Mark Michaud SELAUSAR
Contributor
Not sure how this turned into a GUE / DIR / UDT conversation. Sidemount is an optional setup for diving, ie cave diving in this thread. At 20 something what looks like handicapped people that need to just go into their cave and die, will look much different when a person is 40 something, or 50 something and so on. (No flame or jab intended Gator). Our perception reflects our life as it is right now and as it was before now. Being pretty healthy as we get older doesn't mean our joints have not been through many more revolutions that they had been at 20 something when most of us were in our prime. Personally, I wanted to see some smaller cave, but I also wanted to make a pre-emptive strike on old age. By lightenting the load topside I can add years to my diving.
I am 46 years old. I was standing in a bayou the other day, putting bags on a car to raise and float it to an extraction point. I had a thought........."Mark you are almost 47 years old" I then thought that I can see myself doing this well into my 50's. It's not a young persons game anymore. If I have a bit more drag in sidemount, how many less feet of cave am I actually not gonna see? Is it that huge of a difference? Being completely optimal is not all that. If I can goose step down a large open cave in perfect trim, that's fine. If I can hover in the deco zone without moving, cool. I prefer to pin myself to the ceiling so I can rest on deco, but if I can't I can hover like a champ. But, many days I come out of a cave dirty as heck because I dived some small stuff, without damaging any limestone or formations. Pushing through sand and silt or such is the nature of the beast in smaller cave.
When team / goal oriented diving I can see a need for standardization. On the other hand, If I am not my own best buddy I can't be yours. I probably won't backmount anymore (doubles) but that is my preference. I have more options in s/m. Now, if there is a cave that is better dived in doubles, I can have my regs changed in a few minutes and I will rent a set for that dive. It would be the right tool for that dive.
Either way, s/m is not just for the handicapped or small cave. That way of thinking is too rigid and thinking that is too rigid is not safe, especially when there is a major problem. The more tools and options we have, the safer we will be. There is a lot to be said for thinking on the fly and the old Marine Corp motto, improvise, adapt, and overcome. But then, that is why I probably do most of my diving solo, or maybe it is because I am a PITA and not a social butterfly. FWIW
I am 46 years old. I was standing in a bayou the other day, putting bags on a car to raise and float it to an extraction point. I had a thought........."Mark you are almost 47 years old" I then thought that I can see myself doing this well into my 50's. It's not a young persons game anymore. If I have a bit more drag in sidemount, how many less feet of cave am I actually not gonna see? Is it that huge of a difference? Being completely optimal is not all that. If I can goose step down a large open cave in perfect trim, that's fine. If I can hover in the deco zone without moving, cool. I prefer to pin myself to the ceiling so I can rest on deco, but if I can't I can hover like a champ. But, many days I come out of a cave dirty as heck because I dived some small stuff, without damaging any limestone or formations. Pushing through sand and silt or such is the nature of the beast in smaller cave.
When team / goal oriented diving I can see a need for standardization. On the other hand, If I am not my own best buddy I can't be yours. I probably won't backmount anymore (doubles) but that is my preference. I have more options in s/m. Now, if there is a cave that is better dived in doubles, I can have my regs changed in a few minutes and I will rent a set for that dive. It would be the right tool for that dive.
Either way, s/m is not just for the handicapped or small cave. That way of thinking is too rigid and thinking that is too rigid is not safe, especially when there is a major problem. The more tools and options we have, the safer we will be. There is a lot to be said for thinking on the fly and the old Marine Corp motto, improvise, adapt, and overcome. But then, that is why I probably do most of my diving solo, or maybe it is because I am a PITA and not a social butterfly. FWIW