CCR sidemount training with OC instructor

[wedivebc]

I am intrigued by the new equipment coming out of ISC to allow me to convert a Meg to sidemount. I have limited OC sidemount experience and would want to be guided by an experienced CCR sidemount instructor but they are few and far between.
I am wondering if there would be any benefit to taking some training with an OC sidemount instructor who may help me sort out my CCR configuration and teach me some new skills. Does this sound like a reasonable proposal or should I just wait until it's safe to travel to Bahamas and take the training from the Man?

 

[grantctobin]

There’s a couple Meg Instructors with experience on sidemount CCRs. Perhaps reach out to one of them? Otherwise, I’d still go with a different SM CCR instructor (that isn’t a meg instructor) way before I went with an OC instructor with no SM CCR experience. They’re great tools, but individual setup and config is highly varied.

 

[tbone1004]

who's the man in the bahamas? The new meg sidemount configuration is most similar to the Liberty and that means I'd go to Edd who is actively diving it.
I wouldn't take OC sidemount instruction to try to get the Meg to behave with it because the sled mounted breathers are fickle beasts and the attachment points on the loop bungees are very different than they are with OC bottles, even worse if that instructor doesn't have experience with steel tanks.
Your best bet is to go to Edd who is the king of sidemount rebreathers. He's not a meg instructor, but the meg specific portion isn't that important, it's getting that sled to behave that is.

Also of note, that if you want one of these as a BoB to your backmount unit, you can easily add a loop bungee and a hip drop ring on your backplate and sidemount the breather that way. You should arguably have them on there anyway since sidemounting bailout is way better, but the same tricks for sidemount do translate to a backplate which is how I usually dive my unit.

 

[wedivebc]

who's the man in the bahamas? The new meg sidemount configuration is most similar to the Liberty and that means I'd go to Edd who is actively diving it.
I wouldn't take OC sidemount instruction to try to get the Meg to behave with it because the sled mounted breathers are fickle beasts and the attachment points on the loop bungees are very different than they are with OC bottles, even worse if that instructor doesn't have experience with steel tanks.
Your best bet is to go to Edd who is the king of sidemount rebreathers. He's not a meg instructor, but the meg specific portion isn't that important, it's getting that sled to behave that is.

Also of note, that if you want one of these as a BoB to your backmount unit, you can easily add a loop bungee and a hip drop ring on your backplate and sidemount the breather that way. You should arguably have them on there anyway since sidemounting bailout is way better, but the same tricks for sidemount do translate to a backplate which is how I usually dive my unit.

I figured that would be the case but seemed worth a shot. Since before sidemount was a thing Brian Kakuk has been sidemounting his meg. He would be my first choice for instruction if travelling was an option right now. Patrick Widman is a friend of mine and he would be my next choice but again I'm more afraid of sitting on an airplane right now than going into a cave with a sidemount rebreather.

 

[tbone1004]

I figured that would be the case but seemed worth a shot. Since before sidemount was a thing Brian Kakuk has been sidemounting his meg. He would be my first choice for instruction if travelling was an option right now. Patrick Widman is a friend of mine and he would be my next choice but again I'm more afraid of sitting on an airplane right now than going into a cave with a sidemount rebreather.

Neither of their experiences are relevant to the current iteration of sidemounted Meg. Kakuk was diving a low rider which is completely different since it used standard counterlung configurations and just moved the can over to the side, and Widman is diving the Sidewinder which is not even remotely close. If you want to dive the current sidemounted Meg and are paying for instruction, it truly needs to be done with someone who is actively diving the sidemount Liberty as that is the only rebreather that is even remotely close. Edd is really the only one who is actively diving and teaching that unit in the US. His primary rebreather is still the sidewinder, but his BoB is the Liberty and he's put a bunch of hours on it as a primary unit over the last 4-5 years.

 

[decompression]

Dave, do you know Brad Harris? Not sure of his experience with the meg but he’s got a solid background with the KISS in SM.

 

[tbone1004]

Dave, do you know Brad Harris? Not sure of his experience with the meg but he’s got a solid background with the KISS in SM.

the sled mount units behave very differently than a sidekick. The sidekick needs to be able to move at the bottom since the lung is at the very bottom and surrounds the scrubber. The sled type units hang like a steel sidemount bottle and have some weird dewatering nuances that you don't have with the sidekick

 

[jale]

Hi,
I don't know about this MEG SM (any links? Thanks) but I dive a Joki and a Sidekick and used to dive a Flex and even tried to SM my old HH by putting the canister on the side and keeping the CLs in their original settup like Kakuk with his Meg.
The take away is that each machine needs its particular set-up and I found that trying to look for this good set-up is also a good way to learn more about the specificities of the machine and to get a better understanding.
So to go to an instructor who dives extensively the SM RB you want to get is a good move but to spend a few hours trying different set-ups is also a good investment of your time.
Enjoy

 

[nadwidny]

My plan was to go to Bahamas and take OC sidemount training a couple weeks ago as a precursor to my Meg training next month, but I cancelled 16 hours before takeoff due to gov't interference. I figured it couldn't hurt especially as my Meg instructor is also an RB sidemount instructor (Liberty).

I don't see any downside to taking the OC sidemount training ahead of time. Especially if I can do some Bahamian caves while doing it.

 

[tbone1004]

My plan was to go to Bahamas and take OC sidemount training a couple weeks ago as a precursor to my Meg training next month, but I cancelled 16 hours before takeoff due to gov't interference. I figured it couldn't hurt especially as my Meg instructor is also an RB sidemount instructor (Liberty).

I don't see any downside to taking the OC sidemount training ahead of time. Especially if I can do some Bahamian caves while doing it.

taking OC sidemount training prior to mod1 on a traditional backmount unit is a GREAT!!! idea! Sidemounted bailout is vastly superior to slung bailout.
What @wedivebc was talking about was taking an OC sidemount course to help him adapt over to the new sidemounted meg which is still in development and won't have a course out for it yet so he was hoping that the learnings from the OC sidemount course would carry over to sorting out the Meg. While they certainly won't hurt, it is not as ideal as taking that from someone who is diving a similar unit and can help guide with the nuances of the sidemounted rebreathers in addition to sidemount ccr's.
Widmann was mentioned but he doesn't dive a sidemount ccr. The sidewinder is a VERY wide backmounted ccr and behaves like one. This is not a bad thing at all, and he is also a Meg diver, but unfortunately it doesn't translate to the sidemounted Meg.
Kakuk was also mentioned and he has a lot of Meg experience, a lot of sidemount experience, and a lot of sidemount rebreather experience as his primary unit is a sidekick, but unfortunately the sidekick is still a very far departure from the way the new Meg is designed.
As said above, the only unit that is remotely close is the sidemount Liberty and if you're going to seek out training prior to a new unit, it should be from someone who is actively diving as similar of a configuration as possible because attaching these things is weird, dewatering them is weird, dealing with baby bottles onboard is weird, etc.