Does one really need SM certification?

[mick allein III]

All: I am interested in starting to dive side mount. I'd be interested in hearing others thoughts about the necessity of taking a side mount class.

I never took a Drysuit class and have been diving them for years. I learned by reading and finding a someone accomplished at diving dry. Kind of like an apprenticeship.

Couldn't sidemount be learned the same way?

I'm not adverse to taking classes. I have taken AOW, deep, rescue, and solo. Just not sure if SM class is a necessity.




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[tomfcrist]

I don't look at side mount as something that deserves a ""class"" per se, but if just starting side mount you will be able to save yourself a lot of growing pains and headaches if you get some quality mentoring from a Quality Sidemount diver. Someone who has the basics down..rigging, trim (diver and bottles) and independent doubles procedures. That usually involves either being a buddy of an accomplished SM diver, or paying an accomplished SM instructor to give you a crash course.

 

[Superlyte27]

God, I hope you don't need one. Since I don't have one.

 

[tbone1004]

it depends on how good you are to begin with, if you are like 99.99% of divers out there, then a class is very important because you haven't had enough experience with enough gear to really know how and where to tweak things since a lot of it is counter intuitive. To do it properly you have to have someone who knows what they're looking at evaluate you preferably with video to get the gear adjusted properly. Like all forms of diving it depends on how good of a mentor you can find

 

[a878bob]

I agree, no class needed, but an experienced sidemounter will save you a lot of time and money. And frustration! I learned the hardway like most things I do. Then I was lucky to find a friend who I could watch and get pointers from. And still do.

 

[Aquavelvet]

If you intend to take your sidemount rig into an overhead environment, and later through restrictions, then a good class is mandatory. In this case good form translates to better safety for you and your teammates.

Sidemount diving is more than just slinging a pair of tanks on your sides and hopping into the water. There are a lot of non-obvious adjustments and considerations.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

One does not need a SM certification ... but a workshop or some dives with a sidemounter who knows what they're doing and who has the ability to help you properly adjust your gear seriously shortens the learning curve.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Dhboner]

I watched some VERY experienced divers struggle to make the transition to sidemount. They fumbled with their gear, switched out almost everything and still never seemed to get comfortable in the water (and these are guys with 1000's of dives under their belt). Eventually a couple of them gave up and returned to backmount. When my sons and I made the decision to move to sidemount, we signed up for training with Steve Lewis (Doppler). After our training weekend we never looked back...our gear was squared away, tanks hanging close to perfectly, harness adjusted and we learned valuable techniques and regulator exchange protocols. You don't NEED sidemount training but if you want to get it right the first time with a minimum of fuss, find a good instructor and take the training.

 

[Colliam7]

I am interested in starting to dive side mount. . . . I never took a Drysuit class and have been diving them for years. I learned by reading and finding a someone accomplished at diving dry. Kind of like an apprenticeship. Couldn't sidemount be learned the same way?

Your post actually asks two, related, but different questions: do you need certification (the title), and do you need to take a class (tyhe body of the post). The answer to both is 'Maybe, maybe not. It depends.'

You can learn just about anything without taking a class. Go to YouTuibe, and there are instructional videos that will teach you almost anything (within reason). For that matter, open water diving is pretty easy, you can learn it without a class, and there are plenty of people diving today who have never had a class, nor have any formal 'certification'.

I learned to dive a sidemount configuration without a sidemount class. I didn't even use an instructor, I just asked some questions, observed other people, watched some of Lamar's vidfeos on the DR website, went out and dove a DIY SM configuration, and felt like I actually was able to do so with some skill. Then, I took a class - from someone who finally got tired of my never-ending emails with questions - and realized how incredibly inefficient my previous learning had been.

If you can find someone to dive with, who will be willing to take time to instruct / mentor you, fantastic. Go for it. I doubt very many people are going to ask, 'What class did you take?', unless you look really good, or really bad, in the water. You might find that taking a class prepares you to more readily / effectively / efficiently learn on your own, or you may not. You probably won't be asked to show a 'Sidemount C-card'.

If someone asks me today, 'Can I dive with you so I can learn sidemount?', I might say, 'OK' but I have will probably little no investment in the process. They take what they get, when (and if) I have time. If someone says, 'I want to take a sidemount class with you', I say, 'OK. Here is all the background information, equipment rigging approaches, skills, etc that we are going to cover, here is how we are going to schedule the class, here is what it is going to cost you. And, by the way, after the class, if you have any questions, or need more help, or just want to dive some more, let me know. You purchase a lifetime learning pass when you take the course.'

 

[Wookie]

What will you scrape the frost from your windshield with on those cold mornings without another certification card?