Self Taught Sidemount - Is it Doable?

[Fish-R-Man]

I was shopping for a new wing and found a screaming deal on a new Hollis SMS100 sidemount rig. I have been wanting to try sidemount diving for some time now so I figured what the heck. Now that I will be recieving the new rig in a few days, I though I would see what members on this forum thought of the idea of going it alone to set up the rig. I live about 4 hours from the closest possible sidemount class, and really haven't found anyone that teaches it yet.

I dive back mount doubles regularly and have an assortment of gear that should adapt nicely to the new set up.

Any thoughts or advice will be greatly appreciated....

 

[decompression]

If your are used to diving deco bottles, it's similar as far as feel goes. There are some very good DVDs out as well as some YouTube videos that can be a good visual reference. The sidemount forum is a good source of info, that said.....with proper instruction you can reduce your learning curve, learn properly and reduce risk of injury or death. If you have pool access then that is a good place to practice but there is no substitute for quality instruction.

 

[oldschoolto]

Somewhere, Someone did it without a trainer.... Now if you have half a brain and are good at feeling things out you should be fine... A pool or a safe pond or harbor is a good place to start... I would not side mount 4 hp 120 and go caving the first day.... That is for the second day...
If your a hotshot know it all.... Please go get a trainer.....

Jim

 

[CCRMichael]

I was a self taught SM diver. Doing successful Cave dives on it. Than I had someone with more experience show me some things and I was amazed at how much I learned. Now I teach TDI Sidemount courses and all of my students are very pleased with their decision to take a class on it. You will learn more than you would on your own and way quicker. Learn from others mistakes and trials so you don't have to relive all of them for the next decade. I try to show my students not only the way I do it but several other options and let them make their own decisions.

If you are ever in UT and want to learn more let me know. michael@diveaddicts.com

Or get a group big enough together and I will come to you.

Or even if you find someone else I recommend the class. Find out what type of SM diving they do first and make sure they are going to have the knowledge to offer you the class you need. There are a lot of SM instructors out there which means there are a lot of good ones and quite a few bad ones.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

It's quicker and cheaper to take a class - but there is a certain amount of masochistic fun in doing it yourself and making a zillion tweaks on your own while discovering what interacts with what and generally experiencing all the unintended consequences.

The middle of the road option is find someone who dives side mount properly, who can get you started in a workable configuration with minimum pain, suffering and needless expense.

Even with a class you'll still encounter new or different ways of doing things, some of which you'll like and adopt and others that you won't.

 

[BabyDuck]

my boyfriend is a masochist. i'd have rather taken a class than suffered gear futzing many times a day.

oh, hi, honey, i love you!

 

[rongoodman]

Some systems are probably easier to learn on your own than others. The Hollis system should be easier to get set up than a Razor--it seems like every time I touch mine beyond just putting it on that I throw something out of whack.

 

[Fish-R-Man]

I would love to take a class, but I would have to plan a vacation around it and my dive buddy (wife) isn't too keen on the idea of my taking classes when are supposed to be vacationing. I have a lake about 40 minutes away with a nice beach that our local OP uses for all of his O/W classes.

I'm not worried about injury or death... I like figuring stuff out, but I know if I could find the right instructor, the learning curve would be a lot simpler. I found that with sport fishing also. If I'm heading to a new spot to steelhead or salmon fish, it's way better to go with a local guide for a day or so to see what works best in that particluar location. It saves me a bunch of time figuring it out myself.

The Seattle area would be the closest to me for a class. If you know of a good instructor in that area, please let me know.....

 

[DA Aquamaster]

my boyfriend is a masochist. i'd have rather taken a class than suffered gear futzing many times a day.

oh, hi, honey, i love you!

Hi Sweetie.

Marci professes to hate the futzing etc, with sidemount but she also exaggerates - it was only futzing several times a week, now it's down to about 2-3 tweaks per year...

I suspect however when we arrive in cave country 9-1-12 (the leave was just approved about 5 minutes ago sweetie) and start to gear up, she'll be disappointed when she discovers her backmount gear got packed instead. Sidemount is worth the trouble....

 

[Colliam7]

I have been wanting to try sidemount diving for some time now so I figured what the heck. Now that I will be recieving the new rig in a few days, I though I would see what members on this forum thought of the idea of going it alone to set up the rig. . . . I dive back mount doubles regularly and have an assortment of gear that should adapt nicely to the new set up. Any thoughts or advice will be greatly appreciated....

I agree with DA and several others - you can do it yourself, although taking a class would expedite the process. However, if that is not in your immediate future, go for it on a DIY basis.

I was a BM diver who saw someone dive SM in FL 5 years back, and became intrigued. I watched him dive his rig, looked over his rig, talked with him, emailed him multiple times, and started diving SM - with a Nomad. I tweaked lots of things, and made my way though the initial steps. But, I then had a chance to go take a class with him in FL, and the rate of progress was amazingly greater. Of course, maybe that was because of all that I had already done. You learn the most from mistakes.

I would love to take a class, but I would have to plan a vacation around it and my dive buddy (wife) isn't too keen on the idea of my taking classes when are supposed to be vacationing. . . . I like figuring stuff out, but I know if I could find the right instructor, the learning curve would be a lot simpler.

Exactly. But, in reality, you can easily get started without it. What I truly love about SM is that it is a DIY paradise. Spend time getting familiar with it, watch the videos that Lamar has put on the Dive Rite website, spend a little bit of money to buy the video that Jeff Loflin and Jill Heinerth have produced (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/si...o-diving-guide-jeff-loflin-jill-heinerth.html - available here on SB through 57writer), go to Steve Martin's website, go to Steve Bogaerts' website, and you will find that you can get started. Plus, there are plenty of people here on SB who regularly post about SM techniques - just do a search. I won't mention specific people - if I mention 1, I probably leave out 29 others who have equally valuable inputs.

SM is not rocket science, especially for someone who has done a lot of BM. But, you can learn tips and techniques from more experienced folks, here on SB and elsewhere.