Books in SideMount

[LakeCountyDiver]

Getting a good mentor can be very helpful

Yes and No... Having a mentor will only give you one maybe 2 views of different configurations but mainly going to try to rub off there style. I was thinking that it would be great if there was a book that showed the several different types and styles that are out there being used.

As Rob said what works for me may not work for you thats where a book of ideas to start would be nice because some people have better ideas then others. There will never be a mainstream way to SM but there should be enough styles out there to help configure a book.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Yes and No... Having a mentor will only give you one maybe 2 views of different configurations but mainly going to try to rub off there style. I was thinking that it would be great if there was a book that showed the several different types and styles that are out there being used.

Not necessarily. I teach a lot of sidemount classes and I review all the possible configurations I've tried and know of with my students. I then let them choose the configuration they want to use and encourage them to try the other ones after class. I teach my students about sidemount diving, not just put them in mirror image rigs. Last month I had a student from the PNW and we spent the week configuring his rig so he could use it in his home environment (which includes wearing smurf gloves).

As Rob said what works for me may not work for you thats where a book of ideas to start would be nice because some people have better ideas then others. There will never be a mainstream way to SM but there should be enough styles out there to help configure a book.

Well, if you think a mentor is only going to show you 1 or 2 views, don't you think a book will do the same? Isn't that what Jill and Brian's book did?

 

[CyprusSeb]

Try and see what works for you. My jump into sidemount started a few weeks ago....two pool sessions to make sure I was comfy with the rig as a start and then daily diving and fine tuning. Some changes sometimes during a surface interval. Find what suits you and your diving. I won't go as far as saying the possibilities are endless but there are a ton of them. Then there's this thing called the interweb...since you're on SB I"m sure you're familiar with it. Prior to ordering my razor I went out and saw what kits are available and what suited me the most. I then looked around to what others were doing. Watched the DiveRite videos, looked at other people's configurations and started with a baseline. Then worked from there.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

Not necessarily. I teach a lot of sidemount classes and I review all the possible configurations I've tried and know of with my students. I then let them choose the configuration they want to use and encourage them to try the other ones after class. I teach my students about sidemount diving, not just put them in mirror image rigs. Last month I had a student from the PNW and we spent the week configuring his rig so he could use it in his home environment (which includes wearing smurf gloves).



Well, if you think a mentor is only going to show you 1 or 2 views, don't you think a book will do the same? Isn't that what Jill and Brian's book did?

You would be a rare breed. I have heard nothing but great things about you but from what I can see and hear many Instructors/mentors only dive one style and/or have the "my way is the best way" mentality. Not everyone is like that and that is why i said "Yes and No"... A good instructor IMO is one that will share other styles of diving even if they dont dive that way. Many also get hung up on what they sell and that frankly is where the biggest problem lies.

You are correct about the books and that is why I was hoping there was "MANY" books. Different books from different divers all around the world giving many different options, Not just one... Furthermore if a mentor can give you "many" different choices in SM why can't a book??? It goes both ways..

 

[karstdvr]

Yes and No... Having a mentor will only give you one maybe 2 views of different configurations but mainly going to try to rub off there style. I was thinking that it would be great if there was a book that showed the several different types and styles that are out there being used.

As Rob said what works for me may not work for you thats where a book of ideas to start would be nice because some people have better ideas then others. There will never be a mainstream way to SM but there should be enough styles out there to help configure a book.

A mentor can help make changes which will get you a balanced rig that is diveable,then from there you tweek it to your personal taste. Conversely,there are enough styles to make things confusing, For example,the guys in Mexico have a done a great job of rigging things that is very streamlined,but may not work well when placing large steel tanks on. If you look at the UK style,it will completely throw you off because of tank mounting and lift. I still contend that getting a mentor in the area you plan to dive,where an extra set of eyes can see things like A-framing,off balanced lift,etc can save you a lot of time.

Incidentally,the North Florida Springs Alliance is doing an advanced skills workshop August 20th which includes a sidemount clinic. May be worth the money because you will get some valuable sidemount information,and questions answered. Go to North Florida Springs Alliance

 

[Brian Kakuk]

I actually found the Heinert/Kakuk book surprisingly disappointing. Except for the vignettes at the end from various sidemount divers, about the gear they dive and why, there was almost nothing about different configurations or why you might choose to do something one way or another.

Honestly, the book is more of an outline of a sidemount class that one or the other might teach, but without many specifics. And to my chagrin, given that Jill's photography is fabulous, the pictures in the book reproduce so poorly that I was often unable to make out the details that the text wanted me to see.

It could have been a much better book.

TSandM,
Sorry you didn’t think much of the book. When we wrote the material, it was with the outright intention that it NOT be a step by step "how to" book on side mount I(why would I intentionally write something that would put my peers and myself out of work?).

First of all it would be impossible to do as there are so many regional modifications to side mount rigs for specific environments (cold, ocean, warm caves, shallow caves etc.) that it would be impossible to involve every aspect of a single regional or specific divers rig (we tried to use general overviews of several explorers/manufacturers likes and dislikes in the profiles section, thus the name of the book).

Throughout the writing of the book, I wanted to ensure that at no point was the material to be used to circumvent any formal training with a certified (qualified) side mount instructor. It was always the intent that the book would be used to supplement training with a competent professional. This book is not for the diver who is trying to "do it themselves" by looking at pictures in a book or to save some money on sanctioned training. We hope that instructors will add the book to their curriculums and I feel it is a "must have" reference book for every open minded explorer, instructor, side mount student or recreational side mount diver.
Safe diving,
Brian

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

I intentionally write something that would put my peers and myself out of work?).

Throughout the writing of the book, I wanted to ensure that at no point was the material to be used to circumvent any formal training with a certified (qualified) side mount instructor. It was always the intent that the book would be used to supplement training with a competent professional. This book is not for the diver who is trying to "do it themselves" by looking at pictures in a book or to save some money on sanctioned training. We hope that instructors will add the book to their curriculums and I feel it is a "must have" reference book for every open minded explorer, instructor, side mount student or recreational side mount diver.
Safe diving,
Brian

It is weird what 5 years ago there was very few "SideMount" classes rather just mentorship or the ""do it yourself"" style of learning... Now if someone wants to just learn on there own it is WRONG and they should have "sanctioned" training. I understand that good training has it's price and it may save you many hangups but I don't feel it is wrong for someone to want to learn something (SM) on there own in there style as many of the SM's did several years ago.

 

[Jax]

Not necessarily. I teach a lot of sidemount classes and I review all the possible configurations I've tried and know of with my students. I then let them choose the configuration they want to use and encourage them to try the other ones after class. I teach my students about sidemount diving, not just put them in mirror image rigs. Last month I had a student from the PNW and we spent the week configuring his rig so he could use it in his home environment (which includes wearing smurf gloves).

You would be a rare breed. I have heard nothing but great things about you . . .

I can vouch for that!!! Rob let me [-]get myself in as much trouble as I wanted[/-] try anything I wanted and then patiently discussed the pros and cons of the different variations. Some worked better for me simply because of my size. He also put me in several different tanks so I'd know how to set them up if I went elsewhere. He also helped me come up with a new idea on trim weight, because I tend to fly to most places I dive.

Like they said, the right mentor makes all the difference!

 

[TSandM]

Brian, I seriously doubt that many people who would seriously use sidemount for the purposes for which it is commonly used, would try to bring themselves up to speed from just a book. At least, I wouldn't. I absolutely intend to do a sidemount course, because it is clear that this type of diving is extremely idiosyncratic, and having expert help to get through the "tweaking" period is well worth while.

What I had hoped the book would do was go through a bunch of the options for setups, with photographs of how people had done various things. People talk about ring bungies, and different ways of rigging the tanks, and how to route inflator hoses . . . I was hoping to see some good photographs illustrating a variety of solutions, just to give someone who is trying to gather data an idea of what the options are, and what the advantages and disadvantages of various solutions can be.

I understand that neither you nor Jill wants to write yourself out of business, but I don't think any book would ever do that. I was just disappointed in what I found to read like a rather sparse syllabus for a series of sidemount classes, suggesting what should be covered in each. I had had higher hopes than that.

 

[Tegg]

Don't discount what you can learn from a mentor or two. I've been diving sidemount exclusively (in caves and when not teaching) since 2002 because of what a couple of great mentors taught me...