Side Mount Bicker Battle...

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@bluemed
Just curious, why aren't you guys using steel tanks with the drysuits?
I do. However, I'm slightly overweighted with just two lp108's and no lead. Also, they're extremely difficult to manage (especially full) compared to al80's. I will never be able to dismount one of the 108's and hold it out in front of me like you see these instructors do in videos. Maybe I'm weak, maybe the tanks are just too heavy for that, maybe both. I like pumping them up to around 145cuft and getting 96cuft as my third, though.

If I ever dove water cold enough that my lavacore was insufficient undergarments then it might be a different story. Thus far the lavacore is good to about 65f for lengthy dry dives.

I know, people say "if cost is a factor you shouldn't be doing any technical diving." I do okay, but I'm not Bill Gates. It's a factor for me.

I always tell people I started sidemounting because I needed doubles and it is a few hundred bucks cheaper to do than backmount doubles. Either way you need 2 regs, a bcd, two tanks. Backmount also requires a manifold and bands. Also, when you double up tanks with a manifold, it's such a pita to install/remove the manifold that you're pretty much dedicating the tanks to doubles. If I want to use one of my tanks for a single tank backmount (or sidemount) dive on a boat.. no problem.

I guess if you're already in BP/W and you only needed a bigger wing, it erodes some of that cost difference vs buying a sidemount bcd. It doesn't completely eliminate the cost factor, though.
 
Last edited:
Razorista, from your own profile page:

Home Page:
Razorista
Location:
Germany
Gender:
Male
Certification Level:
Basic Sidemount Diver
# of Logged Dives:
1,000 - 2,499
Dive Classification:
Dork Diver
Years Certified:
Six - Ten Years

Now if that was just an item offered when you signed up then I apologize.
... thats the menu stuff I was talking about ... you only get to select from the ranges offered. I'm surprised you're not aware of that. Go look at mine ... says I have 2500 - 4999 dives.
 
That's how an OW class should be taught ...

I don't see a basic sidemount course as much different to an Open Water course - with the exception that you don't need to learn dive physics, physiology etc again for sidemount.

Both courses simply teach the student how to effectively operate the given equipment to achieve a safe and satisfactory outcome. The operation equipment includes conducting the basic emergency and contingency drills.

However, sidemount demands a slightly more refined approach to configuration and set-up. Unlike jacket BCDs, there are unique and individual adjustments to be made; bungees, D-ring placement etc.

Arguably, effective sidemount diving - comfort and efficiency - is also more dependent on effective trim, buoyancy and propulsion. Cylinders and hoses can be problematic if the diver isn't flat horizontal. A good sidemount course goes a lot further with those skills than the 'average' open-water course.

Sidemount configuration, as much discussed in recent threads, is also very varied - and those variations can better suit different environments and activities. A good sidemount instructor has sufficient expertise and breadth of knowledge to configure multiple sidemount styles or options... different manufacturer BCDs, different cylinder types, different bungee methods. Then they can cater for student needs; rather than shoe-horning every student into an individual method or type of rig.
 
I believe the main part of teaching sidemount involved something completely different.
Luckily every dedicated instructor can teach that, even without intending to specifically.

Sidemount theory is badly underrated in most trainings in my opinion.
But it is easy, so even if the instructor does not understand anything, most students can easily find their own ways or google them.

The most important skill is: flexibility! (of mind, of equipment, of concepts)

I meet a lot of sidemount divers who did not learn (yet).
Most fit that description directly after training with a specific system.
Those are unable to solve small problems with their equipment themselves.
Often you see them pitifully entangled in configs they have been taught to use, but they are unable to individualize to fit their personal needs on daily dives.
Not a skill strictly critical for survival, but very important for continued well being and interest in continuing.

As a comparison:
Even jackets and wings slightly modified from the standard mystify most divers on first sight.
Very often you see people with a new jacket, for example with two tank-straps, puzzling over how to connect the tank correctly to it.
Not even many or most experienced divers can setup a disassembled plastic tank strap buckle without hesitation (and most are even identical).
Next to none could dissasable their jacket completely and put it back in a working shape afterwards.

But jackets have minimal variations.
Wings are virtually identical and philosophy (DIR inspired) restricts modifications from the proven concepts.

A working sidemount system is different.
First and foremost it will not look like much.
The most flashy ones and those using the best materials, even choosing the most expensive one, will not get you a decent system automatically.
Designers do not understand what they are doing, long term experience with construction-concepts is minimal, often manufacturers do not seem to be real divers at all, at least not using that equipment themselves.

The most important skill for a sidemount diver is to recognize the key parts of a system and how those are made without being distracted by the unimportant parts around that.

A well trained sidemount diver with a few dives of his own can imagine the position the tank will be in when submerged.
He should know: If I move this D-ring, it will do that...

Sidemount is easy if you understand the basic concepts, those that don't will not get very far.
 
Wings are virtually identical and philosophy (DIR inspired) restricts modifications from the proven concepts.

... apparently you don't understand DIR very well ... wings were around and in common use (among certain divers) long before DIR existed. There were and are several types of wings available that are not "restricted" by DIR philosophy ... some made by popular companies such as OMS and Dive Rite. DIR did not create the donut shape wing ... although they embraced it once it became available.

Even within cave country, DIR represents a minority of divers ... once you leave north Florida, even more so ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 


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