Some sidemount questions from a total newbie

Re-write #2 (I keep loosing my post when I press submit)

I live in Austin Texas and my local dive options are very limited. I have recently discovered Windy Points Park located on lake Travis. Its one of the best spots here in Austin for decent visibility and I want to make this my main park there is however a major issue with the spot. The water level at the lake is super low and as a result the stairs leading into the water are completely out of water and so are the secondary stairs down to the first platform. That in itself wouldn't really be a problem except that the stairs end there and the water is 20 feet below that point. There are some make shift stepping stones made from concrete bags and a few cemented rocks but getting to the shore line is a terrifying endeavor rife with many great opportunities to break an arm or a leg or something worse. Its scary to say the least and I cant seem to come up with any good compromise with my BP&W. I can break down the tank and the plate and lug each one down there individually but the "shore" consists of a slanted rock that is covered in slick algae so the idea of getting all my stuff down there and then trying to put the plate onto the tank and then attach the reg and set everything up seems just as harrowing as a trip down with all that weight already attached.

So here is what I need the advice on: I'm thinking of getting a side mount rig and getting some nice AL 40s and using that as my setup for the park (relaxing dives to about 30 ft just chilling and working on drills). I like this idea because the tanks would be set up and all I need to do at the water is get them attached to the rig. They would be super light weight and I could very safely carry them one at a time down the steep part and I would also still have redundancy. I already sling a 30cf on every dive and I absolutely love the thing (I use it to practice drills and such in the pool when I cant go on a real dive)! I am not a tech diver nor do I plan on being one any time soon, I am new to this hobby and I do not yet have an advanced card (I really want to wait till I have like 100 dives for that). What are your thoughts on my idea? Should I get some training for sidemount? Do you think I should even consider sidemount before I get my advanced cert? Is this a terrible idea? Do you have any general recommendations / advise for a newb? Are there any training programs / instructors that you recommend for recreational side mount (needs to be in the USA)?

Sidemount course? Go for it! Never too early to do a technical sidemount course. If you end up pursuing technical courses I wouldn't even bother with adv or rescue as your tech certs will enable you to dive deeper and still incorporate in water rescues and emergencies. Best thing I ever did was to ditch the padi ladder and swap to tech. Wish I had done so sooner. I'm a much better diver because of it. Go for it!


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I personally wouldn't advocate jumping straight to tech classes... but totally understand the thought process behind maybe not taking an initial sidemount course.

I've only just started sidemount (although already Trimix certified from Backmount) and despite much recommendation to the contrary, i've so far held off from taking a sidemount course to teach me how.

However, as a kind of half way house, I have bought access to the training videos that Steve Martin has just released that go through in great detail, everything from rigging cylinders, to rigging your harness, weight checking etc etc.... it's about 6.5hours worth of video. I opted to do this, the video access costs 100 or 130 Euros, depending on whether you want the stage/deco video too. I can honestly say that it's helped me to get set up properly.... and I think it'd suit your needs exactly.

I have no affiliation with the video's or the instructor, more than being a happy customer. If you're interested you can have a look at what each video contains here

hope that helps.

I think since you are less experienced overall it could be good to take a class. I trained with Paul Murphy in Austin. He was a good guy and conducts dives that I would never do. He is very skilled in sidemount (maybe a little old school for my tastes) but he can get you set up and then you can go from there. Also he has all the equipment you need so you don't need to buy anything yet. You can try before you buy and see if you really like it. Also he isn't affiliated with a shop so he isn't going to try and sell you anything.

Check out Lake Travis Divers on Facebook. There are a good group of divers that can mentor you as well. Some are cave certified sidemount divers. They do shore dives near Mansfield dam and boat dives with lake travis scuba

---------- Post added July 22nd, 2014 at 08:59 AM ----------

Tec, Tech, Tek and Technical Diving Instruction.Advanced nitrox, deco and trimix courses.  Deep Down, your training matters, so.....  Train Right - Home

Paul Murphy's site.

So if I get this right you are OW certified and wanting to dive solo???

Your particular dive site you picked does not sound very good but any site can be dove if the right measures are taken. From what I see you are in for a lot of lost time. AL40s are not sidemount tanks. If you want the trial by error and tinker method of learning SM then at least do your self a favor and dive real tanks. 2 AL 80s will work. Practice with what you will actually dive with or you will be doing this all over again when you go on a "real dive". This gear change will set you back a lot of $$$ too. Rig,Regs,Hoses,Gauges,clips,bands, its not cheap and you dont want to just go without or "just use" OW setup. You will also always want a buddy with you and preferably taking pics and video.

I understand you are a new but from your question I would say you should seek more dive training and experience. If you want a good SM instructor then North Florida is crawling with them. SM rental gear here out the ying-yang too. The world of SM if fun and adventurous but is also gear intensive and time consuming.

My 2 psi

LakeCountyDiver:

So if I get this right you are OW certified and wanting to dive solo???

Your particular dive site you picked does not sound very good but any site can be dove if the right measures are taken. From what I see you are in for a lot of lost time. AL40s are not sidemount tanks. If you want the trial by error and tinker method of learning SM then at least do your self a favor and dive real tanks. 2 AL 80s will work. Practice with what you will actually dive with or you will be doing this all over again when you go on a "real dive". This gear change will set you back a lot of $$$ too. Rig,Regs,Hoses,Gauges,clips,bands, its not cheap and you dont want to just go without or "just use" OW setup. You will also always want a buddy with you and preferably taking pics and video.

I understand you are a new but from your question I would say you should seek more dive training and experience. If you want a good SM instructor then North Florida is crawling with them. SM rental gear here out the ying-yang too. The world of SM if fun and adventurous but is also gear intensive and time consuming.

My 2 psi

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Thanks for your input! I don't really know where you got the solo idea from, I dive with a buddy.

AL40s with my SMS100 work very nicely although I clip to d rings on the waist belt rather than to the standard rear location.

I've taught (basic) sidemount to OW level divers. With the right instruction/instructor, it's very intuitive and perfectly within reach of an OW level diver. The training (again, if done well) does a lot to improve foundational skills (buoyancy, trim, propulsion, awareness) also.

jb719:

Thanks for your input! I don't really know where you got the solo idea from, I dive with a buddy.

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Just the way it read. Not one mention of buddies. I asked before I blamed hence the ?????