Sidemount training????

[ColdH2O]

Hey Dave, looks like I will have someone to go sidemount diving/learning with now . I have talked to a guy from Vancouver who would be willing to come over and teach a course if there were a few interested, it's pretty expensive to get him to come over just to teach me though. Let me know if you are interested, but I do have to go back to Halifax mid June for a 10 week course. BTW I will have to come get that Petrel soon .

 

[MSargeant]

For any Brits out there i've trained with Garry Dallas of simplysidemount.com, he is a fantastic instructor and i would happily reccomend him to anyone.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I am curious what training those of you who dive sidemount have taken, if any?

None. Had some people give me advice here and there over the years but most of it has been trial and error.

Is there a need for sidemount training for open water type diving?

There's not need for sidemount training at all if you have the time to devote to learning it.

What did you learn from sidemount training and was it valuable?

Never took a sidemount course but what I give my students is most of what I've learned over the past several years in a matter of a couple of days. Sure you can go out and learn it yourself through trial and error but you'll spend a lot more doing those dives than you would in a 2 day class. If you have the time, go for it. If you would rather learn and dive, then do that. Also, a good sidemount training program isn't just about setting up the gear and diving. It's about why gear is set up the way it is. There is more than one way to approach sidemount and none of it is really wrong. As long as there are no safety issues it's fine. Beware the sidemount diver that insists his way is the best. While it may be the best for him it's not necessarily the best for everyone.

 

[tphelps]

I learned from the Utila Dive Center in Honduras, the birthplace of the PADI sidemount course (at least thats what I was told). I was trained and certified to instruct the PADI distinctive specialty course. Looking back at old pictures from my course, man my trim sucked! But since doing Tec SM and with almost 100 SM dives, its improved a lot.

I think sm training is good because it builds a good foundation for later "trial and error," experimenting with your configuration. But one thing that I am a bit uneasy about is the low prerequisite requirements (at least for PADI). I don't think I would accept a newly trained diver (or do an OW class) for sidemount. The increased redundancy (and awesomeness) poses new challenges outside of basic OW. Because of that, I feel perceptual narrowing or task loading can become an issue.

Outside of rebreathers, sidemount is my favorite way to dive. SM has taught me a lot about streamlining which I pass on to all my students. After my experiences now, I don't think I could ever do doubles when I could sidemount instead. Great questions Dave, I'm interested to read the other responses to this as well. Cheers all.

---------- Post added April 28th, 2013 at 11:25 PM ----------

Here's a bit of fun... two are active sidemount instructors (self-taught, I think) with decades of diving experience. Two are sidemount students, on their sidemount training courses.

Benefit of proper training?

View attachment 153438

Sure i'll bite. A and C are the instructors because they have good trim. B and D are the students because they're all over the place. (or so i think)

 

[Joost Arnold]

I did the sidemount specialty (PADI) on Sint Maarten (Carribean Dive College). I think it's a good idea to take a specialty course, if that course is given by an instructor that really has the experience to teach sidemount. You learn a lot about configuration and procedures that are different from backmount diving. I don't know if the specialty really should be mandatory, and I really don't care. I liked to do the specialty and I think it had added value for me. I would recommend doing it to anybody that wants to start diving sidemount. You can also turn this question around: What's wrong taking the course if you get to make four or more nice dives with an experienced instructor?

 

[DevonDiver]

Sure i'll bite. A and C are the instructors because they have good trim. B and D are the students because they're all over the place. (or so i think)

A & C are students... both AOW qualified and both on their initial PADI Tec Sidemount courses. B & D are qualified and active sidemount instructors (experience dubious).

It doesn't prove anything, other than you need to choose your instructor carefully and that training can lead to accelerated results.

 

[Ulfhedinn]

I have taken UTD's Essentials of SideMount and I am "stumbling" around in UTD Tech 1 side mounted. I had previously taken my classes in backmount and dove back mount.

 

[Superlyte27]

Here's a bit of fun... two are active sidemount instructors (self-taught, I think) with decades of diving experience. Two are sidemount students, on their sidemount training courses.

Benefit of proper training?

View attachment 153438

I can't really tell what's going on with Diver C, but A, B, & D are all jacked up.

 

[Colliam7]

I learned from the Utila Dive Center in Honduras, the birthplace of the PADI sidemount course (at least thats what I was told). I was trained and certified to instruct the PADI distinctive specialty course.

Hmm. That's interesting. The PADI Distinctive Specialty was authored by someone (in FL) not directly affiliated with UDC (as far as I know). And, the same author of the DS (a PADI CD) was instrumental in developing the PADI Recreational and Tec SM courses. I have some confusion seeing how UDC could be the 'birthplace of the PADI sidemount course'. But, I may be missing something.

It sounds more like marketing hype that fact.

 

[DevonDiver]

But, I may be missing something.

I understood it the same as you. I can't see any connection with Utila?