Books in SideMount

Hey folks I am wondering are there many/any books on the market about sidemount diving? Books that talk about different configurations and setups? As well as the typical safety do's and dont's?

I want more then just training plus many courses don't come with a SM text book from what I can see.

Thanks
Patrick

Try this

Side Mount Profiles: Brian Kakuk and Jill Heinerth

there haven't been any "text books" writen. The book mentioned is great. It however does not talk about any specific gear configurations and what not. A lot of sidemount is what is personal preference for each diver and it's one of those, you have to try everything and see what works for you...

There's nothing out there like that currently. I've put together some information on different gear configs, etc, that I will eventually get on my website (some stuff is already there) but I haven't had time to put it all together yet.

Yeah it seems you only get what your instructor teaches you about SM or what you figure out when you start SMing your self. I just like to read books about diving but all I see online are peoples one and general view at SM nothing real specific.

I actually found the Heinert/Kakuk book surprisingly disappointing. Except for the vignettes at the end from various sidemount divers, about the gear they dive and why, there was almost nothing about different configurations or why you might choose to do something one way or another.

Honestly, the book is more of an outline of a sidemount class that one or the other might teach, but without many specifics. And to my chagrin, given that Jill's photography is fabulous, the pictures in the book reproduce so poorly that I was often unable to make out the details that the text wanted me to see.

It could have been a much better book.

I was in the same boat re. the book. I was hoping to see more about their configurations and why they have them, specifically with light placements and various other necessary things, but oh well.

Getting a good mentor can be very helpful

For me, the most difficult part when switching to SM was gear configuration.

There are no mentors whatsoever around here (middle east), and the only other SM diver I've ever met was one of my buddies which I urged and finally convinced to convert to the SM side..

Each of us tried to make his own gear independently, then comparing results over diving weekends and trying to figure out what needs to be altered, what's the best hose routing, where to put the inflator, bungee lengths, tank strapping method, gas management, butt plate design etc etc etc.

However- whatever the configuration we were experimenting at the moment- diving with SM was surprisingly easy.

We took turns in photographing one the other and then analyze the pictures to see what needs to be re-positioned, which hoses are not routed good enough etc. etc.

Each of the two of us finally ended with a completely different rig, both of us satisfied with it.

I think the most difficult part for me was to get good photos of different gear configurations. Good quality close ups, photos that can help anyone decide if this or that is good for him. Most of the pictures (or videos) in the web were not good enough.

Also SM configuration may significantly differ according to needs: cave diving, OW, solo etc.



So, just a thought, as there are countless different configurations (almost as the number of SM divers ) - all of them good as the other- it could be a nice idea if anyone would care to contribute good quality photographs of his/her gear configuration.

In order for it to be valuable, perhaps deciding on some standardized way of producing this photo database so everyone would share similar, detailed photos of his configuration, as a basis for comparison. I suggest something like this:

- Separate photos for tanks. One set only containing the tank and strapping mechanism (tank's bottom, and tank's neck), then separate photos of Left tank w/ left regulator and the same for right tank.

- Photos of the platform (off the shelf like armadillo, nomad etc or DIY or whatsoever) from two angles: facing up and down, so bungees could be visible from both directions, buttplate etc etc.

- Photos of Left/Right regulators and housing

- Photo of buttplate (or DIY substitute etc)

- Photo of all of them assembled, on the floor or something like that

- A short description of pros/cons, difficulties, perhaps description of donning/doffing procedure, whether shore/boat diving etc.

The photos need to be taken bearing in mind that other divers are supposed to look at them and understand the rig configuration, and enable them to imitate it.

Together, this could be an invaluable source of info. Maybe someone would someday pick the glove and compile into some guide book, with everyone's contribution?

For me, the most difficult part when switching to SM was gear configuration.

There are no mentors whatsoever around here (middle east), and the only other SM diver I've ever met was one of my buddies which I urged and finally convinced to convert to the SM side..

Each of us tried to make his own gear independently, then comparing results over diving weekends and trying to figure out what needs to be altered, what's the best hose routing, where to put the inflator, bungee lengths, tank strapping method, gas management, butt plate design etc etc etc.

However- whatever the configuration we were experimenting at the moment- diving with SM was surprisingly easy.

We took turns in photographing one the other and then analyze the pictures to see what needs to be re-positioned, which hoses are not routed good enough etc. etc.

Each of the two of us finally ended with a completely different rig, both of us satisfied with it.

I think the most difficult part for me was to get good photos of different gear configurations. Good quality close ups, photos that can help anyone decide if this or that is good for him. Most of the pictures (or videos) in the web were not good enough.

Also SM configuration may significantly differ according to needs: cave diving, OW, solo etc.



So, just a thought, as there are countless different configurations (almost as the number of SM divers ) - all of them good as the other- it could be a nice idea if anyone would care to contribute good quality photographs of his/her gear configuration.

In order for it to be valuable, perhaps deciding on some standardized way of producing this photo database so everyone would share similar, detailed photos of his configuration, as a basis for comparison. I suggest something like this:

- Separate photos for tanks. One set only containing the tank and strapping mechanism (tank's bottom, and tank's neck), then separate photos of Left tank w/ left regulator and the same for right tank.

- Photos of the platform (off the shelf like armadillo, nomad etc or DIY or whatsoever) from two angles: facing up and down, so bungees could be visible from both directions, buttplate etc etc.

- Photos of Left/Right regulators and housing

- Photo of buttplate (or DIY substitute etc)

- Photo of all of them assembled, on the floor or something like that

- A short description of pros/cons, difficulties, perhaps description of donning/doffing procedure, whether shore/boat diving etc.

The photos need to be taken bearing in mind that other divers are supposed to look at them and understand the rig configuration, and enable them to imitate it.

Together, this could be an invaluable source of info. Maybe someone would someday pick the glove and compile into some guide book, with everyone's contribution?