Sidemount options... reposting in more correct spot

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FYI the Xdeep Stealth Rec can hold maximum 3 aluminium 11L tanks, in the warm water (wet suit).
The Classic model (detached wing) is slightly larger and may be able to hold 4 tanks depending on your physical attributes (amount of weight needed etc).
If you need 4 tanks - get Tec model.
 
Thanks all,

To answer some of the questions posed:

I mainly want to dive sidemount to just dive sidemount. Deeper wrecks for me are going to be Great Lakes (one day, when I wish upon a star) type stuff. I want to take a cave class for the experience and skills/confidence that comes with it. That being said, I’m very confident and comfortable in the water now. When I first heard about sidemount I was against it, thinking to myself “self, this doesn’t seem like much “recreational diving”. It has since sparked my interest though.

I’ve heard a lot of good about the xdeep and was looking at the nomad simply because I can pick it up at my LDS.
 
Thanks all,

To answer some of the questions posed:

I mainly want to dive sidemount to just dive sidemount. Deeper wrecks for me are going to be Great Lakes (one day, when I wish upon a star) type stuff. I want to take a cave class for the experience and skills/confidence that comes with it. That being said, I’m very confident and comfortable in the water now. When I first heard about sidemount I was against it, thinking to myself “self, this doesn’t seem like much “recreational diving”. It has since sparked my interest though.

I found SM on a Great Lakes boat to be a cluster and a half. Maybe it's just me, but it was a mess. Switched to doubles.
 
I found SM on a Great Lakes boat to be a cluster and a half. Maybe it's just me, but it was a mess. Switched to doubles.

Agreed. I've rarely seen divers diving sidemount on Great Lakes charters. When they do, the crew hated it (because they had to handle so many more of those divers' bottles -- they were not shy about comments behind their back) and the divers took up twice as much precious bench space than everyone else, which tends to be *very* tight* on every Great Lakes charter I've ever done.

And they're not particularly conducive to going through corridors or hatches or stairways... Karst formations make perfect sense. Man-made shapes not as much.

But dive and let dive. It'll work, and it's perfectly safe. Just not optimal around here.
 
Agreed. I've rarely seen divers diving sidemount on Great Lakes charters. When they do, the crew hated it (because they had to handle so many more of those divers' bottles -- they were not shy about comments behind their back) and the divers took up twice as much precious bench space than everyone else, which tends to be *very* tight* on every Great Lakes charter I've ever done.

The regular captain I deal with grumbled as he always does (I call him “Captain Cranky” to his face, his wife told me she totally agrees :D). I just told him to eff off and we were good. Super nice guy. Just cranky. It was a good learning experience to do it with about 10-12 SM dives under my belt.
 
I mainly want to dive sidemount to just dive sidemount. Deeper wrecks for me are going to be Great Lakes (one day, when I wish upon a star) type stuff.

And why do you have to wait to dive deeper on the Great Lakes? There’s plenty of good wrecks within recreational limits, even 60ft and shallower!
 
I dive a DR Nomad LTZ. I like it and have no issues with it at all. I also have no experience with any other SM system, so I’m not comparing it to anything. But wet or dry with lp85s or hp100s and a 40cf deco bottle the LTZ has worked very well.
I dive wrecks in NJ, NC and the St Lawrence and I’ve had zero issues on the dives or with the boat crews. The noise I’ve heard about the Nomad is about the ring bungies. But to me those are the main draw for boat diving. I am fully rigged on the boat and I can climb any ladder. I put my rig on and let the bench clear a little before clipping in. I’m not in anyone’s way. I even made a point on a dive in NC of commenting to everyone watching me get ready that the issue with side mount divers taking so long is just a myth.
I will add that I’m a very athletic and strong 6’1” and 220lbs. So heaving lp85s or hp100s is no problem for me. This may be a challenge for others.
Again, I’ve got zero experience diving with other systems.

DD
 
I'm a senior, have been side mounting for 2 years, I use a nomad, viking drysuit, aluminum tanks.
I like loop bungies not the ring bungies.
I do like the flexibilty to dive a single back tank, by just adding tank cam straps.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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