Hybrid Sidemount - with a standard Wing or BCD

[Wibble]

Do you have any SideMount experience? I "self taught" SideMount with the instructional videos from Sidemounting.com and a good amount of free-time. It can be somewhat challenging, frustrating, and finicky.

That said, I have done sidemount (just side-mount, with no back tank), by adding bungies under the arms, adjusting the d-rings, and using some bungies to prevent the wing from turning into a parachute. Since you have the backmount tank, you wouldn't need to worry about the last part about the wing.

The other thing to consider with your setup is balancing your bouyancy left/right. With aluminum tanks, it's not too bad. About 1.5 to 2lbs on the opposite side should do the trick. With steel, it's a pain to get right, but you'll want about 4-5lbs.

Aside from sidemount, you could do the basic mimic technical divers, when the bring extra cylinders. I'm not a technical-diver, so I can't answer questions, but basically this:

View attachment 749904

If only the "strap em (vertically) to the LHS" divers could learn some streamlining from the Sidemount divers

But now we've mentioned sidemount, the name that shouldn't be mentioned, the OP would be in a massively better position when travelling. Sling on a couple of ali80's and there's loads of gas, with loads of streamlining, with loads of stability. So much nicer than backmount.

Sidemount does require a dedicated harness & wing -- the XDeep Stealth Tec is great, along with many others. It takes a while to get it configured correctly which can be massively helped by seeking a good sidemount instructor. Once sorted, it's so much easier.

 

[divezonescuba]

I have a youtube channel that has many videos on the use of backmount independent doubles. The backmount independent doubles playlist is towards the bottom. I have made videos on the specific type of backplate you need to use and also diving backmount independent doubles in Cozumel, Bonaire, and Egypt.

If you find this information helpful, please subscribe.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYs5TBg-4UANvcglh9HCWg

 

[grantctobin]

I have a youtube channel that has many videos on the use of backmount independent doubles. The backmount independent doubles playlist is towards the bottom. I have made videos on the specific type of backplate you need to use and also diving backmount independent doubles in Cozumel, Bonaire, and Egypt.

If you find this information helpful, please subscribe.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYs5TBg-4UANvcglh9HCWg

Will you begin to reply to commentary and critique related to your posts when you post on Scubaboard? Or just continue to spam your videos and then leave when discussion is prompted?

 

[divezonescuba]

I never encourage trolls.

 

[grantctobin]

I never encourage trolls.

Alas. Thank you for your continued video spamming and directing traffic away from this site.

 

[SlugLife]

If only the "strap em (vertically) to the LHS" divers could learn some streamlining from the Sidemount divers

But now we've mentioned sidemount, the name that shouldn't be mentioned, the OP would be in a massively better position when travelling. Sling on a couple of ali80's and there's loads of gas, with loads of streamlining, with loads of stability. So much nicer than backmount.

Sidemount does require a dedicated harness & wing -- the XDeep Stealth Tec is great, along with many others. It takes a while to get it configured correctly which can be massively helped by seeking a good sidemount instructor. Once sorted, it's so much easier.

Agreed with almost everything.

Sidemount is possible with a backplate. I'm going to embarrass myself, but whatever...



I added some sidemount-bungies to the sides and adjusted the d-rings, and dove with this SideMount for 1-day / 2-dives. It worked, but it's not the SM experience. I'm not saying it's great or ideal, just that it's possible. The main thing is to have some strategy for ensuring your wing doesn't turn into a giant parachute in the water. And if you bungie your wing, stay away from restrictions of course. With that out of the way, I have an actual SM harness that I've used on all of my other dives since starting sidemount.

---

And not to get too off topic, but I was considering taking a local sidemount course after I had self-taught, but then I heard from several people they use a modified backplate setup. I don't know what their setup actually looks like, but it seemed like a waste of money. I think if I was going to take a SM course, it would be with the SideMounting.com guys. Pricey, but they're good.

 

[Wibble]

I did a Mediterranean "resort" sidemount course for a bit more than the cost of the dives with the rental of the kit. Main things I took away was the basic kit configuration, some measurements, and a little bit of practice.

Came home to the UK, bought an XDeep Stealth Tec and spent a few weekends alone in a lake faffing with the kit. Easy enough but tiny changes make big differences to the way it works.

Was quite gratifying to sort it all out. Was certainly enough to do an Intro to Cave course with that kit and a some 'fixes' from that very competent and pragmatic instructor.

Now use the sidemount principles for my rebreather bailouts to keep them under control. Streamlined, flat and not a snag risk when playing inside wrecks. What’s not to like

 

[Bierstadt]

I went to sidemount for technical diving in the Great Lakes. There are no shortage of people who say sidemount is not appropriate for boat diving, much less technical boat diving in cold water. That is bs. The actual truth is that sidemount is complex and every added factor adds complexity, so a cold water boat-diving technical sidemount diver NEEDS to invest time training with an instructor who is proficient in those conditions to get to the point where they become competent, as well as plenty of independent diving to develop proper muscle memory. Borrowing from gaming terms, sidemount boat diving has a high skill floor. I would say that a newbie twinset diver is going to generally look a whole lot better in the water than a new sidemount diver, and the gearing up time is not even close. You have to put the time in to "git good," and until a new sidemount diver can at least manage to gear up in a similar time to their dive buddies they are not ready to boat dive in that configuration.

So if you want to become a sidemount diver, find an instructor who dive sidemount on the dives you want to do and begin your sidemount journey. It will include a proper sidemount harness, tuning the harness to fit you and your preferences, instruction, training, diving and more diving, and you will reconfigure your regs to be suited to the sidemount configuration.

If you prefer twinset diving and want to stick to that, then independent doubles are going to be better for you than single BM and an al80 stage, much less trying to convert a BM BCD to sidemount.

Good luck. SM is great, but you'll only get out of it what you put into it.

 

[Roy_W]

If you prefer twinset diving and want to stick to that, then independent doubles are going to be better for you than single BM and an al80 stage, much less trying to convert a BM BCD to sidemount.

After reading the various remarks I think I will push towards the Independant twins.
I had never even considered the hidden difficulties of weight distribution and modification. More importantly I had definately not considered the handling of the tank on a boat/zodiac.

Twinsets are heavy but they change almost nothing compared to a single tank dive..

If the only change that I have to make with independant tanks is to swap my regs every 20 or 30 bar then I think that that would be the best solution for me.

 

[Wibble]

If the only change that I have to make with independant tanks is to swap my regs every 20 or 30 bar then I think that that would be the best solution for me.

Kind of two approaches:

• Balance the consumption; breathe from both sides within 30 bar. This is the "sidemount" approach.
• Breathe down one cylinder, then breathe down the other: This is useful if doing two dives where you only need to replace one (empty) cylinder and re-use the partially used cylinder. Must validate that the second cylinder's working.