What's with sidemount?

[Lobzilla]

... But I don't appreciate unsolicited comments from boat crew about the appropriateness of my equipment choices...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Exactly. Like I refrain from walking up to the captain and telling him to swap his Detroit engines for something more sociable (and this not just because I have a soft spot for Jimmies).

 

[coldwatercanada]

I'm not offended or grimacing at anyone, I'm just trying to figure out if it's a fad, if it's cool factor, or if, as PADI says, it's the diving wave of the future.

I don't disagree, My sidemount course was a 15 minute lecture followed by 3 skills in the pool. Less experenced divers get a long course, much like drysuit. If you have 600 dives before jumping into a drysuit my drysuit pool class usually takes about 10 minutes lol if you have far less sometimes we spend upwards of an hour-2 in the pool.

The reason i took myside mount course was 1. I like cards!!! 2. The chance i had to take it was during a sidemount class 3. I also paid 400$s less then 400$ucks 5. Im starting my tec diving and was told that in a drysuit sidemount is easier and more comfertable. 5. All the cool kids are doing it!!!

I'm at the point that I'm looking for new and interesting classes to take, New skills to learn for diving and this happened to come up. The other thing you have to remember is Yes these courses come out to make padi, ssi, tdi money, But lots of divers need a hand to develope their skills! Not all divers dive with experenced buddies or work for dive shops and how they learn new skills isnt by utubing then going out diving its by taking classes!!!

So in my opinion I'd answer all of the above!!!!!!

 

[Lobzilla]

..We only carry half the folks on tech charters...

I am still not convinced that this is due to doubles or SM tanks. I guess it is because of stages, scooters, reel crates, etc. Even 104s fully kitted up fit on the (not exactly big) seat of my convertible.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So... I don't understand. There seems to be plenty of room on Peace for whatever you want. Scooters, singles, doubles, I think I saw a rebreather with bailout there too. Why wouldn't they like your sidemount over doubles? They seem to have a system to place them in a rack, they must fill them in that fill pond they have, and the entire back deck is taken up with gear. Why would they care if you were diving sidemount. I don't when folks are allowed doubles, I don't care if they choose sidemount instead. We only carry half the folks on tech charters.

Those tanks you saw on the back were all deco and/or stage bottles. The comments I got from the Peace crew weren't so much about the space my rig was taking up as that they didn't think it was appropriate for open water diving. To be fair, I was pretty new at it and taking a bit longer getting on and off the boat than my back-mounted companions. On the other hand, nobody seemed to mind that except the boat crew. It was a bit off-putting, to the point where after the first day I just didn't want to hear about it anymore.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Buoyant1]

I'm not offended or grimacing at anyone, I'm just trying to figure out if it's a fad, if it's cool factor, or if, as PADI says, it's the diving wave of the future.

Not reading through the whole thread...but my take is that it's a tool, as you said, but it's turned into a FAD! (and another way for the equipment manufacturers to make more $$)

I honestly think it HAS it's place in diving, but the way the magazines and online sites are pushing it, it's almost like they are saying "LOOK A NEW WAY TO DIVE!" :shocked2:

But I see it as a tool for certain applications, and a way for people with back problems to get TWO STEEL CYLINDERS off of their backs and still have the convenience of that much gas to breathe!

I've seen what a guy at my local quarry does...he carries the individual cylinders to the waters edge, gets INTO the water, then clips everything together, with no stress or strain on his back...then afterwards he un-clips before exiting the water... Me...I have to lug the twin 119's up the hill to the set up area on my old tired, cranky back!

 

[coldwatercanada]

thats exactly what we do, have the guys in the boat pass the tanks too you

 

[Kevrumbo]

Seriously. Sidemount is a tool. It can be a tool to get through a restriction, it can be a tool to get weight off the lower back, but don't give me any crap about getting it off the knees, weight is weight as far as the knees are concerned. It can be a tool to allow easier no-mount diving, but it is not the end all-be all to diving.

I've seen 2 threads recently where one diver was told he had to have a card to sidemount dive at a resort in Roatan. Another diver was told that he couldn't take any extended range classes unless he had a sidemount cert. Horse Hockey! Sidemount isn't a certification, it's a diving style. It's a diving style to allow you to do things that back mount doesn't allow for. I've watched wreck divers on the Oriskany dive sidemount and not be able to get through doors because sidemount isn't the proper tool for getting through tall narrow openings. I've watched sidmount divers try to board the boat with their steel 104's on have to shimmey and shake because they don't fit between the rail openings (which are mandated by the Coast Guard). And I keep seeing sidemount divers smash their first stages into the bulkheads of my boat because sidemount may be easier on the back, but it's way harder to balance with on a rocking boat.

So, why the great emphasis on sidemount for tech divers. Sidemount is just another tool for the toolbag. It isn't the only way to dive, and can be downright dangerous in the wrong situation.

The advantage for me as a traveling tech/wreck diver to Oceania/SE Asia regions is that I don't have to carry a set of conventional backmount bands/isolation manifold/valves in my already overweight luggage to assemble later on common single 11L tanks supplied by the dive operation, or rely on the destination dive operation to have a set of assembled & configured manifolded doubles.

I just pack my Z-Sidemount System and go. . .!

 

[Wookie]

I am still not convinced that this is due to doubles or SM tanks. I guess it is because of stages, scooters, reel crates, etc. Even 104s fully kitted up fit on the (not exactly big) seat of my convertible.

That is a big part of it (the extra gear). The other part is the extra staff we carry on tech charters. Along with the regular 6 crew, we have a DSO, 2 mates, 1 or 2 gas blenders depending on the balance of rebreathers to O/C, and 2 in-water DM's (the trip leaders).

Bob, was your Peace trip a tech trip, or was there just a lot of tecchies along on a rec trip?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Those tanks you saw on the back were all deco and/or stage bottles. The comments I got from the Peace crew weren't so much about the space my rig was taking up as that they didn't think it was appropriate for open water diving. To be fair, I was pretty new at it and taking a bit longer getting on and off the boat than my back-mounted companions. On the other hand, nobody seemed to mind that except the boat crew. It was a bit off-putting, to the point where after the first day I just didn't want to hear about it anymore.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

The crew of Peace are great bunch. They always tease me a bit about all the gear, doubles, argon, deco bottles, scooters, canister lights, etc. Like many professional dive boat crew they either free dive or use the absolute bare minimum of scuba gear and I think I do amuse them.

I've never found it off putting, just playful. The crew of the Peace has always gone the extra mile (or two) to deliver a great experience for me.

Tobin

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That is a big part of it (the extra gear). The other part is the extra staff we carry on tech charters. Along with the regular 6 crew, we have a DSO, 2 mates, 1 or 2 gas blenders depending on the balance of rebreathers to O/C, and 2 in-water DM's (the trip leaders).

Bob, was your Peace trip a tech trip, or was there just a lot of tecchies along on a rec trip?

Ours was purely a recreational trip ... although probably the majority of the divers aboard have some level of tech training and equipment. I think everyone brought a scooter ... some sites were rather challenging conditions, and having a scooter made it much easier getting back to the boat ... or in a couple cases, made it possible to get back to the boat.

Some of the folks were carrying stages or oxygen because they were diving aggressive profiles ... but the depths on all of these dives were within recreational limits ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)