Beginner diver thinking of switching to sidemount

[ginti]

Say OP decides to go the TDI tech route. The prerequisites for AN/DP include nitrox and AOW. Suggest you actually look at the standards.

Probably I was not clear in my post, sorry. What I suggested is the next step for a tech-oriented path. Not ALL the steps For sure, he will need extra courses to do tech in the future; my point is that he doesn't need them now. So, in my opinion, he should start on those 4 points and then, eventually, expands his knowledge and skills with other courses and his equipment with other purchases.

Anyway, depending on the route he chooses, he may not need at all nitrox and AOW (GUE, for instance). Suggest you actually look at the standards

 

[Marie13]

Well, if the OP is dead set on SM, he should know that GUE does not do anything with SM until you’re a very experienced cave diver.

Not everyone wants to be a Cookie Cutter Cultist.

If he wants to do Great Lakes wrecks below 60ft, he will need the AOW card. The charters require it and enforce it. If he’s going to do the deeper wrecks, might well get nitrox.

 

[ginti]

Well, if the OP is dead set on SM, he should know that GUE does not do anything with SM until you’re a very experienced cave diver.

Not everyone wants to be a Cookie Cutter Cultist.

Take it easy, please

At 17 dives, he probably knows nothing about GUE, SM and other tech stuff, but I may be wrong. Anyway, I don't believe that he is dead set on SM - otherwise, he wouldn't be asking.

If he wants to do Great Lakes wrecks below 60ft, he will need the AOW card. The charters require it and enforce it. If he’s going to do the deeper wrecks, might well get nitrox.

Sure, I agree, and it works like that in any other part of the world. But, as you said, "If he wants to go below 60ft". EDIT[actually, I partially agree; again, if you look at standards, some agencies certify you to go to 30m/100ft and to use nitrox without the need to go for AOW or Nitrox. I am not advocating for any of these, I am just saying that they exist]

I repeat it differently: my suggestion is valid to achieve the highest performances, not to go deeper or extend his range. And I didn't even mean that he should not do AOW (if that is the case, sorry ) - my point is that if he is serious about tech, he should prioritise skills. Why? To avoid bad habits will form from now. How to prevent it? With Intro/Fundies/whatever. If you know any better way to avoid these bad habits from creating while at the same time developing excellent skills, propose your view, I will be happy to extend my horizons.

I hope it is clearer now. If you want to disagree, feel free to do it

 

[Peter10/50]

If you are attracted to sidemount, go there. The quality of the instructor matters more than the agency.

Little things matter a lot in getting squared away in sidemount so a good instructor can save you a lot of time getting squared away.

Sidemount can be challenging to get good at particularly when juggling multiple tanks.

You will have fun, save your back, and be in a good position to start cave training when you are squared away.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That’s holiday time. If you come during the week not holiday time you’ll see more bm and not all or even most are gue

It also occurs to me that some number of them may be older cave divers who may have been diving for decades in BM doubles and switched to SM for the sake of their aging bodies. I'm tickled at the number of old guys I see. Granted, they may be the minority of SM divers--and there are a lot of old guys still humping BM tanks--but I wouldn't discount them. Cave divers apparently use SM for a variety of reasons, and if you ask experienced divers why they're using SM rather than BM doubles they can usually tell you their reasons. It may be nothing more than "I found a cave instructor I thought was amazing, and they dived SM, so I went that direction from the beginning." Nothing wrong with being influenced by one's mentors. Whatever their reasons, I think most cave divers have reasons they can articulate.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

https://www.youtube.com/user/tmichura/videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/sidemountscubadiving/videos

 

[Walde]

Did my first 10 dives in Thailand with single set. Then 10 dives in Finland with single set and dry suit. Then switched to SM. Get a good instructor, take your time with it and going SM is not that big of a deal.

 

[306dive306]

Hello all!! I got certed a year ago, have 17 dives under my belt. And wanted to know what all was involved in getting ready for sidemount diving. I know there’s a class through ssi, but is it just ow to sidemount? Are there prereqs? I’m currently working on saving for a perdix ai so I can monitor 2 tanks (almost there and I’ve been looking into hog d3 regs and nomad bcd. The whole purpose of sidemount for me is to lengthen bottom time, but mostly to work towards cave diving certs. And I read about the comfort under water. I’m already pretty comfy with a al80 on my back. So sidemount should be awesome
So if anyone knows any classes I should take before sidemount or have any suggestions for gear. I don’t have anyone to ask so I google and read this site. Lol.

There is no such thing as "number of dives before sidemount." --> Find a SM instructor you click with and go get training. Going from one tank to 2 will be a new thing regardless of anything else.

Which rig to buy? --> Try a few before buying one. Do not allow yourself to "fall in love" with a specific rig because so-and-so use it. Scuba diving is a "niche environment" in a sense that if you're in FL you're more than likely inclined to buying FL brands such as Dive Rite or Halcyon instead of XDeep or Razor - the latter being very common in Mexico.

Perdix AI to monitor tanks --> Do whatever you want but I would never rely solely on transmitters to tell me what I have left in my tanks. Yes, several explorers and very knowledgeable people do it... I still won't. I want my gauges there with me and I always keep track of time bc I know roughly what I should be consuming.

What classes to take? --> again, this goes back to instruction. IMHO, you should choose a technical diving instructor because they can prepare you for cave diving - since you mentioned this is your objective. There is no point fiddling with flutter kicks or diving vertically (like in your pic ) if you have cave diving in mind. The sooner you "snap into shape", the better you will be when you arrive for your cave diving traninig.

Agency --> Do not think of agencies and their names. Worry about your technique and overall knowledge.

There! I've said it!

 

[Johanan]

Hello all!! I got certed a year ago, have 17 dives under my belt. And wanted to know what all was involved in getting ready for sidemount diving. I know there’s a class through ssi, but is it just ow to sidemount? Are there prereqs? I’m currently working on saving for a perdix ai so I can monitor 2 tanks (almost there and I’ve been looking into hog d3 regs and nomad bcd. The whole purpose of sidemount for me is to lengthen bottom time, but mostly to work towards cave diving certs. And I read about the comfort under water. I’m already pretty comfy with a al80 on my back. So sidemount should be awesome
So if anyone knows any classes I should take before sidemount or have any suggestions for gear. I don’t have anyone to ask so I google and read this site. Lol.

You have received quite a few good tips here. No doubt, they contain wisdom when saying - get more dives, acquire more experience, etc. Theoretically, however, even a OWD course can be taught in SM. I would say, if you feel attracted to SM then go for it! I felt the same way when I was an AOWD with about 50 dives. But it’s important - my ambition was to learn from the best instructor on the planet. I contacted several great names in different countries and the chemistry worked with Garry Dallas from the UK. I invited him to come to my home to teach me a personal 1:1 course. It did cost me a fortune but it was the most rewarding investment in diving ever. He overhauled my entire skill set - propulsion, buoyancy control, problem solving and much more. This course made me a diver. Subsequently Garry guided me through next levels all the way up to the Full Cave. Since then I use SM for all types of dives. I agree that SM is somewhat more complicated on boats but it is manageable. A good instructor can teach you that, too. On the other hand SM is ideal for solo diving and has many more nice features.

Regarding equipment I would recommend Xdeep. It’s the golden standard for now. Nomad is ok for steel but will not work well with AL tanks. Shearwater is great but if you’re going to be a devout SM diver, check out the Ratio computers. They have a nice SM mode which my Perdix still doesn’t have. Once again, if you feel so, then go for it. Just find the best instructor who dives SM as his/her default configuration and have fun!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Not all Great Lakes charters require an AOW card. One mainly books to shops and groups and relies on them to check certs. The boat doesn't bother checking cert levels.