Yeah, so I did a bit of research and Richard Harris did a great video series. I think I’m sticking with side mount for now. For me it boiled down to these factors (in case it helps anyone else)
- Cost vs benefit - my primary driver was to hit the deeper caves that have yet to be explored. I really enjoy doing that but the cost for proper training, gear, upkeep, etc, I can’t really justify it.
- Task overload - I’m a good diver, I’m not sure I’m a great diver meaning that, I’m not sure I’m ready to tackle the additional responsibilities and management of a system like this. In my research this was called out by a few people.
- Deaths related to diver error / mistakes - the price of failure oddly seems too high for me. I’m very confident I can do it, I’m more concerned about the one time I miss something.
- Personality and style - I’m careful, calm, and logical…. I don’t know if I’m detail oriented enough to own one of these. Call it a personal self assessment and limitation.
All in all I feel good about the decision and a huge thank you to everyone who gave me ideas, data, things to read, etc. I might still do the training just to see what it’s about, but for now I think I’ll be multi tank, tri mix, sidemount.