First time in a SM

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a DR SM demo day with Pete from Dive Rite at the Dive Quarters here in Virginia Beach. I asked my gf if she was interested an her answer was Hell Yeah! Ok, so I guess were going. I told one of my dive buddies and he joined in as well.

We had just returned from Hatteras 2 days prior and Pete was a speaker at The Wreck Synopsis in Hatteras a couple nights before. He did a great job and it was nice to meet him prior to the sm class. Needless to say, Kate and I were looking forward to this. I have always been one for having a lot of tools and knowing how to use them. I see SM as just another tool in my dive kit. Great for certain things but not ideal for all round, at least not without some proper planning.

First impression was. it was very easy to get kitted up and handle the bottles "while in the pool". Mounting instruction was straight forward with left hand for right tank and visa versa. We did not bring any deco bottles to sling but from the looks of it, its no different than my bp/w. They trimmed out great and were easy to swim with. I did have a weird sensation from the movement during a kick thrust. They do move around some. I guess its something that you get used to. They were easy to handle on land.

As far as me personally using SM. I am not switching anytime soon from my bp/w. We mainly boat dive and scooter. Backrolling from the boat seems like it would be much, much easier with the traditional bp/w vs rigging up a drop line to hang your tanks from. SM adds a couple of more steps in a already bobbing boat.

We are taking our cavern this fall and in a cave, I can certainly see the benefit to sm diving. If all goes well maybe this winter I will get a sm set up and start playing in North Florida over the winter time.

RE the boat dive, if you have a hard connection on the shoulders (i.e. a loop of bungee around the neck/choker with a double ender to the shoulder d ring) you can roll off a boat just fine. Having a line is great too but its not the only option. Glad you enjoyed your first experience in sidemount

I'm getting my new Nomad LT Tech on Saturday and will be diving it in the quarry for the first time. Then SM workshop with Doppler ( Steve Lewis) at Gilboa in July. And I am not switching either from back mount. Just adding another option.

When I did my first dive in SM, I didn't like the swinging tanks at all. But last time, when the rig was much better adjusted and fitted to me, I didn't notice it AT ALL.

TSandM:

When I did my first dive in SM, I didn't like the swinging tanks at all. But last time, when the rig was much better adjusted and fitted to me, I didn't notice it AT ALL.

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Have you had the Nomad Ring Bungie system on? What tightened things up for you?

Down the road of diving any gear, one gets used to things, and I am curious about whether the Ring Bungie system (which has huge logistic advantages on land and carrying multiple tanks for me) ends up feeling sloppier or not for someone like yourself who is not regularly using SM but who has experienced dealing with doubles, and stages. I may just be putting up with stuff, because anyone can get used to anything with enough time on things.

I know people dealing with SM early in their dive careers find dealing with multiple tanks a chore, but then again, for some of them, they would find dealing with BM doubles a chore, and they sometimes might even even find dealing with single BM a chore.

I was in a Nomad, but I don't think it had the ring bungie system. It was Dive-aholic's wife's setup. The second time, it was just plain perfect -- I have never been so comfortable in dive gear in my life.