Sidemount harness in sea water

[deep_6]

I came across a topic somewhere else but I didn't want to pursue this topic there as it would be off their topic and might create a stir and that I'd be accused of trolling.

Anyway, that was the first time I came accross the "side mount harness". I researched and mostly came up with "cave divers" using such equipment. I only saw a few divers using such harness in the open sea.

How many use this type of harness in the open sea? I'm just curious.

Aside from being streamlined, what advantages does this have for the diver vs wearing a bp/wing?

Thank you.

 

[Scubaroo]

The main use of side-mount is that it allows penetration of passages where there is not enought vertical clearance for back-mounted tanks. In other words, tight squeeze type places. They're popular with some cave and sump divers where the environment dictates their use.

I'm not sure if there's any compelling reason to use them in open water. That's about the limit of my knowledge on them.

 

[rjchandler]

If you go to Duncan Price's site you'll find more about them. There is a link on Deco stop forum on sidemounting. Advanced Diver also had an article.
Recreationally, they might have a use for divers who were unable to reach their valves or couldn't back mount for some reason. Can't imagine it would be much fun to jump in the water with an AL80 attached sidemount - or trying to attach it as a stage in water in mildly active seas.

 

[pipedope]

Sidemounts also break down into smaller, lighter packages making travel easier. Think of using animal transport in the jungle.

You could ask Curt Bowen of ADM, he does lots of this kind of thing.

 

[Curt Bowen]

I came across a topic somewhere else but I didn't want to pursue this topic there as it would be off their topic and might create a stir and that I'd be accused of trolling.

Anyway, that was the first time I came accross the "side mount harness". I researched and mostly came up with "cave divers" using such equipment. I only saw a few divers using such harness in the open sea.

How many use this type of harness in the open sea? I'm just curious.

Aside from being streamlined, what advantages does this have for the diver vs wearing a bp/wing?

Thank you.

For open ocean diving there is no real advantage of wearing SM with the exception for tight wreck diving or undersea caves.

I do alot of deep open ocean diving with sidemount in other countries because of the lack of available doubles and the increased bottom times I like to do for photography. SM deep wall diving is also nice in areas where you can reach deep water from the shore such as grand cayman.

Getting off or on the boat is really not that much more difficult than with doubles. If the seas are really rough you can hand each cylinder up before getting out of the water.

Multiple stage deep ocean diving can be really tricky.

I just returned from Cay Sal banks, a small group of rocks just north of Cuba doing some deep blue holes dives off the MV Sea Fever. SM worked just fine there and we explored some new caves down to 350 feet. We got our ass beat by rough seas for many days but did get some awsome dives in.

Check out our free Armadillo Sidemount Manual and articles at

www.advanceddivermagazine.com