OP
CaveSloth
Contributor
I am currently in backmount doubles just because for some gut feeling reason I want to master that first as a challenge but then I want to try sidemount too maybe in a few months.
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Totally different beasts.
helodriver87
Contributor
I don't think there's any real difference. You've got the same surface area exposed to the flow, just a different cross sectional shape.
Seriously? In sidemount, my cylinders are under my armpits/shoulders a bit. I find a huge difference in water resistance.
Edit: If you are in one of these pictures: Fixing The Sidemount Training Disappointment %, okay, I can understand your POV.
helodriver87
Contributor
Caveat - I don't do much with sidemount. I've played around with it a bit in open water with a few different tanks, but nothing serious. I've been toying around with using it more extensively for some river caves and remote spots, but there's a lot of big cave out there and I keep getting distracted.
But the only time I've ever felt like I was significantly more streamlined was with LP50s, which is more a function of the tanks than anything. The lower back mounted bladder seems to create drag with larger steels. Then again, I'm not super proficient. The difference between diving wet and dry is far more noticeable to me.
When I started on sidemount with a Halcyon Contour, I took a SM course. After the instructor made adjustments underwater and the cylinders were along the sides of my body, I just cut through the water like I never had before. I suspect that you may not be in sidemount, but low mount where your cylinders are like rails on a sled.
helodriver87
Contributor
Entirely possible. Nothing I've been diving has given me any reason to consider sidemount, so I'm not particularly proficient with it.
After going back to sidemount after fundies with a new harness (Xdeep Stealth Tec 2.0), neither am I!
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I don't understand why you wouldn't use the contour up here, at least with steel tanks its far easier to trim them out.
Everything goes to hell (tank trimwise) with SM and trimix sadly.
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