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Posted: 7/2/2017 11:51:02 PM EDT
Greetings from

My friend Lewis retired to Caye Caulker, Belize.  He decided on sidemount for his new gear to use here and I came down and took the course with him.  He bought a Nomad LX with the ring bungee system.  It is a pretty cool rig.





If you need it for trim, they make a weight pouch for the back.  We didn't find it necessary with steel tanks.


He also bought a pair of travel bands.




We changed out the bolt snaps to a bigger size.  It makes it much easier to attach the cylenders on the boat.  In the water its a breeze but it can be challenging aboard a dive boat.  But we were trained to get in to the water fully dressed in open ocean off a boat and so that is how we rolled.  I got out fully dressed of the big boat but Lewis would unclip his tanks and pass them up.  Steel LP85s are not overly light, especially on a swaying platform.

He also got a pair of Dive Right DIN regs, spgs, and a Perdix AI with transmitters for both first stages.  

I used an earlier generation Nomad for my training.  Belize Diving Services provided my harness, bands, regs.  I brought my diveskin, mask/fins/boots/computer, and I used my 7' long hose and S600 second stage.



My tanks ready to go




I have been using nitrox for 12 years but Lewis hadn't received the cert yet so he took the TDI Nitrox course.  He also took the Advanced Nitrox course but we didn't do those checkout dives this time.  

We had played with his gear in a pool in Texas when he bought it, and he got a chance to dive off the pier before I arrived on the island.

Ilya was our instructor.  He did a great job and I highly recommend him.   He is the first native Belizian to get full cave certified.  Very easy to talk to and quite a patient, upbeat individual.  

The first day we went over paperwork, he demonstrated the gear and I fitted myself to the rental Nomad.  We then took the small boat to the edge of the reef and did some skills.  It was quite difficult in the intense swell.  





Honestly, Lewis and I really performed poorly that first afternoon.  I knew I needed coaching with my frog kick technique, but I was truly humbled by my deficiencies in keeping neutral.  My trim was very leg heavy and Lewis swallowed a little salt water during a gas switch exercise.  Ilya told us we had a lot to improve on before he would sign off on this cert, and we told him that we were going to keep practicing and do as many dives as we needed to get this right.  We both intend to become safe, competent tech divers and we didn't want so skimp on the fundamentals, as they can get you killed.

We went home the first night and studied videos and brainstormed on what and how we could improve.

What a difference a day makes!  We reconfigured some of our straps the morning of the checkout dives and headed off to Turneffe Atoll.





Here is Lewis making sure we are getting 33%



The ride out was a little rough with 5-7 foot seas but we made it just fine to the protected waters of the atoll and did our first dive to 85 feet for 50 mins.  We went over the skills we did the day before and we did so much better.  I found that lowering my bottom cam band and bolt snap and attaching to my waist belt d rings moved the tanks forward enough that I was in near perfect trim.  Buoyancy control for both of us was not a problem either.  

After we surfaced we joined the rest of the crew and divers to a Curry Chicken, rice, macoroni salad, and plantain lunch, paired with an ice cold Fresca.

We planned out our second dive of 55 mins and worked on more skills and just enjoyed the last half of the dive.  Saw several sharks and a pair of Spotted Rays that were magnificant.

Upon surfacing Ilya shook our hands and we completed the class, save for the debrief back at the shop.

I really enjoyed this class and the experience of doing it with such a good friend.  We had a ball and it was really neat to be challenged and humbled during this course.  

I enjoyed the gas switches and valve drills the most.

To me sidemount is just another tool in the toolbox.  My favorite diving is wreck and I plan on doing Advanced Nitrox and Deco in addition to Advanced Wreck next and I feel that given my size I will be better suited with doubles.  I expressed to Ilya that I wanted to really focus on Intro to Tech concepts in this class and he did a great job incorporating that.

Now I have to go back to Fort Worth and keep practicing my finning moves until I have it down 100%

I'll add video and more pics when I get them.  

Goodnight friends, I have to go down to the beach one more time before I return to the rat race!
Link Posted: 7/3/2017 9:21:06 AM EDT
[#1]
Good write up. Going to be getting my kids certified this year.
Link Posted: 7/3/2017 11:43:10 AM EDT
[#2]
Quality sidemount instruction (at least through the setup phase if nothing else) will save you tons of time and headache, as it seems it already has for you. I know having someone that knew what they were doing help me set up my gear took a ton of time off the process for me.

This was me, using borrowed tanks, a borrowed (ancient) Nomad that was customized to the diver I got it off of, and borrowed fins. Literally, first trip down the run at Ginnie in sidemount gear at all in about 10 feet or less of water the entire time. Second dive was better and by the time I got my own setup, there was very little left to configure as I'd already mimicked the band heights and leash lengths on my own tanks. It wasn't perfect, but it was doable.





Next picture was the second dive, same place, with shoulder weights and slight loop adjustments:





I ended up going with a Nomad XT dual bladder because the LT or LS (I want to say LT was the one I tried next) was waaay off for me. The wing design and my body size and shape just did not mesh at all, I was constantly pivoting front to back and side to side both. The XT is large and kind of bulky but it "covers" me well and feels comfortable to wear. After a few open water and cavern dives making sure the bungee loops were the correct length and adding two 1lb weights to the shoulder harness (which works well with both my Dive Rite XT fins and my Mares Quattros, thankfully), I've only gotten to do a couple cave dives in my own gear so far but I'm hoping I can get over this cold I've got sometime this week and head back out to the river near me to practice donning/doffing an O2 bottle and a deco/stage bottle (finished setting them up two nights ago at the house) for my full cave and AN/DP classes.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 11:12:13 AM EDT
[#3]
I found it challenging trying to don and doff a stage bottle in sidemount due to the existing tank in the way. I can do it but it isn't as pretty as some of the videos I've seen. It's all going to come down to practice practice practice.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 12:44:20 PM EDT
[#4]
Thanks for the AAR! Octopus, like you, wreck is my favorite diving, and I plan on going to the dark side sooner or later. I did my first wrecks on Lake Michigan on Sunday, and I am hooked! But Ive been Great Lakes shipwreck obsessed for over 20 years.

TDI is having this Mission Tech thing at Dutch Springs on July 15th and then Haigh Quarry July 22nd. Haigh is my local quarry. All sorts of equipment manufacturers will be out there, and you can try all sorts of stuff, including rebreathers and scooters. I'm going to try SM. I know several friends of my size and body type who have had good luck with the Hollis SMS75.

Local folks keep trying to push me into BM doubles, but don't seem to get it about my knee issues, even when they see me gimping around at the quarry and hauling my gear around in a little wagon so I don't have to carry it, so SM it is! My shop has a good tech instructor (he's also an OW instructor and did my Nitrox class). While at the quarry recently, I got to watch tech instructor doing dives at local quarry with 3 students for an AN/DP class. It was very interesting. They were hovering above a platform I was near, practicing on dropping and retrieving stage bottles. 2 of the students were in BM doubles, 1 in SM. They had to get a certain number of in water hours before going up to Wazee Lake, a flooded iron mine in Wisconsin that goes down to 300+ feet. Even me, with a bit less than 40 dives at that point, and no tech experience, could tell the students were having issues. Found out later from my instructors that all 3 of the students have to do remedial work before they can do the deeper dives for the class.

Depending on how things go, I'm aiming for Intro to Tech later next year (it's offered several times a year), then SM. I'll also be doing Solo sometime in there, after I get 100 dives. Rescue, too.

Got the Rob Neto SM book, as well as the TDI SM book. The Neto book was very helpful in helping me to understand a bunch of stuff.

Octopus, which tanks are you using? I have a local friend who does a lot of SM diving on vacation, so he's made the decision to go with AL80s, as those are the tanks he can get in Mexico, etc.

Sorry for the long post.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 2:58:56 PM EDT
[#5]
We were using steel LP85 tanks.  

If I were doing caves, shore entries, etc then I would go sidemount.  Getting into and out of the open ocean is a little challenging.  For that environment I prefer having the tanks on my back.  But like I said, it was a cool course and I'm glad I took it.  I can definitely see the advantages to the system.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 3:29:14 PM EDT
[#6]
I know a couple of boats that allow SM, so there's that.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 5:52:49 PM EDT
[#7]
If all you're doing is single tank recreational diving side mount doesn't make much sense. You could make an argument for a back or knee issues and diving from the shore but for most people an AL80 on the back makes a lot more sense. I think side mount is a better solution for solo diving especially when the other option is a pony bottle.

Personally, I side mount everything; I don't even own any back mount gear anymore. However, 90% or so of my diving anymore falls under the technical umbrella and I measure the surface interval of recreational dive in month to years. It doesn't make sense for me to dive single tank back mount the once or twice a year that I do it when I'm diving caves as often as several times a week.

All that being said here's what I have found that has worked in terms of recreational diving:

The smaller the tank size the better. Personally, I've found that LP50's are pretty much the sweet spot for this kind of thing. They trim out well, will give you almost as much gas as an AL80 if they're cave filled, and you still can get 100 cubic feet out of a standard fill. A pair of them cave filled weigh about as much, and are about as much of a pain in the butt as an AL80 and BP/W.

Going down the list a pair of AL40's would probably be my next choice. They don't trim out as well as LP50/85 and they'll get a little floaty in the butt. However, their diameter and weight really reduces their PITA (pain in the butt) coefficient. They're easy on the back and knees but don't offer more in terms of gas than a single AL80.  

AL80's are probably next down on the list. They can be used for everything from recreational diving to AN/DP level of dives. They do get a little floaty in the butt especially as they empty. However, they're everywhere and in all honesty they're pretty easy to manage.

LP 85's would probably be last on my list for recreational stuff and a lot of technical stuff. I love my 85's but in reality they're just too heavy for climbing into or out of a boat and unless they're cave filled they don't offer that much over a pair of AL80's in terms of gas. I may be pressed to use them for something involving planned deco in big water where I need the extra gas and I can get cave fills otherwise they stay in cave country.

If you're going to be doing much more than AN/DP level of diving then in all honesty it's time to start looking at rebreathers.

Getting into or out of a boat really isn't anymore or less challenging compared to back mount. It is different, but in reality schlepping 100+/- pounds of dive gear in a pitching and rolling sea isn't any easier in any gear configuration.

When getting into the water if you have to thru a railing and can't get thru because you're diving wide mount then just turn your body 90 degrees and side step your way into the water.
Back rolls are easy because you just have to make sure that the butt of your tanks is over the side. Then it's just a matter of rolling back and clipping in which you can even do on your descent with a little practice.

Getting back onboard may or may not be much of a challenge. If you're running smaller tanks just unclip and hand them up. And sometimes you just have to grin and bear it unfortunately. And if you're diving big seas then at some point you have to honestly ask yourself why?

Side mount really falls under two umbrellas. If you view it as a tool for diving specific situations then you don't really need to do much.

If you view side mount as a primary configuration then the reality is that you're going to have to take a holistic approach to the way you dive side mount. The standard rules of recreational and technical gear configuration/approaches really start to break down at some point. That means adapting your equipment with things like smaller diameter tanks for recreational stuff and approaching problems differently.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 7:22:37 PM EDT
[#8]
I don't think I'd be SM'ing all the time. Currently, I think of it for certain situations, like solo or deeper dives, in addition to tech stuff. I have a friend who recently got SM and solo certified the same weekend. She currently only does SM if she's going deeper or solo.

I'm considering steel tanks, simply because I dive dry a lot and need close to 30lbs to sink me. I'm thinking of HP100s. My shop has a few in their rental fleet I can try at the quarry before the end of the season. These would be for BM.

A rebreather is waaaay out of my budget. From what I read, it only really makes sense if you're doing trimix because of the cost of helium.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 8:11:38 PM EDT
[#9]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I don't think I'd be SM'ing all the time. Currently, I think of it for certain situations, like solo or deeper dives, in addition to tech stuff. I have a friend who recently got SM and solo certified the same weekend. She currently only does SM if she's going deeper or solo.

I'm considering steel tanks, simply because I dive dry a lot and need close to 30lbs to sink me. I'm thinking of HP100s. My shop has a few in their rental fleet I can try at the quarry before the end of the season. These would be for BM.

A rebreather is waaaay out of my budget. From what I read, it only really makes sense if you're doing trimix because of the cost of helium.
View Quote
How much redundancy do you really need? How much would you feel comfortable with? Why do you need redundancy?

If you're not going into overheads or doing planned decompression in reality HP 100's with your pony bottle will be plenty for most recreational depths and satisfies the solo equipment requirements. Side mounting isn't going to offer you much of anything in that regard. You could argue for larger capacity tanks, or a twin set because lets face it breathing gas is a lot like sex, there's no such thing as too much. However, there's also the PITA coefficient to factor in as well. Eventually at some point a lot of divers get sick of too much gear because there's too much of it or it just weighs a metric butt ton and become a PITA.

Where side mount does make a lot more sense is when you're getting into overhead environments or if you have a life style issue such as a back or knee issue. Personally, I think side mount is a little safer than manifolded doubles; not a lot safer but just a little. And when you couple it with the fact that it's easier to fit into restrictions I think it makes a lot more sense in hard overhead environments. On the flip side of that coin though a lot of people have done a heck of a lot of exploration in manifolded doubled and have never had an issue.

Viewing side mount as a tool in the tool box makes a lot of sense if you do a lot of diving in overhead environments. You already have redundancy built into your kit now it's just a tool for getting past restrictions to explore a particular part of a cave system or wreck.

My main reason for going side mount was the fact that I couldn't reach the valves in back mount and my knees have had better days. So in that sense side mount makes a lot more sense for me. However, I side mount everything since most of my diving is in an overhead environment. It's not uncommon for me to do several different cave systems a week. And if I don't dive them several times a week then I certainly hit them several times a month. On the other hand my I may only get to do a couple of recreational dives a year.  

LP85's for side mount only make sense in cave country. Around here if it's steel it's getting filled to 3600 PSI if the shop caters to the tech and cave crowd. And at those pressures that LP85 has approximately 115 cubic feet of gas. The problem with 85's is that once you get away from cave country you're going to wind up with a standard fill at 2640 PSI and you really don't have much more air than a pair of AL80's.

HP 100's make a lot more sense if you live outside of central and north Florida. I'm considering picking up a pair just for traveling.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 8:16:56 PM EDT
[#10]
Just another tool in my tool box. Plus, with my wreck obsession, I may eventually take the Advanced Wreck class which is full penetration. Not interested in cave/cavern at all.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 8:36:49 PM EDT
[#11]
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Quoted:
Just another tool in my tool box. Plus, with my wreck obsession, I may eventually take the Advanced Wreck class which is full penetration. Not interested in cave/cavern at all.
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Those two classes aren't too far apart from each other IMO. The skills learned in both are almost identical, penetration is penetration. It doesn't matter if its a wreck or a cave. You need to learn hose configuration, reel and line management, and better gas management for starters. Both of those classes cover all of that.
Link Posted: 7/4/2017 10:52:53 PM EDT
[#12]
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Quoted:
Those two classes aren't too far apart from each other IMO. The skills learned in both are almost identical, penetration is penetration. It doesn't matter if its a wreck or a cave. You need to learn hose configuration, reel and line management, and better gas management for starters. Both of those classes cover all of that.
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View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Just another tool in my tool box. Plus, with my wreck obsession, I may eventually take the Advanced Wreck class which is full penetration. Not interested in cave/cavern at all.
Those two classes aren't too far apart from each other IMO. The skills learned in both are almost identical, penetration is penetration. It doesn't matter if its a wreck or a cave. You need to learn hose configuration, reel and line management, and better gas management for starters. Both of those classes cover all of that.
I realize that, but there is no point in me going for cavern/cave training, when I'm not interested in it at all.
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