FM1520
Contributor
I've been looking at the UTD sidemont system but I'm pretty happy with my DSS single backmount with a steel LP95. Just can seem to justify the switch....but I'm trying.
if you are thinking of trying this....DO IT
- Thread starter rick00001967
- Start date
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SanDiegoSidemount
Contributor
loquat149
Contributor
OP
you are correct. it was the stealth. i have nothing to compare to of course but i thought it worked well for me. i was joking that the three of us there could have shot an Apex, Xdeep, light monkey commercial. haha
Plus 1 for that - I tried to find one local to me, seems none of them had done more than the minimum to pick up the specialty instructor card. I got hold of some books and SM DVD's and basically self taught/converted. I have now got about 5 hours underwater time on SM and am loving it. - P
victorzamora
Contributor
If you really are in Cyprus, I'd consider a Steve Martin course (or the like). There are plenty of GOOD sidemount instructors near you (mostly in the Red Sea) and those courses are VERY much worth taking. The SM DVD you're probably talking about is......not really quality. There's a big name associated, but the proof is in the pudding. The sidemounting shown in that video is VERY poor.
Hi Victor, I'm not sure what you mean by "if you really are in Cyprus" - at the moment I am sat in the Merit Hotel in Nicosia where I spend two weeks every month. The Red Sea is not accessible to me as I am required to be in Cyprus where the projects I am working are are based. In the north of Cyprus there are NO side mount instructors at all, and for various reasons I don't get to dive much in the south but haven't found a decent one there yet.
In the UK I have one side mount 'qualified' instructor near me, but I know him personally and he has told me he has just done the bare minimum and doesn't dive side mount himself. So my options are limited.
Also I don't know how you know which DVDs or books I am talking about, or that they are not good quality, I have never mentioned a name at all.
Sorry - but I just had to respond to the tone and unfounded assumptions in your reply - all the best Phil.
victorzamora
Contributor
Sorry, I meant if you're spending much time in Cyprus....like, "living" there. I didn't mean that accusatorially. I simply meant that living much further out than Cyprus could make the trip to the Red Sea more expensive. Change that "If you really are" to "Since you are" and it reads much more like I meant it. The reason I didn't assume you lived there was because a lot of people put "Coz" in their location, because they dive there twice a year.
As for the DVD, I said "probably" because there's one big one out there. I had to unlearn most of it as it was giving me truly shoddy results. If it's the one I'm talking about, the quality of the video is good....but the content is very much lacking.
I meant no offense by any of my comments, and am glad your friend advised away from him teaching you. However, he might be able to help still. If you have an underwater video camera OR a good buddy (or both), you can figure out your trim fairly easily. It's diving and having nobody with good "eyes" judging your setup. You can also get your hose routing knocked out pretty quickly with the help of a buddy. Dive time here is crucial. I like pools for this kind of stuff because you have a solid ledge near you where you can change things on dry land. It'll take a lot of changing to get it JUST right. What tanks you use is also a big deal.
As for the DVD, I said "probably" because there's one big one out there. I had to unlearn most of it as it was giving me truly shoddy results. If it's the one I'm talking about, the quality of the video is good....but the content is very much lacking.
I meant no offense by any of my comments, and am glad your friend advised away from him teaching you. However, he might be able to help still. If you have an underwater video camera OR a good buddy (or both), you can figure out your trim fairly easily. It's diving and having nobody with good "eyes" judging your setup. You can also get your hose routing knocked out pretty quickly with the help of a buddy. Dive time here is crucial. I like pools for this kind of stuff because you have a solid ledge near you where you can change things on dry land. It'll take a lot of changing to get it JUST right. What tanks you use is also a big deal.
Hi Victor - my "bristle" was a bit tongue in cheek so no offence was really taken - I agree that it is easier to get from here to Red Sea resorts, than from my home in the UK, and I could do it quite cheaply (free on my air miles even) if it wasn't for the fact that when I am not here I spend my time at home with my wife and family. Getting a 'pass' to spend more time away from home isn't easy (understandably).
When I am here I dive all day Saturday/Sunday but am limited in the dive op's and sites I can get to within an hour or so. I'm lucky my regular dive buddy is the head of the diving association here and a well qualified instructor.
In the UK through my club I have access to a pool every Thursday which has a 5 metre bottom (an Olympic diving pit) so spent a couple of weeks playing around with buoyancy and trim and so on before I went to open water in anger. I am fairly comfortable I have got things about right (or at least safe), what I did was set a video running and filmed my early attempts, then changed things around. I have dived open water SM now in my drysuit to 20 metres in the UK and had no issues, and spent 2 ½ hours last weekend diving SM in a wetsuit in the Med going over everything I could think of including tank removal and replacement etc.
Tomorrow will be spent playing about with boat entry and exit from a RHIB to see what issues that throws up. My buddy is a CMAS national instructor - no SM experience but interested and a very competent/safe diver so we are basically taking each session like a lesson and just working through things until I am happy. Sort of like a personal class, but working through it together. If she doesn't understand or agree with what we are doing she says so and we don't do it.
We have a bail out plan each dive, both feel comfortable with what we are doing, and we are the only divers in the water so we are not under any time pressure.
I agree still no replacement for a good class with a competent instructor - but that isn't going to be east for me just now. P
When I am here I dive all day Saturday/Sunday but am limited in the dive op's and sites I can get to within an hour or so. I'm lucky my regular dive buddy is the head of the diving association here and a well qualified instructor.
In the UK through my club I have access to a pool every Thursday which has a 5 metre bottom (an Olympic diving pit) so spent a couple of weeks playing around with buoyancy and trim and so on before I went to open water in anger. I am fairly comfortable I have got things about right (or at least safe), what I did was set a video running and filmed my early attempts, then changed things around. I have dived open water SM now in my drysuit to 20 metres in the UK and had no issues, and spent 2 ½ hours last weekend diving SM in a wetsuit in the Med going over everything I could think of including tank removal and replacement etc.
Tomorrow will be spent playing about with boat entry and exit from a RHIB to see what issues that throws up. My buddy is a CMAS national instructor - no SM experience but interested and a very competent/safe diver so we are basically taking each session like a lesson and just working through things until I am happy. Sort of like a personal class, but working through it together. If she doesn't understand or agree with what we are doing she says so and we don't do it.
We have a bail out plan each dive, both feel comfortable with what we are doing, and we are the only divers in the water so we are not under any time pressure.
I agree still no replacement for a good class with a competent instructor - but that isn't going to be east for me just now. P
victorzamora
Contributor
I figured with you being british you'd be thicker skinned than that! I also get not being able to, which is what the PM was for.
As far as getting things "safe" vs getting things "right".....there's a big discrepancy here. If you had two stage bottles and just carried them in your hands, but had regs within reach....you're fairly safe. However, tank trim and proper hose routing is what it takes to get things "right" and there's a big difference there. Once things "click" in SM, everything feels SO good. Good luck in your quest, and I hope you get it to really CLICK.
As far as getting things "safe" vs getting things "right".....there's a big discrepancy here. If you had two stage bottles and just carried them in your hands, but had regs within reach....you're fairly safe. However, tank trim and proper hose routing is what it takes to get things "right" and there's a big difference there. Once things "click" in SM, everything feels SO good. Good luck in your quest, and I hope you get it to really CLICK.
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