Situations where side mount become PITA?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Question for side-mounters doing decompression dives.What are the diving situations in which you guys feel you were wearing a backmount instead? I have never been in a side mount but it appears that on a rocking boat in high seas, side-mount people are often in need of more "assistance." Secondly, when the dive is over and you are coming back on the boat, how much of a hassle is that to climb up a bouncing ladder? Every time the boat tilts, the weight of two HP-100s is trying to pull you to one side when it tilts the other way you are swaying like a hippo to the other side with all that weight.

PITA no?

 

[Stoo]

I dive from a RHIB at home and on occasion, I have friends diving SM out with me. My overall impression is that ya, it's a PITA on a small boat. And the reason I decided not to pursue it.

In my case, we just haul our butts in over the tubes to get back into the boat. With doubles, we clip them off and haul them in later. With SM, it's drop two tanks (both of which are at risk of sinking if you drop them) and then the harness, since it often has lead attached to it, which would make it harder to get back in.

I have asked a couple of my friends why they didn't just drop the entire rig in one step, and the usual reply is "oh... that would have been a good idea..." so I think it just didn't occur to them.

I see SM as an excellent option for shore diving and OH environments, but I'm not sure it has much benefit (other than easy access to valves etc, which is a definite bonus) in OW.

 

[Patoux01]

Maybe in very heavy seas, but then again, carrying 50kg on my back doesn't sound smart either in such a situation.

Only once did I have issues with diving sidemount, that's when the boat was full of people with huge bcds that would stick out in front of my tank, and then having people complain I'm taking more time to get ready.

I'd never even think of removing the harness, if you're able to climb a ladder up with a D-12 on your back, you can certainly carry 10kg of lead up... Same goes for climbing on a rib, give 2 kicks, pull with your arms and you're in. Not with tanks of course.


Could be because I'm quite fitter than the average diver and/or I'm a lot more flexible/stable, but to me it's a problem that is hugely blown out of proportions.

Not sure how "Every time the boat tilts, the weight of two HP-100s is trying to pull you to one side when it tilts the other way you are swaying like a hippo to the other side with all that weight." does not apply to backmount... It's not like tanks are bouncing all over the place, or maybe we're talking about ****-mount and not sidemount ?

 

[rjack321]

Splashing in high current sites off small boats with a scooter and a deco bottle is awful. Its a bear to get geared up sitting on a tube; hard to clip in multiple cylinders by yourself while seated and sometimes you just can't reach - especially in dry gloves. Its already a pain enough to backroll in with a scooter in your lap.

Sidemount is lovely, in the right place & time. And it sucks when its not the right rig, just like being in backmount in a sidemount cave sucks. Pick the right tool for the job, don't be one of those people who's so narrow minded that you think there's some holy grail of a gear config.

 

[Diver-Drex]

I'm not understanding why you would think two hp 100s in SM is more weight than the same cylinders in BM. The weight is lower in SM which is an advantage for stability over backmounted doubles. I dive a Nomad LTZ and use the ring bungies, so I don't deal with the tank remove issues and they are securely attached to me for entries and exits.

 

[tbone1004]

me personally? It always is and has been a PITA for all diving. I've been sidemounting for 7 years, and have yet to find a situation where I find it "easier" than doubles. There are situations where it's better, like cave diving, and in certain cave systems it is easier to get in and out of with because of the single tank removal *basically when you have to climb out instead of stairs/ladder* but in most scenarios I prefer doubles both in the water and for the entry/exit portions. This leads me to dive sidemount in caves, and only in OW when I am doing gear tweaking. Medical reasons aside, I really don't see the point in sidemount for all diving aspects. Many of my dive buddies disagree with me, and that's fine. I may also be skewed from thousands of hours in backmount, but I have logged quite a bit in sidemount over the years, and I still grab my doubles when teaching and if I want the quick and easy way into the water

 

[kelemvor]

Question for side-mounters doing decompression dives.What are the diving situations in which you guys feel you were wearing a backmount instead? I have never been in a side mount but it appears that on a rocking boat in high seas, side-mount people are often in need of more "assistance." Secondly, when the dive is over and you are coming back on the boat, how much of a hassle is that to climb up a bouncing ladder? Every time the boat tilts, the weight of two HP-100s is trying to pull you to one side when it tilts the other way you are swaying like a hippo to the other side with all that weight.

PITA no?

If your tanks are swinging around independently of your body then you're not properly sidemounting. My sidemount instructor called it "side slung". The only times I've sidemounted in open water that was anything but calm has been from 45ish foot newton boats. In that situation, I didn't have any more trouble re boarding sidemounted than I can recall with backmount. Either way you look at it, if you've got two hp100's strapped to your body, you've got a good deal of weight to manage. In backmount you also have a few extra pounds for the manifold. (I've never doubled HP100's, always used my LP108's or borrowed LP95's)

If you're not comfortable sidemounting like that then by all means, backmount. But if you want to sidemount in that situation, some additional training in sidemount might remedy the problems you're having.

I think those problems tend to happen when divers think they know how to dive and don't bother getting additional instruction when they buy their sidemount rig. If you read my posts, you know I'm not a huge fan of "extraneous" classes. I only did the SM class because my LDS included it at no extra charge with the bcd. I'm glad I bothered, I learned a good deal.

 

[Tassi Devil Diver]

Where there is a need for carrying multiple stage/ deco bottles. This looks like a total cluster **** to me, and seems more like stomach mount for those additional tanks.

 

[cerich]

Question for side-mounters doing decompression dives.What are the diving situations in which you guys feel you were wearing a backmount instead? I have never been in a side mount but it appears that on a rocking boat in high seas, side-mount people are often in need of more "assistance." Secondly, when the dive is over and you are coming back on the boat, how much of a hassle is that to climb up a bouncing ladder? Every time the boat tilts, the weight of two HP-100s is trying to pull you to one side when it tilts the other way you are swaying like a hippo to the other side with all that weight.

PITA no?

actually when trained properly I find SM more stable on land and on a boat than backmount ...but many aren't taught well

 

[Schwob]

actually when trained properly I find SM more stable on land and on a boat than backmount ...but many aren't taught well

So how to go about getting taught well and knowing that will be the case beforehand? Seems an easier call to make with hindsight...
I know, find out about the instructor, try to ask questing (easier said than done when you are not so sure how to weed out the answers you really should like from those you should not like... and what the smart questions would be to ask).
And, hypothetically, if the two LDS that seem to offer a SM class, do it in a quarry w/o a boat and / or aren't all that supportive of asking the instructor then how do you find out how far to drive or fly for it (and then you really want to be sure, because your expenses just went thru the roof compared to doing it locally...
What would be taught in a good SM class?