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The argument that there's no "need" for sidemount in open water is silly. There's no "need" for any kind of diving ... nobody ever needs to enter a cave on scuba gear ... nobody ever "needs" to dive at all. We dive for one reason only ... because we want to. Choice of equipment boils down to the same reason. We choose what we choose because it's what we want to use ... and we usually base those choices on reasons that seem valid to us at the time we make them. And nobody needs to justify those reasons to anyone other than themselves. The gear should be capable of meeting the needs of the dive (i.e. carry adequate gas, have a suitable method to get the gas from the cylinder(s) to the diver, provide redundancy when appropriate, fit properly, be as entanglement-free as possible, and suitably mitigate whatever risks and conditions the diver anticipates). Other than that, it boils down to what floats your boat.
I don't get the whole "cool new thing" argument either. Sidemount isn't hardly a "new thing" ... and most folks I know currently using it for open water applications are beyond the point in life where "cool" means anything. Most I've met, in fact, are using it specifically because the configuration provides them the ability to overcome some physical limitations that stem from aging, and the wear-and-tear that life take on our bodies as we get older. There's much to be said for the ability to put on your tanks in the water, or to be able to reach your valves. The latter is the reason I switched ... I got to the point where managing valves on a manifold was just more difficult and time-consuming than it should be, and if you can't manipulate valves on a manifolded set of doubles you have no business taking them into the water. So if you want to do dives that require two tanks, sidemount becomes a better option. This applies regardless of whether or not you're diving in an overhead. Sidemount is also an attractive option for solo diving, due to the type of redundancy it offers. And besides that, it just feels more natural to me than diving with tanks on my back.
But none of that has anything to do with GUE or DIR. And I'm not sure the premise of the thread does either. Just because Halcyon makes a sidemount rig doesn't mean that GUE is suddenly embracing sidemount. AFAIK, they've embraced it for years ... but only in a limited way and for specific sets of circumstances. I don't see that's changed, or likely to. The Halcyon rig isn't any more "DIR" than the Nomad or SMS or any number of other sidemount offerings out there. Don't get me wrong, the Contour is a nice rig, and very robust ... but it's not "DIR". And depending on the circumstances, it may not even be the best choice for the GUE diver who's decided that sidemount is called for.
Sidemount ... like every other choice in equipment ... has benefits and drawbacks. And those must be considered before deciding that sidemount is right for a given dive ... or more specifically, a suitable choice for a given diver. On a boat it involves some extra steps that may make entry and exit more difficult, might take more time, might introduce uncertainty into how the boat crew should assist or respond, and may require some configuration compromises if you're renting tanks. Are you prepared to deal with those? What about your dive buddies, the other people on the boat, or the crew? Have you factored how it affects them into your preparation for the dive? Are you prepared to deal with compromises that enable you to dive sidemount in a situation where the boat may not be set up for it? What about shore diving? It generally requires multiple trips between where you're setting up and where you're entering the water ... and the same in reverse after the dive. Are you prepared to do that? Do conditions allow it? Conditions like bad vis or surf entries might make the problems introduced by sidemount greater than the solutions it offers. Not that these problems are insurmountable ... but they may require some advance planning, additional preparation, or some changes to the routine you're used to following. And they put additional pressure on buddies who may now have to assist you or wait in poor conditions while you clip in your tanks and connect your hoses.
To my knowledge, the only "DIR-compliant" sidemount rig is the UTD offering ... and even that one introduces weaknesses and potential failure points unique to the rig in an attempt to adhere to DIR's rigid protocols. Like all the others, it has benefits and drawbacks that must be considered before deciding it's an appropriate choice.
In the long run, if you're "doing it right" that means you're considering the benefits and limitations of your gear, determining if they meet the needs of the dive, thinking about how your gear choice affects not just you but your team, and considering how your gear choice will help you mitigate potential risks and failures that you may encounter during your dive. You should be doing those things regardless of whether you're choosing sidemount, backmount, or rebreather. Being married to specific protocols simply because some agency says that's how you should dive only introduces limitations that may or may not benefit you or your dive buddies, and it reduces the opportunities for what might turn out to be better choices. And I don't think GUE has ever advocated that a diver do that.
God gave us a brain for a reason. Rather than being concerned about whether or not it's "compliant" or "cool", it's better to concern yourself with why it's "appropriate" ... and if that boils down to simply "because that's how I like to dive", that's a good enough reason so long as you've considered the alternatives, benefits, and drawbacks in your decision.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
I don't get the whole "cool new thing" argument either. Sidemount isn't hardly a "new thing" ... and most folks I know currently using it for open water applications are beyond the point in life where "cool" means anything. Most I've met, in fact, are using it specifically because the configuration provides them the ability to overcome some physical limitations that stem from aging, and the wear-and-tear that life take on our bodies as we get older. There's much to be said for the ability to put on your tanks in the water, or to be able to reach your valves. The latter is the reason I switched ... I got to the point where managing valves on a manifold was just more difficult and time-consuming than it should be, and if you can't manipulate valves on a manifolded set of doubles you have no business taking them into the water. So if you want to do dives that require two tanks, sidemount becomes a better option. This applies regardless of whether or not you're diving in an overhead. Sidemount is also an attractive option for solo diving, due to the type of redundancy it offers. And besides that, it just feels more natural to me than diving with tanks on my back.
But none of that has anything to do with GUE or DIR. And I'm not sure the premise of the thread does either. Just because Halcyon makes a sidemount rig doesn't mean that GUE is suddenly embracing sidemount. AFAIK, they've embraced it for years ... but only in a limited way and for specific sets of circumstances. I don't see that's changed, or likely to. The Halcyon rig isn't any more "DIR" than the Nomad or SMS or any number of other sidemount offerings out there. Don't get me wrong, the Contour is a nice rig, and very robust ... but it's not "DIR". And depending on the circumstances, it may not even be the best choice for the GUE diver who's decided that sidemount is called for.
Sidemount ... like every other choice in equipment ... has benefits and drawbacks. And those must be considered before deciding that sidemount is right for a given dive ... or more specifically, a suitable choice for a given diver. On a boat it involves some extra steps that may make entry and exit more difficult, might take more time, might introduce uncertainty into how the boat crew should assist or respond, and may require some configuration compromises if you're renting tanks. Are you prepared to deal with those? What about your dive buddies, the other people on the boat, or the crew? Have you factored how it affects them into your preparation for the dive? Are you prepared to deal with compromises that enable you to dive sidemount in a situation where the boat may not be set up for it? What about shore diving? It generally requires multiple trips between where you're setting up and where you're entering the water ... and the same in reverse after the dive. Are you prepared to do that? Do conditions allow it? Conditions like bad vis or surf entries might make the problems introduced by sidemount greater than the solutions it offers. Not that these problems are insurmountable ... but they may require some advance planning, additional preparation, or some changes to the routine you're used to following. And they put additional pressure on buddies who may now have to assist you or wait in poor conditions while you clip in your tanks and connect your hoses.
To my knowledge, the only "DIR-compliant" sidemount rig is the UTD offering ... and even that one introduces weaknesses and potential failure points unique to the rig in an attempt to adhere to DIR's rigid protocols. Like all the others, it has benefits and drawbacks that must be considered before deciding it's an appropriate choice.
In the long run, if you're "doing it right" that means you're considering the benefits and limitations of your gear, determining if they meet the needs of the dive, thinking about how your gear choice affects not just you but your team, and considering how your gear choice will help you mitigate potential risks and failures that you may encounter during your dive. You should be doing those things regardless of whether you're choosing sidemount, backmount, or rebreather. Being married to specific protocols simply because some agency says that's how you should dive only introduces limitations that may or may not benefit you or your dive buddies, and it reduces the opportunities for what might turn out to be better choices. And I don't think GUE has ever advocated that a diver do that.
God gave us a brain for a reason. Rather than being concerned about whether or not it's "compliant" or "cool", it's better to concern yourself with why it's "appropriate" ... and if that boils down to simply "because that's how I like to dive", that's a good enough reason so long as you've considered the alternatives, benefits, and drawbacks in your decision.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
