The Good, The Bad, The Ugly of Side Mount

[mainedvr]

I have not as of yet tried sidemount it may be in my future next year (was considering learning this year but to much already going on). Anyhow, was just wondering about the Pro's and Con's others have found with SM.

Thanks

 

[wmperry]

Only con I can think of is buying more gear, but that usually doesn't bother me too much. . Absolutely love diving sidemount on wrecks and sites with a lot of tight swim-throughs. I found myself yearning for my sidemount rig on a lot of dives in Cozumel the last few months.

If you are not used to multiple gas management already then that can take some getting used to, but you will be surprised how infrequently you have to switch regs to keep the cylinders within 400-500 psi of each other.

Another pro is if you are a traveling tec diver you can do extended range dives without worrying about the availability of manifolded doubles.

 

[billgraham]

Pros: safer, more flexible, travels better, swims better, etc. Cons: None that I've found in ten years.

 

[TwoCards]

I recently converted to sidemount and love it! I took a two day sidemount course and fifteen minutes into the first dive my instructor (Rob Neto) had me trimmed out perfectly. In the water I find sidemount to be much more comfortable than backmount, not hitting my head on the valve every time I look up is another plus. With the tanks being on my side I feel more stable in the water and hovering motionless has become a lot easier. The only negatives are the money I spent on new gear and it takes me a little longer to get set up before a dive.

 

[DevonDiver]

I see lots of pros - it's a great tool to have in the box.... and now my prefered method of diving 2+ cylinders. Not many cons - except the price of some commercially available rigs, but that should come down. You don't 'have' to spend $700 on the 'cool' brands. The new SMS50 is more reasonable ~$550)... and there's a tonne of options for DIY.

 

[TSandM]

I am not a sidemount diver, but here is what I learned from the couple of experiences I've had with it, and some thoughtful reflection during subsequent trips.

It FEELS wonderful. Having the center of mass of the tanks aligned with your center of gravity leads to a feeling of freedom in the water that's simply unmatched -- it feels even better than a well-balanced single tank. It gives you stability in many positions in the water. I loved the feeling.

But my primary interest in sidemount was as a way to ease carrying heavy gear, especially up and down multiple flights of stairs, as we do in many sites in Mexico. What I found, once I started diving stages, was that it was actually EASIER to carry two cylinders on my back, than to make two trips up and down the stairs, carrying one each time. With them on my back, I could use my hands to assist my balance and to work my way up difficult steps. With the bottles carried, I lost one hand always, and often both; I'm short enough that I can't carry an Al80 by the valve without significantly bending my elbow, which means it becomes easier to hold the valve in one hand and the base in the other. (I can't do the tank on the shoulder thing because of prior clavicle fractures.)

At sites like Jackson Blue, where you can run a hand truck right up to the water's edge, it isn't an issue. But at Grand Cenote or Pet Cemetery, the logistics of running multiple bottles up and down looms large. It's the biggest reason that I never went on to convert.

 

[PfcAJ]

Warning: Major Drawback Spoiler Alert! Go no farther if you're a die hard sidemounter.

A reg failure (diaphragm failure, hose rupture, o ring failure, etc) results in losing half your remaining gas. This is bad. It can be very bad. Reg failures are much more likely to happen than manifold failures, and with manifolded doubles, you still have access to all your remaining gas. Even a modest delay ascent or exit can result in you either a)drowning or b) ending up on a long hose (if your buddy has one). Bad.

You'll hear people talk about 'feathering the valve' (which only works for certain failure modes, and regs real interesting when you need two hands) and swapping regs (which could easily end in tears).

There's also a question of which hose to donate. Typically, with BM doubles, you just give up the one in your mouth. Certain SM configs do no then themselves to this. Also, I see lots of SM guys putting the longhose on the right tank. This is the tank that rolls OFF with contact in the bottom (valve knobs out). There are multiple accounts of SM rolloffs on CaveDiver.net. This could be bad, as well, especially if you're taking SM into smaller areas.

There IS increased complexity to the dive with gas switching, which takes up some mental bandwidth. If you don't need to add this complexity to your dive (small spaces), why add it? Dress up/ cool kid factor?

And run kicking and screaming from the UDT Z-System. SM can be done reasonably, and the Z-system is horrifying goobery.

 

[Adobo]

Pros: safer, more flexible, travels better, swims better, etc. Cons: None that I've found in ten years.

I can appreciate that some percentage of divers who evaluate sidemount will find that after weighing in all relevant factors, that sidemount is the best solution for their needs.

But to say that you can find no "con".... I mean, come on. Really?

You want the OP to walk away from the thread thinking that sidemount is in all ways superior to backmount and as a system, has no discernible faults?

 

[JahJahwarrior]

AJ makes great points. Fortunately sidemount has given me access to some great cave... I view sidemount as a tool. Every way of breathing underwater has drawbacks on certain dives, and people die on all of them. I think everyone should be aware of the ways to die on their particular breathing gas supply.

 

[JamesK]

everything has pros and cons. everything. personally I like side mount better then back mount, however it is not the be all end all of diving. I don't ever plan on doing another ow rec dive in back mount. I am much more comfortable in a single tank side mount setup. tech diving is different and side mount is another valuable tool in your arsenal. I think too many write off back mount, but even more write off side mount as a non functioning tool. either side is wrong IMO.

aj presents good counters on some of the drawbacks of side mount. it is one of those things you have to way the risks and the rewards.

dive safe.