PADI Sidemount Training

[jwelburn]

Well, looks like everyone's favorite training agency is at it again...

https://www.facebook.com/PADI/photos/pcb.10153059118363112/10153059116148112/?type=1&theater

"Sidemount configurations are becoming increasingly popular in the scuba community. Have you tried it?Professional Association of Diving Instructors"

 

[SanDiegoSidemount]

Wow. That would be backmount doubles there. With stages.

 

[jwelburn]

The running list:

- Wearing doubles
- Poor trim
- Tanks way out of line with the diver's body
- Tanks hanging too loose/all over the place
- First stages on the stage bottles hitting eachother
- Yoke regs on the stages (compounds the issue of the regs hitting eachother)
- Second stages dangling off the bottom of the tanks just begging to eat sand
- Lack of a backup computer or bottom timer on what is supposedly a technical dive
- Lack of compass
- Brass bolt snaps (not critical, but not exactly ideal)
- Poor hose length choices, SPG on a looong HP hose for example
- SPG in a boot
- SMB/finger spool hanging off the right hip waiting to tangle up in something
- Just plain general untidiness

 

[Pullmyfinger]

 

[decompression]

Just someone picked the wrong picture.......there's lots of actual side mount pictures we can pick apart.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mscdex]

Bad hair? I wanted to join in.

 

[Omisson]

The running list:

- Wearing doubles
- Poor trim
- Tanks way out of line with the diver's body
- Tanks hanging too loose/all over the place
- First stages on the stage bottles hitting eachother
- Yoke regs on the stages (compounds the issue of the regs hitting eachother)
- Second stages dangling off the bottom of the tanks just begging to eat sand
- Lack of a backup computer or bottom timer on what is supposedly a technical dive
- Lack of compass
- Brass bolt snaps (not critical, but not exactly ideal)
- Poor hose length choices, SPG on a looong HP hose for example
- SPG in a boot
- SMB/finger spool hanging off the right hip waiting to tangle up in something
- Just plain general untidiness

Yea a bad pic but- if you want to criticize at least be accurate:


1) Many Tec divers put the spg in a boot- in caves and wrecks it's a good idea to protect them

2) Many divers don't need or have use for a compass (useless to many cave divers and its usefulness is dive dependent) on a particular dive - especially shallow ones or ones with landmarks who's orientations are well known

3) You don't need a backup computer BUT He does have a DIVE computer and dive watch (usually gives depth temp and time) - so he does have the redundancy required for most sport diving

4) AND it clearly isn't a Tec dive - sidemount can be recreational...the yoke connection suggests it's a recreational sidemount set up

I don't mind criticizing a poor example- but if you are gonna throw the punch be sure you won't get punched back...

 

[jwelburn]

Hehe, you've got some valid points there Omission. A few buddies and I were just having a grand old time pointing out everything we could possibly think of, and I posted it all. Although in response to the points you brought up...

- I can see the boot thing from either perspective. Each side has a case for and against, just as there are arguments for and against hose protectors. Used appropriately, and inspected under frequently, they present few/no issues in and of themselves. My personal preference is to leave both of them off, so that impending issues are glaringly obvious. Just my personal preference.

- You have a point on the compass as well. With crazy good vis like they obviously have, and with decent landmarks to navigate off of, it might be unnecessary. Possible argument there is that with wide open sand if you do get turned around for some reason, you're gonna have to surface to find your way back. On a technical dive (see the next point on that) it is not exactly convenient to do so. For me wearing a compass has never been so much of a hassle that it's worth leaving at home. It's just a matter of habit at this point.

- I agree on not needing a backup computer, and dive with a bottom timer and tables as backup to my Petrel. A first computer is even unnecessary so long as it is replaced with a depth/time device and tables. I made the call on the lack of backup depth/time device based on the fact that the watch looks too small for it to be a "true" dive watch. I could be wrong there though.

- On the argument for it not being a Tech dive, they are clearly wearing backmounted doubles and carrying two stages. While I have done very long range no-deco shallow dives in such a setup, I would say that I'm in a very small minority in doing that kind of dive (and even then most of the time some amount of deco is involved, even if it is only ten minutes or so). We can (and have on SB) debate on exactly where the line lies between recreational and technical diving, but I think I can say with some confidence that diving such a setup would generally fall into the realm that most of us would call technical diving, if only for the extra complexity involved in dealing with the equipment.

You did catch me in some overly quick assumptions though, so I'll take that licking! That's great though! Keeps us all honest.

@Mscdex, hahaha! That did come up in conversation... I was just trying to keep from getting too personal

 

[hedgehog47]

looks like it's a nice day for a, white wedding

 

[Aotus]

looks like something very poisonous just stunned him and he's becoming unraveled.




i wish someone would make a collage of all the PADI "look at how cool we look (not) doing it perfectly!"

maybe other agencies could have a collage too, I just always notice the PADI flyers...not to say that none of the others ever take a bad picture, but somehow it seems PADI is always the one that lets the bad pictures through.