- Messages
- 93,337
- Reaction score
- 91,458
- Location
- On the Fun Side of Trump's Wall
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
I just spent three days diving The Peace in the Channel Islands using my Nomad XT and a pair of HP100 steel cylinders. One nice thing about doing 10 dives over three days is that you get lots of time to experiment and learn. Among the things I learned ...
Good stuff ...
- giant striding with your tanks on is no problem ... even from the bow, which is eight feet off the water
- sidemounting in a kelp forest is easier than in backmount ... less chance of getting entangled ... and on the one time that I did, it was easy getting untangled
- inverting for that nudibranch shot takes less effort than in backmount
- solo diving in sidemount is downright blissful
Not-so-good stuff ...
- getting into sidemount tanks on a pitching boat is more challenging than sliding into a BP/W
- boat exitways are not made for sidemount ... I had to learn how to giant stride sideways without getting my fins caught in the doorway ... which is definitely a challenge when you're also hauling a scooter
- getting out of the tanks on the swim step is a PITA ... I found it easier to just go up the ladder with my tanks on and disconnect everything at my station
- you can't sit down in a buttplate ... which means that once you're in your gear, you better have a clear path to the exit
- stowing a scooter by pushing it off to the side is a bad idea ... the harness finds creative ways to get entangled around your tank ... stowing between your legs works much better
My overall assessment is that sidemounting off a boat is a bit more physical labor than backmounting ... but the payoff in the water makes it worth the effort ....
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Good stuff ...
- giant striding with your tanks on is no problem ... even from the bow, which is eight feet off the water
- sidemounting in a kelp forest is easier than in backmount ... less chance of getting entangled ... and on the one time that I did, it was easy getting untangled
- inverting for that nudibranch shot takes less effort than in backmount
- solo diving in sidemount is downright blissful
Not-so-good stuff ...
- getting into sidemount tanks on a pitching boat is more challenging than sliding into a BP/W
- boat exitways are not made for sidemount ... I had to learn how to giant stride sideways without getting my fins caught in the doorway ... which is definitely a challenge when you're also hauling a scooter
- getting out of the tanks on the swim step is a PITA ... I found it easier to just go up the ladder with my tanks on and disconnect everything at my station
- you can't sit down in a buttplate ... which means that once you're in your gear, you better have a clear path to the exit
- stowing a scooter by pushing it off to the side is a bad idea ... the harness finds creative ways to get entangled around your tank ... stowing between your legs works much better
My overall assessment is that sidemounting off a boat is a bit more physical labor than backmounting ... but the payoff in the water makes it worth the effort ....
... Bob (Grateful Diver)