Josh the diver
Contributor
I am doing my sidemount class in 2 weeks. any advice before my class?
any advice for sidemount class
- Thread starter Josh the diver
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Who are you taking it with?
OP
Josh the diver
Contributor
DRIS in Illinois.
Best advice: assume the instructor actually knows something and don't argue. Question are good, arguments are not.
If he/she makes a suggestion, try it. You might be surprised.
If he/she makes a suggestion, try it. You might be surprised.
JBFG
Contributor
Pay close attention as to how your harness and tanks get set up. Understand WHY it is done a certain way and what effect each changes have on your tank trim.
Don't get frustrated, after my my first dive I was so frustrated that I was ready to sell the whole outfit and go back to my backplate. I felt like I had never dove a day in my life! My instructor made some adjustments and the second dive was like no dive I ever had before, so comfortable, it was incredible.
Subscribe to Steve Martin's content: sidemounting.com | Online video training courses for Scuba Divers and watch as much as you can prior to the start of your course.
Ministryofgiraffes
Contributor
take your phone and record her/him setting up your tanks, though likely they will tell you to set them up. watch steve martin ( above) and try to set up your wing/webbing so the instructor can focus more on adjusting it. Is it a 3 day class?
Relax. Listen. Learn. Enjoy. Your about to open up a new world of diving for yourself.
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this, but not this
There are courses where academic preparation is useful, i.e. CCR, trimix, etc. where establish standards exist. Sidemount is not one of those areas. I recommend that you go into the course with an open mind and absorb as much as you possibly can. Mike and the rest of the team at @Dive Right In Scuba are awesome.
Now, as with any course, you should come OUT of it with all sorts of skepticism that you need to validate through your own experiences because none of us are infallible and with a course like sidemount, there is no establish standard. Your instructors job is to give you the tools to develop your own experiences and adapt as necessary, especially with something as subjective as sidemount.
Why I recommend not watching Steve's materials before the course is because I don't know which school that your instructor subscribes to. If you go in with preconceived notions from Steve's course then you may be sadly disappointed if they teach with a different fundamental set of sidemount techniques. It does not make either one more right than the other, just different and you need to establish that for yourself AFTER you are done.
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