Is Side Mount the new DIR??? Building resentment towards us as a group...

[sunnyboy]

Hey Canadianoid, what's the attitude like in your lds's and dive op's?
It will be months before I get out to Nanimo but could use a recommendation on a sidemount friendly boat. I can't bring a buddy and don't have a solo card yet so I probably should hire a dive op.
Is rec sm gaining popularity there?
I love the reactions of people seeing it for the first time. It's a good conversation starter...
"Hey, why'd ya jump in with yer tank on yer hip?" ..."Did you come up with that? "
Always positive so far..

Check out the Shepard and Nanaimo Dive Outfitters. Steve (the captain) teaches sidemount, so I know the boat is SM friendly. His wife (Shirley) runs NDO and they are super friendly and helpful.

 

[DevonDiver]

And I didn't bad mouth SM divers as well. I simply repeated what two dive shop owners told me. The statement doesn't bad mouth anyone. But SB is like a lot of other Internet forums, people will read what they want to read and not what is actually said.

I agree that equipment manufacturers must view sidemount as a gift horse. It's pretty hard to keep innovating jacket BCDs. An emerging market is definitely something most equipment manufacturers would want to capitalize on.

That has nothing to do with the validity of sidemount diving though. If there's a demand, who can blame manufacturers for supplying to it.

The real question is what drives demand. Obviously agencies and manufacturers are advertising the benefits of sidemount. Forums deal with the drawbacks; or a more balanced look at the pros and cons. There's also an element of divers/instructors who don't embrace change - some reasons for that are outlined already in this thread.

Only time will prove whether sidemount is a trend of a fad. I feel that it's a trend. There's quite a few divers who are entering tech diving using sidemount from the outset. I'd imagine they'd stick with that. Recreational level sidemount is a different factor - but I'd suggest that divers who've invested in sidemount equipment will remain using that kit. Those that have done a low-quality quick course with a zero-to-hero sidemount instructor... and don't subsequently invest in kit... are more likely to lose interest in it.

High sales of sidemount equipment - as illustrated by the rapidly expanding sidemount BCD market - tend to show that sidemount may be around to stay... IMHO.

 

[toby43]

@JohnnyC I agree... but lack of courtesy is lack of courtesy. I fail to see how sidemount influences that.

I could say the same about recreational single-tank divers who clutter up every table-top pre and post-dive in the dive center. About photographers who cover the seating in the boat dry area with their precious rigs. About backmount doubles divers giving boat staff hernias. etc etc etc...

If someone is gonna be a douchebag... they'll find a way to do it... they don't need to take up sidemount diving

What IS a douchebag? a kind of American sidemount rig or something? I can find no definitive meaning for it.

 

[mdb]

This may be the most useless thread ever on SB. The same posters with long posts with the same arguments. Who cares? Dive the way you want, have fun, get off the computer and into the water.

 

[The Chairman]

High sales of sidemount equipment - as illustrated by the rapidly expanding sidemount BCD market - tend to show that sidemount may be around to stay... IMHO.

On this, we fully agree. Side mount started out on the fringes, but it's taking a more an more prominent position in diving. It will never replace back mount, at least not in my lifetime.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

What IS a douchebag? a kind of American sidemount rig or something? I can find no definitive meaning for it.

You win! One of the best posts ever!

 

[kensuf]

Only time will prove whether sidemount is a trend of a fad. I feel that it's a trend. There's quite a few divers who are entering tech diving using sidemount from the outset. I'd imagine they'd stick with that. Recreational level sidemount is a different factor - but I'd suggest that divers who've invested in sidemount equipment will remain using that kit. Those that have done a low-quality quick course with a zero-to-hero sidemount instructor... and don't subsequently invest in kit... are more likely to lose interest in it.

I agree that it's a trend, but I believe it should be viewed as another tool in the tool-belt and not the end all be all of gear configurations. I still think most aspiring tech/cave divers will be better served by starting out in backmount doubles.

OK, now get off my lawn.

 

[DevonDiver]

I also believe that it's a tool. For some people it's a favorite tool... a very beneficial tool... for others it's just an optional or specific tool. I don't see what's controversial about that; it seems quite normal to me.

Respect runs two ways. People should respect that for some divers sidemount is game-changing. At the same time, people should respect that for other divers sidemount is nothing special.

Using words like "fad" or "unnecessary" is both judgmental and disrespectful. Likewise, showing scorn to people who don't go wild over sidemount is also disrespectful.

What I do believe about sidemount vs. backmount is that competency stems from the breadth of experience you gain in a specific rig. I believe there is a logic that supports inherent benefits to specializing, rather than generalizing. I also believe that the sooner a diver specializes... makes a decision....the quicker they will enjoy those benefits.

There are pros and cons to either approach - so, beyond the issue of tight restrictions - the decision between backmount and sidemount is chiefly about personal preference.

Either system, with the right training, protocols, attention-to-detail and methodology, can be made exceptionally effective for a full spectrum of diving activities and demands.

It is wrong to judge anything on the lowest common denominator; be that a critique of inexperienced or incompetent divers - or a personal appraisal based on very limited exposure to something. There are 'tier-one' divers who are amply demonstrating that either approach can be made extremely effective and optimal. That is the 'proving ground' that needs to be considered.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

I think side mount diving is a helluva good time.
Especially scootering.

I enjoy messing around, making adjustments and getting things dialed in.

 

[toby43]

What I do believe about sidemount vs. backmount is that competency stems from the breadth of experience you gain in a specific rig. I believe there is a logic that supports inherent benefits to specializing, rather than generalizing. I also believe that the sooner a diver specializes... makes a decision....the quicker they will enjoy those benefits.

I would agree with this. For those who don't make a living out of this; and I don't, getting really familiar with one platform is very useful. So I also agree that backmount manifolded doubles, if that's what you're used to, for starting out cave diving, is beneficial. It' s stable system that keeps clutter away from your chest, and it works. Heaving steel doubles with a backplate up and down cliffs to get to a cave, however, isn't so much fun