preference is that I'd make two journeys - because I've got a smashed hand, crunchy knees and my back will make me pay for any delusions I get about being 20-something anymore...

Either way, I like that I get the option with sidemount. There's no option with backmount.