I don't get side mount?

[Pinecube]

On the plus side, maybe with two tanks I'd finally have enough air to stay down as long as my wife is able to on a single tank!

1) Well... it moves the rigid cylinder(s) away from your back and thus mobilizes your back. You won't notice the cylinders anymore

Out of curiosity, judging the photos of sidemount divers I've seen, is it common to knock your arms off of the first stage or the tanks themselves? Or worse, your notso-funnybone?

 

[shoredivr]

Not that I've experienced.

 

[AfterDark]

I went sidemount primarily because it was a cheaper way to dive doubles. I already had two regulators and two tanks. I was lead to believe that installing/removing a manifold is a complete PITA and therefore you should dedicate manifold doubles to the task. This meant for me that I'd have to buy a manifold and an extra set of tanks. The flip side of that was to buy a sidemount BCD. I did end up also buying some new hoses but all in all I saved well over $500.

It broke down like this:
Backmount:
2 tanks
2 valves
manifold
bands
doubles wing

Sidemount:
2 HP hoses
1 valve
BCD

It was in prep for cave classes and the instructor was recommending SM anyway. However, now that I know a little more about it. The concept of removing tanks, squeezing through and reattaching them. Something I probably won't be attempting for years. So it turns out this is not really relevant. By that time I could be diving a rebreather or something.

The sidemount class came integrated into the cost of the BCD.

I'm gonna have to concur with TS&M. Shore diving in sidemount is a real PAIN IN THE BUTT. Next time I shore dive it will be backmount single. The shore dives available to me don't require doubles anyway, I was just getting practice in that configuration at the time.

My solution was ID's. I had everything I needed already, going IDs didn't cost more than a second SPG that I bought used on Ebay. No manifolds, no dedicated doubles and I can still carry both tanks separately until I band them together. A much cheaper and more practical solution for doubles than SM for the diving I do anyway.

 

[SidemountIsBetter]

Just my two cents. I qualified my OW in December 2013. I dived BM for three months and after I did my sidemount course I ditched my normal BC and switched to sidemount completely. I've also dive with a Ocean Reef full face mask with a switch block. I agree with some of the users on the board that initially learning to setup your cylinders, BC and bungees takes a lot of time and you have to be willing to buy your own equipment as it has to be tailored to your needs. Like everything in diving, practice makes perfect. Kit up takes me about 8 minutes now (before the cylinders go on the boat or gets taken down to the shore entry point) and once on the boat or in the water it takes me a minute or two to hook my cylinders up and get comfy. A backmount diver never has to wait for me.

I've logged about 50 dives on sidemount since then and I will probably never BM again if I can help it but it's a personal preference thing. I've also moved into technical diving and I can comfortably say I'll never be diving twins, ever...never ever... It just doesn't make sense with sidemount options being available. Twinsets are heavy and shutdown drills are complicated. I also read someone saying that doing deco dives with sidemount is stupid and dangerous. I honestly cannot fathom why someone would say that? For me a three cylinder setup is great. I cannot imagine having to do a shutdown drill in my dry suit with a twinset on my back and two deco cylinders in the front.

What sidemount is to me:

- Longer dives;
- Safer dives as you always have a backup first stage regulator even on recreational dives;
- Redundancy makes you self reliant as we all know you can not rely on your buddy;
- Much more convenient shore entries as you carry your cylinders to the water before you get into your wet/dry suit and BC;
- Much better buoyancy in my case. I struggled hard with my buoyancy until I discovered sidemount;
- Streamlined and comfortable if you do it right no matter what anyone says. I even did a couple of dives with two 15l cylinders with a sidemount setup and it was so comfortable I didn't even know they were there;

Like they always say, you need to find the course that fits your horse. In my opinion sidemount takes a long time to sort out and learn what works for you but once you get it right, it's the best way to dive. However, if you've tried it and don't get it then stick with what you know! Do what we all love and just dive whichever way feels right for you.

 

[nzpw]

I recently got sidemount qualified after doing a couple of "try dives" with 2 different instructors... Having only ever dived single BM I found sidemount to be a breath of fresh air. The improved COG, the flexibility, the grace in which you can float through the water - all appealing and we'll worth getting qualified for IMO... But that's for me. It won't be for everyone, and people certainly have their preferences and ideas about what is right for them.
There can be delays in getting kitted just to start the dive. But I have found that providing you aren't switching configs all the time then getting kitted to dive does get quicker each time (for a newbie like me). I caveat this by saying all my diving on SM has largely been lake shore diving therefore no boat, current, surge etc.
I dive OW and have only done a handful of overhead environment dives (wrecks) with qualified dives (all without leaving natural light). I definitely see the benefit SM would bring with cave diving, and some wreck diving too (mindful of increased width of SM for some wrecks). But I don't understand why some think diving SM in OW is a waste of time.... People dive dub BM in open water... Same same IMO... Just a difference in preference over where the tanks are!

 

[Nemrod]

I've been reading about side mount as the newest biggest thing since sliced bread, but I personally don't get why it has become so popular. Is it just because it's something new?
I'm not bagging on it, I just don't understand it.
I can see the use for caving since it gives more room above you so you don't scrape tanks on the ceiling, but just for everyday open water diving I'm failing to see the appeal.
It would seem to me that having tanks to your sides would seriously get in the way. I remember even having a slung 40 was annoying.
I haven't seen anybody where I dive using a sidemount rig, is it an east coast and midwest thing?
What is the advantage in open water besides having access to valves within easy reach?
What about walking or hiking with them?
Is the whole harness system more or less complicated that a regular BP/W?
Is there such a thing as just having one on one side?
Or is there a center slung belly tank for singles.

Somebody please explain it to me.

Just asking questions.

No worries, after side mount wears down in novelty there will be the new fangled belly mount. All the coolest kids will be all over it.

N

 

[BDSC]

Just to make sure I understand it right, when you dive sidemount with a tank on each side, does each tank have it's own reg/pressure gauge/computer? In other words you have two independant set-ups?

 

[chrisch]

Just to make sure I understand it right, when you dive sidemount with a tank on each side, does each tank have it's own reg/pressure gauge/computer? In other words you have two independant set-ups?

Your understanding is correct.

 

[tbone1004]

Just to make sure I understand it right, when you dive sidemount with a tank on each side, does each tank have it's own reg/pressure gauge/computer? In other words you have two independant set-ups?

correct but I have never seen anyone dive sidemount with an AI computer. They will have one first, one second, one SPG, and most of the dive each tank will have an inflator hose on it because we are too lazy to take the drysuit hose off if we're diving wet.

You also have to switch second stages regularly to keep the tanks balanced. Just a nature of the beast, nothing wrong with it, but it does force you to stay on your toes with regards to your air consumption.

 

[BDSC]

Thanks.

The reason I asked was this. A few years back I was in a thread about diving doubles and someone asked about rigging up doubles as separate systems instead of having the typical manifold where the two tanks were tied together. The guy was thinking of doing it that way. Along came post after post after post why that was a bad idea and dangerous and why it should never be done. Now comes along sidemount and it seems it's the only practical way of doing it and I have seen various threads why rigging up the two tanks as single entities is a better way to dive.