I don't get side mount?

[SanDiegoSidemount]

I "get" it, what I don't get is the come to Jesus moment some people seem to have after trying SM.

This comes back to the OP's original question, and what I was discussing with @TSandM.

I think divers' enjoyment of sidemount is extremely dependent on the context in which they train and dive. (True for non-sidemount diving as well.) Starting off on the right foot with a good sidemount instructor is extremely important, especially given the complexity and "tweakability" of sidemount setups. After that, having a community of divers who dive similar gear in similar conditions as you can help enormously in learning all the little "tricks" that make the gear easy to use, and increase your efficiency and enjoyment in sidemount.

So good instruction and good community go a long way towards getting those "aha" moments more frequently, and getting really hooked on the configuration. If you're struggling to figure a sidemount rig out on your own, it's a long, hard road.

 

[AfterDark]

This comes back to the OP's original question, and what I was discussing with @TSandM.

I think divers' enjoyment of sidemount is extremely dependent on the context in which they train and dive. (True for non-sidemount diving as well.) Starting off on the right foot with a good sidemount instructor is extremely important, especially given the complexity and "tweakability" of sidemount setups. After that, having a community of divers who dive similar gear in similar conditions as you can help enormously in learning all the little "tricks" that make the gear easy to use, and increase your efficiency and enjoyment in sidemount.

So good instruction and good community go a long way towards getting those "aha" moments more frequently, and getting really hooked on the configuration. If you're struggling to figure a sidemount rig out on your own, it's a long, hard road.

No setup issues it was setup by the Hollis experts at the demo. As I posted I didn't fall in love or have a revelation, it was just a different rig/sys. Since I dive IDs reg switches, gas equalization isn't new stuff either. I fell in love with diving 48 years ago, diving is my love, the gear just gets me there.

 

[Ste Wart]

I've been reading about side mount as the newest biggest thing since sliced bread, but I personally don't get why it has become so popular. Is it just because it's something new?
I'm not bagging on it, I just don't understand it.

I don't get it either.

Then again I don't get vegetarianism, Jehovahs witnesses, people who buy Justin Beiber albums or the point of politics.

Doesn't mean any of it is wrong though




Except the Beiber albums.... seriously why?

 

[Centrals]

Except the Beiber albums.... seriously why?

Who is he?

 

[divad]

He's a clown in a squirrel suit.

 

[Rich Keller]

He's a clown in a squirrel suit.

Do we really need more tree vermin? Why can't we just deport him and be done with it? If some no name immigrant came into this country and broke as many of our laws as he has they would have been long gone by now.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Do we really need more tree vermin? Why can't we just deport him and be done with it? If some no name immigrant came into this country and broke as many of our laws as he has they would have been long gone by now.

He's doing everything exactly right just like all his publicists and advisors are advising. Being a law breaking bad boy sporting a pompadore is critical for him to break that bushy haired squeeker image riling up all the 13 year olds. Just look at our glamorous American princesses like Paris Hilton, Miley Syrus, and the rest that make obscene gestures on stage and/or puke all over their shoes on Sunset Blvd., they're all doing exactly what is scripted to the "T". The worst thing that can happen is nobody pays attention to them.
All the outlandish behavior is very carefully planned.

Hey wait a minute, how did we go from a conversation about sidemount to Justin Bieber???

 

[kr2y5]

... and FWIW ... sliced bread ain't all it's cracked up to be either ... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Amen.

 

[scubafanatic]

I was in the Philippines last year for two weeks and on that trip was a guy who owns a dive shop out west. For much of the trip he was diving sidemount or should I say he was trying to get the hang of diving sidemount. We struck up a good conversation about sidemount diving and I pretty much asked the same question Eric asked at the beginning of this thread. This was his perspective.

He felt sidemount diving had a place when it comes to cave diving and perhaps some deeper technical dives. However, he didn't see a real benefit for the vast majority of divers who are just doing your typical recreational dives. But his shop was going to start promoting and offering courses in sidemount diving to recreational divers. When I asked why he said it was all about selling more gear and that's why folks are starting to see sidemount diving being promoted in the usual OW diving community. If a customer comes into his shop and buys a set of gear and takes good care of it, the gear can last them for many years. So how do you sell that diver more gear? You introduce them to a new style of diving that would require the purchase of new gear. That, he said, was the biggest reason more shops are starting to offer sidemount diving to its customers.

BINGO! Nailed it exactly!

 

[Subcooled]

I personally don't get why it has become so popular. Is it just because it's something new?

1) Well... it moves the rigid cylinder(s) away from your back and thus mobilizes your back. You won't notice the cylinders anymore, and diving suddenly feels unconstrained and free and much more like freediving. It is pure joy. If you wanted to do sommersaults in the water column but really couldn't, then now you can.

2) Some people may have physiological reasons (unable to carry heavy loads on land).

3) Sidemount certainly is safer than a single tank. Anyone can reach and operate the valves and it's a redundant setup.

Sidemount diving is at its best with two small and light cylinders although large steel cylinders and one deco gas isn't that difficult either. The secret is to keep the stage below you (other solutions exist too), not vertically by your side. There are many different harnesses with varying degrees of clutter but you really only need a waist belt with two D-rings, two shoulder straps with D-rings, and some sort of wing attached. The rest is... commercial value added (sometimes reduced) features.