Skip twinsets, go sidemount

[Colliam7]

You have received some good replies. I will echo some, and take issue with some. But, I will start with my responses to your questions / comments.

I don't know whether this observation is correct, but divers seem to switch to sidemount configuration from backmount twinsets.

You see more of this, than 'sidemount as the first doubles experience' because the majority of divers who start diving sidemount are still those who have already been diving backmount, and decided to try a different gear configuration That is changing a bit, but the pendulum definitely has not yet swung.

I feel tempted to skip backmount doubles and go straigt to sidemount. . . .
a. I'd like to dive in caves some day; Either starting point (BM or SM will work for you if you ultimately plan to dive caves.
b. I'm not exactly young. My diver's "life expectancy" is not as long I would wish. I should avoid making detours; BM is NOT a detour at all.
c. Haven't tried, but I can hardly imagine myself walking around with two big steel tanks on my back. Sidemount may offer at least a partial solution for that. Fortunately, the 'walking around' part is fairly limited, in BM or SM. But, this is a legitimate issue.
d. I could save some money for a manifold, a doubles' wing and other equipment I don't necessarily need and invest it in a better sidemount rig; Don't count on saving money either way. I appreciate your thinking - save on the manifold, bands, etc. But, I suspect most (not all, but many) divers who use SM also use some BM. There is NOTHING wrong with starting doubles in a SM rig (I encourage it). But, I wouldn't use cost as a reason.
How prudent would it be to skip the backmount doubles? Will it cause any limitations in dives I can perform, in courses I can take or perhaps in finding buddies? It is prudent, but not required. There should be no limitation on dives at all (despite some of the comments in the 'other' thread that I know you are following). And, if you have trouble finding buddies, because BM doubles divers don't want to dive with you just because you are in SM, look for other, competent buddies.

Now, I will comment on several other points that have come out in various posts.

there are many who sidemount and lack proficiency, many have homemade attachments which serve their purpose poorly. Unfortunately, these folks give sidemount a bad name by burdening the boat crew, taking forever to hit the water and having a setup that looks like they've used twine to secure 2 tanks, one on either side.

Have seen that as well. There is no reason a diver needs extra time to get kitted up on a boat, and get in the water, just because they are diving SM. I have seen boats where the crew (for some unknown reason) wants them to go in last, then 'blames' the diver, which is simply BS. But, I have also seen a few SM divers 'futz' with their gear too much, probably because of lack of familiarity with it.

Keep in mind that sidemount is primarily a solo configuration. Can air share be done? Sure, but the configuration isn't very conducive to it.

I don't understand this comment, and haven't seem Tammy give a clarification. Maybe, she is thinking of the differing hose lengths on each side that some SM divers use. But that should not be an issue. I still dive a 'holdover' BM configuration for SM - bungeed necklace on a short hose on the left, long (7') hose on the right. But, I keep my two cylinders within 500 psi of each other at all times, so if I need to donate, I do so from the right side (long hose), and go to my necklace reg on the left, with assurance that there is enough air in my right tank (or both of us are in the crapper). I have tried both ways - long hose on both sides, vs long hose on one side - it makes no difference to me. As JamesK said, the issue is not a SM issue - it is a gear issue (and a diver competence issue, for that matter - if you can't manage hoses with a doubles configuration, without getting them trapped, etc., you shouldn't be diving doubles, SM OR BM). Personally, I do not use the Z system - I don't see the need, although I think it is innovative. I like the simplicity of SM and don't want to add the manifold.

Or you can just use something like this and dive independent doubles on vacation. Ultimate Velcro Double Bands Reviews and News by Capt. Dan Berg

I fail to see any real advantages of a BM independent doubles system. It adds all the downsides - you still need the bands (steel or velcro, whatever), and you have to reach behind to manipulate your valves - and no particular advantages. OK, maybe if you already have the two reg sets, a BP and a wing, and your only expense is the bands, then it might be a bit cheaper. I have dove independent BM doubles while traveling - not a particular problem, but I sure prefer independent SM doubles for the ease of set-up and the buoyancy / trim characteristics in the water.

What I could probably say is, 'Ah, grasshopper, I had to start diving doubles using a manifolded BM configuration, so therefore you should as well.' But, that sounds a bit like, 'I had to walk uphill 5 miles, both ways, in the snow, carrying double 130s on my back and 2 decos bottles clipped on the left side of my harness, just to get to the dive site. Therefore, you must do that as well.'

 

[Johanan]

Colliam7, your inputs often excel with thoroughness. Thank you for answering my questions in such a helpful point-by-point way. I appreciate your time and attention.

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR POSTS! :cool3:

 

[ScoobaChef]

Or you can just use something like this and dive independent doubles on vacation.
Ultimate Velcro Double Bands Reviews and News by Capt. Dan Berg

Functionally independent doubles are the same as sidemount for gas management.

Easiest way of all to dive 2 tanks on vacation is backmount a single and sling a second 80.

I looked into a set of those a couple months ago for transporting tanks in my backpack (long story, don't ask). As far as I know The company stopped making them a while ago.

 

[Dam0]

I jumped straight to side mount, wanted two tanks but twin back mount just didn't appeal at all.

Really happy with the decision.

 

[Johanan]

Who was your instructor?

 

[mulla]

I'm someone that's got straight into SM from BM singles. Similar to what Dam0 has mentioned, lugging around twins in and out of cars for fills, in and out of smaller boats doesn't appeal to me. If I have a longer walk, personally I prefer to be able to carry them one at a time, less chance of falling over and less chance of damaging myself if I do fall.

I might take a bit longer to gear up compared to experienced BM people, but only by a minute or two, not sufficient to cause any dramas with commercial boats. The key is to do a lot of shore dives beforehand (which I did), before moving to boats. By that time you would have got your gearing up speed up to scratch. I also practice putting my gear together once a day at home to really drill in what goes where and how. Heck these days I can even get ready quicker than a lot of newbie students in BM singles. If needs be, just start gearing up a few minutes earlier.

Never had a buddy refuse to dive with me just because I'm in SM. I've probably had more curious BM'ers coming up and having a chat rather than refusing me. If anyone has that sort of close minded mentality, I don't want to be diving with them either.

SM is a lot of fun if you enjoy tweaking your setup to what suits and makes the most sense to you. I spent a good amount of time trying different attachment methods etc., and I enjoyed it. Hopefully, I don't step on anyone's toes but BM offers less room to tweak and deviate from the DIR standard (someone that's only tried BM doubles twice and hated it)

 

[Paladin]

I like back-mount twins. I have two sets: AL53s and ST72s. I tried SM last fall and I really didn't like it. Having tanks hanging off my sides felt awkward and uncomfortable. SM just isn't for me.

 

[String]

I don't know whether this observation is correct, but divers seem to switch to sidemount configuration from backmount twinsets.

A small vocal minority do. The vast majority of technical divers remain on twinsets.

a. I'd like to dive in caves some day;

Which with some exceptions (UK caves) you can do quite happily and arguably better gas management wise on a proper manifold backmount twinset.

b. I'm not exactly young. My diver's "life expectancy" is not as long I would wish. I should avoid making detours;

Need to ask yourself WHY you want sidemount really. You might actually want backmount.

c. Haven't tried, but I can hardly imagine myself walking around with two big steel tanks on my back. Sidemount offers a solution for that;

I find it a LOT easier to walk with 2 x 12l tanks on my back held nicely by the plate and harness than carrying 1 heavy 12l tank in each arm to and from the waters edge (plus more trips as my hands aren't free!). It might be suitable for people with bad legs/back/fitness but ultimately you're still carrying the same amount of kit to the water

d. I could save some money for a manifold, a doubles' wing and other equipment I don't necessarely need and invest it in a better sidemount rig;

You can dive backmount as independent without a manifold if it takes your fancy. Its a lot less flexible gas management wise though. You'll still need a twinset wing, backplate and so on. You'll also need a sidemount harness and cusom length hoses and these are far from cheap.

How prudent would it be to skip the backmount doubles? Will it cause any limitations in dives I can perform, in courses I can take or perhaps in finding buddies?

Why skip? You really need to try the setups and decide for yourself. There isnt a A > B > C progression of bad > better > best at all.

Personally i've tried both and im sticking to a manifold twinset. I find it easier to move the kit around, more flexible gas management wise with a manifold, i dont need expensive and custom length hoses and kitting up in the water is not an option with strong currents and rough seas either so for my diving sidemount confers no advantages and several disadvantages.

Everyones diving is different so there is no "right" answer.

 

[DevonDiver]

Personally, I see sidemount and backmount as equals. I see both as equally relevant at all levels of tech. Existing tech divers may have a preference, but new initiates won't know what their preferences truly are until they gain some experience from which to judge the merits.
Uptake of Sidemount versus Backmount
Sidemount is new, so the greater interest comes from existing tech divers who are, by default, already back-mount qualified. As more instructors qualify to teach sidemount, we can expect an increased uptake at entry-level tech IMHO.

PADI are just about to release news that the Tec Sidemount can be integrated (dual course/combined modules/two qualifications) with Tec40/45/50. I think that might go some way to increasing the number of those initially qualified via sidemount. However, there's still not that many Tec Sidemount instructors around though... wheras every tech instructor can teach backmount.

I wouldn't judge either system on the basis of the % qualifying on either rig. Availability skews the issue too much. Tec Sidemount instructors are in the low hundreds globally (if that!). There's countless thousands of back-mount tech instructors.

The Vocal Minority

There's more 'buzz' about sidemount simply because it is new. Some might interpret that as 'being vocal'. Heck... people talk about new stuff... it's natural. A lot of the back-mounted debates were done and dusted decades ago..
My experience as a diver
I dove back-mount doubles for well over a decade before I first tried sidemount. Significant experience in back-mount should have swayed me towards a preference to stay in that rig. However, I found sidemount very intuitive and beneficial. Now I dive sidemount primarily. Back-mount seems like a real P.I.T.A. to me now...(and I lived back-mount before..).

My observations as an instructor

I train tech students in both back-mount and side-mount. What I observe is that the sidemount configured students tend to progress much quicker with stability, trim and propulsion etc. This reduces their equipment related task loading... and more rapidly increases their capacity to develop the actual drills and skills they need to master on the courses.

On Cost Differences

1. Sidemount doesn't require an expensive cylinder set-up. That's a large saving - no bands, no manifolds.
2. Cost of BP&W versus SM BCD is roughly comparable.
3. Cost of regulators SM versus BM is identical (both require purchase of hoses).

String mentioned "expensive and custom length hoses" for SM. That is not really correct.

4. SM BCDs typically come supplied with an appropriate length LPI hose (as most rec or tec BCDs do).
5. Long hose requirement is the same BM or SM.
6. Most SM rigs work best with a 32-34" short (left) hose - that's a standard size, used in recreational rigs..many/most divers already have them on hand. BM requires a shorter back-up hose - another purchase, more specialist for tech and harder to source.
7. SM requires 2x 6" HP hoses. BM requires 1x 22-24" HP hoses. A tech diver will by buying 6" hoses for the deco regs anyway.
8. None of the hose lengths needed for SM are "custom" or more expensive than any other diving hose. All are easily available.