Sidemount for rec diving?

[grassybreakfast]

Hello!

I am a rec diver (BSAC Sports Diver) from the UK with about 60 dives, mostly on liveaboards. Most of my diving is travelling by air, though I'm also thinking about doing some more UK diving.

I am pretty comfortable diving a standard rec setup with semi-long hose now, but I'm thinking about trying a two-tank setup because:
1. I like the psychological comfort of redundant air supplies
2. Better trim in water and less back strain on land/boat (in the case of sidemount)
3. My SAC rate is now down to 13-14 L/m but doesn't seem to be going down further in a hurry, and my buddy is still surfacing with 70-100 bar left even when I'm on a bigger tank, and bigger tanks are not always available. More air = longer dive time for both of us, especially now that she can also use nitrox (I am technically certified for back gas deco, but have never done it in real life).

I believe twinsets are not really an option because they can't normally be rented and are too heavy to fly with. I also don't like the idea of the complication from the manifold. With sidemount I should be able to just bring the rigging hardware + regs, and rent standard tanks locally?

We are planning a trip to Spain later this year, and will be diving with a well reviewed tech/cave shop, so I'm looking to try a sidemount course and see. But just wanted to see what people's experience have been diving sidemount as a mostly-travelling rec diver.

Is diving from a boat a lot of hassle? How much extra hardware do you have to travel with (compared to a travel BCD and renting tanks)? Have you run into other unexpected issues?

Thanks

 

[grantmac]

You're describing why I started sidemount.
I'll also add that some sidemount BCD and harness can pack down tiny.
I dislike diving without redundancy and I can also get two tanks anywhere.
I much prefer the feel in the water.
I have no issue diving off boats, small or large. I'm never the last ready and I climb the ladder like everyone else.

 

[halocline]

I’m a big believer in using the right configuration for specific types of dives. If you’re doing single tank, recreational diving, use a single tank. If you are diving in a situation where you need redundancy, then train for that type of diving which will include the use of two tanks. Taking a SM class from a good cave shop could be a lot of fun, you’ll learn a lot, and I wouldn’t discourage anyone from that.

But you’re wrong about renting twinsets; technical shops do that all the time, and diving with a manifolded twinset is less task loading and complex than sidemount. You just bring your backplate and wing. It’s not significantly different than traveling with a SM harness.

SM diving from a boat is a hassle, compared to single tank and BM doubles. Someone on these threads will always chime in otherwise, but it’s true for 99% of divers. SM tanks are best put on in the water, it’s a little fiddly, takes some time, (and I’m good at it) it’s nothing like back rolling overboard with a single tank or doubles set. Another tidbit about boat diving in SM is that SM is not very comfortable at the surface; the same weight distribution that helps people trim out in SM makes staying upright at the surface less comfortable.

I use SM for cave diving; it’s excellent for that for many reasons, but in the ocean off a boat for a OW, NDL dive…no way.

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

If it works for you it’s all that matters, incidentally sm from bsac ribs in the uk is easier than backmount twins imo,
And on another note liveaboards can usually (in my experience) provide twinsets just normally they’re ali80,s ,, Egypt would be a good example of this.

 

[autrichon gris]

I am a sidemount diver here in France with two tanks mostly in fresh waters, and usually sidemount one tank in the Red Sea (liveaboard or resort) and recently on a liveaboard in the Maldives. No problem at all if you are well balanced.

Two tank sidemount on a liveaboard might probably be more difficult for you, the others and the crew, except if this a course or an all sidemount boat.
I have my own stuff, regs, sidemount BCD (Xdeep stealth tec) etc.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

Sidemount from a hardboat is pretty horrible. Sidemount also requires a lot of small adjustments, so you need to be willing to spend time to learn and practice outside of training, or dive it badly.

Any shop will let you dive sidemount if you show your credit card but you might be limited to a single tank or dive times where a single cylinder makes more sense. You might not get the right cylinders (left/right handed valves) and just not have much fun.

I bought a sidemount wing for travel, never really used it…

Most shops that can support longer dives will rent you a twinset. You just attach a backplate and go diving. It’s not only about tanks, they need to plan proper dive sites, limit the number of dives, have a qualified skipper, blend nitrox and so on. Average dive shop will run 50-60 minutes dives where you are limited by the rest of the group.

13-14 litres per minute is a perfectly normal SAC rate.

 

[LFMarm]

Once you know what you are doing, you can do sidemount anywhere (and I mean with 2 tanks). I am regularly doing it from large liveaboards and small ribs, being ready to jump or come back as quickly as backmount divers. Only situation I have not tried is entry from boat with significant swell but I imagine it would be just as miserable for everyone.

One recommendation I have is to extensively practice donning and doffing before getting in situations where others would be waiting for you to be ready. This is what makes captains wary of sidemount divers.

 

[DiveLikeAMuppet]

Once you know what you are doing, you can do sidemount anywhere (and I mean with 2 tanks). I am regularly doing it from large liveaboards and small ribs, being ready to jump or come back as quickly as backmount divers. Only situation I have not tried is entry from boat with significant swell but I imagine it would be just as miserable for everyone.

One recommendation I have is to extensively practice donning and doffing before getting in situations where others would be waiting for you to be ready. This is what makes captains wary of sidemount divers.

You can dive sidemount anywhere, the question is whether you should dive it everywhere. The right tool for the job and all that. I assume OP might want to dive in the UK at some point, where sidemount is just really unpleasant on a hardboat in marginal weather.

In decent swell, you might be fine on backmount but incredibly miserable with a sidemount.

The ocean is tidal. You need to be ready to jump when the skipper tells you to jump, which might involve waiting for 20 minutes for slack, fully kitted up. With backmount, you somewhat comfortably sit on the bench (sweating like a pig). With sidemount, you bend forward and awkwardly try to hold your cylinders and not throw up. It's fun to watch - a friend of mine keeps trying to dive sidemount from a boat and needs to take extra seasickness medication .

You tend to take extra space, especially when new. The boats can generally squeeze in 12 divers with twinsets, if you cuddle a bit. A lot of the time, there is simply no space to kit up in a sidemount. There is a reason why it's nicknamed "widemount".

You also need to get back on the boat, in swell. Hold yourself on the lift, waddle towards a bench while you try to not fall down. A bit easier when you don't have any cylinders flailing around.

I've seen few people dive sidemount well in the ocean around the UK but as far as I know, most of them are hardcode cave divers and really sorted out in terms of skills - and unless they plan to get squeeze inside a wreck, tend to dive backmount anyway.

 

[grantmac]

Your friends must not be good sidemount divers Muppet, it's really not that hard but it requires practice.
Nobody should need more than 5 minutes to get tanks on. I can do it while sitting on a bench or the side of a boat.
Slide tanks forward when you need to be thinner.
I'd rather be on an unstable platform with my weight evenly distributed on my front and back with most of it significantly lower than backmount. That's just physics.

 

[LFMarm]

You can dive sidemount anywhere, the question is whether you should dive it everywhere. The right tool for the job and all that. I assume OP might want to dive in the UK at some point, where sidemount is just really unpleasant on a hardboat in marginal weather.

In decent swell, you might be fine on backmount but incredibly miserable with a sidemount.

The ocean is tidal. You need to be ready to jump when the skipper tells you to jump, which might involve waiting for 20 minutes for slack, fully kitted up. With backmount, you somewhat comfortably sit on the bench (sweating like a pig). With sidemount, you bend forward and awkwardly try to hold your cylinders and not throw up. It's fun to watch - a friend of mine keeps trying to dive sidemount from a boat and needs to take extra seasickness medication .

You tend to take extra space, especially when new. The boats can generally squeeze in 12 divers with twinsets, if you cuddle a bit. A lot of the time, there is simply no space to kit up in a sidemount. There is a reason why it's nicknamed "widemount".

You also need to get back on the boat, in swell. Hold yourself on the lift, waddle towards a bench while you try to not fall down. A bit easier when you don't have any cylinders flailing around.

I've seen few people dive sidemount well in the ocean around the UK but as far as I know, most of them are hardcode cave divers and really sorted out in terms of skills - and unless they plan to get squeeze inside a wreck, tend to dive backmount anyway.

Good points. I never dove around the UK. In all tropical locations and Mediterranean has worked very well for me.