I'm mad at Dive-aholic

[Dive-aholic]

I know what it was. They were so happy they could turn sideways and not roll over and look like an upside down turtle!! Another beauty of sidemount is swimming upside down. A great way to take in the beauty of the ceiling of the cave.

Oh, they were upside down, too. And head down vertical. And in every other possible position!

Hmmm, since his rig worked so well for you personally, just copy his setup exactly and go from there. That should save you a lot of fussing about.
You could even save more money and time by skipping that whole process and stealing his.

Not after the length of time it's taken me to get it they way I want it!!

 

[TSandM]

I do have to say that, in my typical fashion, I'm heading home with the intention of reading and studying everything I can get my hands on about various sidemount setups and the pros and cons of each -- when a small voice in the back of my head is saying, "If you liked what you dove so much, why not just copy it?"

It was really astonishing to feel so free in the water. I remember watching Steve Bogaerts "Wreck Diving" video with deep envy, and the immediate feeling that Steve belonged to the special class of divers who can make it look easy . . . Well, I still think he probably does, but I know some of his secret now!

 

[kanonfodr]

Kathydee, want a cupcake?

I got a chance to see a sidemount rig in action with Carrielsal brought hers here to Oahu and we went diving together. I will admit that the logistical issues with tanks and surf were something that would require work, but I see lots of possibilities for it since there are lots of caverns and caves here on Oahu that I would love to come back with a Full Cave cert and seriously explore. But lots of them are super restrictive and I could see where BM doubles would definitely be a hindrance whereas with sidemount you could just swing your tanks in front of you and keep swimming.

My only concern is with the constant reg switching that sidemount requires to keep the tanks balanced: I'm lazy. And the surf entries with that stuff, I had it pretty easy in my backmounted doubles whereas Carrie needed some time to get settled with waves kicking back and forth.

Peace,
Greg

 

[Dive-aholic]

There are not constant reg switches in sidemount. I switch regs 3-4 times during a dive.

 

[formula1mb@aol.com]

I've always wondered about sidemount and surf entries, does anybody have experience? Never tried it but I have a feeling it might be easier simply due to the fact that the tanks sit lower. That way the tanks get submerged quicker and due to the buoyancy you get from the water, it takes the weight off of you sooner than with backmount and since the tank is just floating there----your center of gravity is much lower and you won't get knocked down as easily making you more stable. Same thing if you get knocked down, with the lower center of gravity getting up should be easier.

Just a thought but curious to see if anyone has real world experience?

 

[kanonfodr]

Judging by how I saw Carrie handle it, entries would take a lot of practice to get it right. The thing I noticed is that the tanks are hanging low, and thus they can hamper the movement of your legs and arms to help stabilize yourself versus backmount where you do have a lot more range of motion above the water. Once in the water, however, it was just fine.

Carrie did voice an opinion that floating on your back while surface swimming wasn't much of an option, since her rig (a Nomad) didn't handle that very well. But I'm sure more experienced divers would chime in with much more helpful advice.

Peace,
Greg

 

[ScubaVideo]

It's his fault that I'm going to have to find an heir for the Borg avatar.

Rob was kind enough to take me and Peter out this afternoon for a taste of sidemount diving. I was using Rob's wife's Nomad and LP95s. I think this was the same setup I swam around in for ten minutes three years ago, but I think it's adjusted quite differently now, because the thing that I didn't like at all from before -- tanks that wallowed around in quite different directions than I did -- wasn't present this time at all.

In fact, this time . . . well, all I can say is WOW. I have never, ever, ever felt so stable in the water. No matter what I did (or didn't do) or what position I assumed, I was just . . . there. And I could SEE in front of me! I swam on my back, on my side, swam uphill and downhill, swam backwards and did spins. It was all easy in a way that doubles have never felt easy. Of course, I had some buoyancy oops moments, trying to find the inflator and the little knob on the dump, but that's just unfamiliarity with the gear. Overall, I was just utterly and simply thrilled.

I have been saying for a while that sidemount was in my future, because my knees don't like carrying doubles up and down hills. Well, I'm afraid the future is much closer than I thought it was.

Kathydee, want a cupcake?

What does the cup cake have to do with BM vs SM? Do Borgs have BM - I don't recall that from assimilation class.

How does SM make walking up a hill easier than BM? Is it just the weight up high vs low?

 

[Peter Guy]

How does SM make walking up a hill easier than BM? Is it just the weight up high vs low?

You walk up the hill without the tanks -- take off your gear and then go back and get them! Carrying one, or even two, "singles" without the rest of the gear on you is MUCH easier.

 

[DevonDiver]

Great report TS&M... thanks!

I've had very little exposure to SM. I always assumed that they were a 'solution' for certain caving problems (restrictions) and wondered why they were also used for open water/non-cave dives.

TS&M's report, along with some of the replies certainly sparks my interest.

 

[TSandM]

Well, to date, the original Borg do not sidemount, at least in public UTD does have a sidemount setup, but I haven't talked to anyone who has actually dived it, and it appears to be optimized for use in fresh water with AL80s. (I could be wrong, but the "wing" on it appears to be very small.) I don't dive Florida anywhere near as often as MX, but I'd hate to end up with a rig that wouldn't work in FL at all.