Sidemount Guide E-Book

Alexander Hartmann

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 148

Beschreibung

The term sidemount diving indicates a configuration of equipment where the cylinders are mounted only at the side of the body and not on the back (backmount). Special attachment and buoyancy systems are being used, which show the benefits of this way of diving to its best advantage: freedom of movement, diving in any desired body position, perfect trim, etc. The book tells you all about Equipment: - Sidemount Systems - Weight systems - sidemount cylinders - Valves - Regulators and hoses - Torches - Accessories Configuration: - Sidemount System - Tank Rigging - Regulators for up to 2 tanks - Torches - Argon supply of dry suit - Accessories Skills: - Equipment Setup - Donning cylinders - Entering the water - Diving in all positions - Propulsion techniques - Gas Management - Valve Drill - Out of Gas - Emergency ascent - etc. The new unique dictionary of Sidemount Diving!

Leseprobe

Sidemount Guide

Equipment – Configuration – Skills

Alexander Hartmann

Copyright

All parts of the book are copyrighted. Reproduction, even of single parts is prohibited. Translation, storage, reproduction and distribution are prohibited without the prior written consent of the author and will be prosecuted.

deep40.de

Sidemount Guide: Equipment – Configuration – Skills

Alexander Hartmann

Copyright © 2014 Alexander Hartmann

published by: epubli GmbH, Berlin

www.epubli.de

ISBN: 978-3-7375-0296-2

Cover Photo: PADI EMEA Ltd.

Disclaimer:

Diving is an activity which bears potential risks to life and health. Profound training and years of experience are necessary to practise this sport safely. This book cannot replace either of the two!

The author does not assume responsibility or liability for any accidents, damage, injuries, or casualties which may result from the use of information from this book!

The contents of this book have been carefully reviewed for mistakes, however they possibility cannot be ruled out.

Also, expert opinion and the current standard of knowledge can be subject to change and adaptation.

The information in this book is based on the personal experience of the author, a great number of instructors, and manufacturers of diving equipment. However, due to the wide range of variations it cannot be universally valid.

Table of Contents

Sidemount Guide

1 Introduction

2 History of Sidemount Diving

2.1 Sidemount Diving – Monkey Diving

3 Benefits of Sidemount Diving

4 Equipment

4.1 Harness and buoyancy compensator

4.1.1 Sandwich systems

4.1.2 Hybrid systems

4.1.3 Puristic sidemount systems

4.2 Weight systems

4.3 Cylinders

4.3.1 Single-cylinder sidemount

4.3.2 Sidemount with two cylinders

4.3.3 Available cylinders

4.3.3.1 Aluminium cylinders

4.3.3.2 Steel cylinders

4.4 Valves

4.5 Attachment of cylinders

4.6 Diving regulators

4.7 Hoses

4.8 Accessories

5 Configuration

5.1 Configuration of jacket and harness

5.2 Configuration of the cylinders

5.2.1 Hand wheels pointing forward

5.2.2 Hand wheels pointing backwards

5.2.3 Configuration of stage rigging kits

5.2.4 Rigging with a hose clip

5.2.5 Rigging with a cam band

5.2.6 Stage bottle straps

5.3 Configuration of the sidemount bungee

5.4 Configuration of the regulators

5.4.1 Configuration of the submersible pressure gauge

5.4.2 Gas supply in general

5.4.3 Configuration of the regulators with one cylinder

5.4.4 Configuration of the regulators with two cylinders

5.4.5 Inflator hoses

5.4.6 Separate gas supply for the dry suit

5.5 Weight systems

5.6 Main torch

5.7 Back-up torch

5.8 Accessories

6 Sidemount skills

6.1 Fitting the equipment – setup

6.1.1 Fitting the harness

6.1.2 Weight systems and trim

6.2 Donning the cylinders

6.3 Entering the water

6.3.1 Entering with donned cylinders

6.3.2 Donning the cylinders in the water

6.4 Diving in any position

6.5 Propulsion techniques

6.6 Gas management

6.6.1 Gas management with one cylinder

6.6.2 Gas management with two cylinders

6.6.3 Regulator switching techniques

6.6.4 Valve drill

6.6.5 Out-of-Gas

6.7 Moving the cylinders to the front of the body

6.8 Emergency ascent

7 Outlook

8 Glossary

1 Introduction

Some years ago I was talking to a very good friend of mine, a professional and very experienced cave diver, about sidemount diving.

In his broad southern German dialect he exclaimed, very upset, ‘Oh, don’t give me any of this bull… . All of a sudden everybody is an expert. Just because they’ve conducted a few dives with sidemount configuration they think they can tell us how it works. We’ve been doing this for years, but they think they know it all!’

Back then I didn’t follow this up, but later I found out: he was right!

What I mean to say is:

Sidemount diving is not really new. It has just lived in the shadows for a long time or was regarded as a second-rate variation of backmount diving (in the form of stages).

There is indeed very little instructional material on the market, presumably in order not to encourage divers to try an autodidactic approach.

There are a lot of variations and just as many instructors who propagate their own specific system. And when observing the debates on the internet, you can really get the impression that quite a few people, who are professional instructors, rail at everything that differs from their own dogma – probably because they feel their reputation and possibly their existence as a professional instructor might be in jeopardy!

But ideologies often prevent you from seeing the bigger picture. One should look at all the options before making a choice. Everybody has different preferences, and something that is suitable for one person may not be the right thing for another.

And last but not least – if the crazy cave-diving danger seekers have been using sidemount configurations for years and are still alive, it can’t be that bad!

Of course I will elaborate on all these points in the following chapters and hope that it will be as informative as interesting.

However the considerations in this book cannot be final, there are too many possible variations and different training instructors attach more importance to some points than to others. Some things are suitable for all purposes, others specifically for technical diving and so forth, but primarily this book is aimed at beginners of sidemount diving.

2 History of Sidemount Diving

Diving with Sidemount Configuration originated in the 1960s in the United Kingdom.

Cave explorers often faced the problem on their excursions that flooded syphons were not passable by foot. They therefore carried scuba diving equipment with small cylinders in order to dive through these narrow passages. Because most of the exploration trip still took place on dry ground, explorers experimented with very minimalist equipment which would hamper them as little as possible. Cylinders were mounted at the side of the body and attached with a belt to the waist and thigh. That way the equipment could be donned and removed quickly and wasn’t too bulky. The single cylinders were not broader than the body of a person and could be shoved ahead or dragged behind when passing through bottlenecks. The so-called ‘English System’ was born.

In the 1970s US-American Cave explorers applied the system to exploration trips which mainly took place under water which meant that it had to be adapted to the requirements of cave diving.

Attached to the thighs, the cylinders would have hindered paddling hence they were moved further upward, towards the armpits. However, they were still carried at the side of the body due to reasons which we will explain later on. Also, a buoyancy system was needed. Home-made belt systems and improvised buoyancy compensators were constructed, for example the legendary buoyancy compensators based on the Camelbaks® – hydration packs for endurance athletes. These were sewn, glued, or tied on to the belts and de- or inflated via the drinking tube.

Since the 1990s sidemount systems have been mass-produced by manufacturers of diving equipment, and diving with sidemount gear has been made accessible to a broader public. The purchasable systems feature different versions and in this book we will introduce the three basic configurations they are based on.

2.1 Sidemount Diving – Monkey Diving

The term sidemount diving indicates a configuration of equipment where the cylinders are mounted only at the side of the body and not on the back (backmount). Special attachment and buoyancy systems are being used, which show the benefits of this way of diving to its best advantage: freedom of movement, diving in any desired body position, perfect trim, etc.

In Anglo-American usage the term ‘monkey diving’ has become established for diving in sidemount configuration. Diving with laterally mounted cylinders obviously wasn’t regarded as sensible.

It should be noted that there is a conceptual distinction to be made when diving with side mounted cylinders when the main air supply cylinders are mounted on the back:

3 Benefits of Sidemount Diving

Even though sidemount diving has been practised for years by cave and wreck divers and although it bears a lot of benefits, as we will see in the following, it has not yet caught on in recreational diving.

Why has sidemount diving lived in the shadows so far? First of all some of the reasons, why sidemount hasn’t become more popular yet:

First obstacle: lack of instructors

The number of instructors who would offer taster courses in sidemount was low and purchasable equipment, required for beginners was not available. The configuration was developed autodidactically, then improved, but always regarded as a means to an end, mainly for technical divers. For a long time there were no instructors or manufacturers, nobody felt called to make sidemount available for the vast number of recreational divers. Only recently instructors and diving schools have picked up on the subject.

Second obstacle: Change is always scary…

But: Don’t be afraid of change, be afraid of stagnation!

Give it a try! Even if you don’t stick with sidemount you have aquired new skills and broadened your mind! And if you should ever dive backmount with a stage bottle, the insight and the practical experience you have gained with sidemount will be very helpful.

Third obstacle: money, money, money… you might have to spend a few quid!

I distinctly remember the outcry in the community of diving instructors when the word was that the hose of the main regulator should be modified to a minimum length of 150 cm (five foot).

Everybody exclaimed: ‘Are you crazy, such a hose would cost at least 20 Deutschmark!’

Please note: Deutschmark! A decade of heated discussion followed…

Meanwhile in many diving schools the long hose has become mandatory for instructors and is strongly recommended for users.

So, it is about time we did away with prejudice and gave people an understanding of thebenefits of sidemount!

So here is a list of the benefits of sidemount diving:

As mentioned above and quite an important point – the financial side …

Benefit no.1: You can use most of your existing equipment!

Cylinders

You usually dive with a twin-12, twin-10, twin-8.5, or twin-7?

Fantastic! Dismantle them and put a blanking plug onto the valves instead of the isolation manifold and you have the right cylinders. Sell your clips, as you will not need them anymore, and you have the funds for rigging kits or assorted cylinder attachments.

You are ‘only’ a recreational diver and have only a single cylinder? You can possibly use it for single-cylinder sidemount diving, although it has to be said that some cylinders are more suitable than others.

Diving regulators

When diving in cold water it is better to use two separate regulator systems anyway. Apart from that you will not need much more – a couple of hoses and a second submersible pressure gauge and you are all geared up.

If you are monkey diving with one cylinder it is even easier. Basically you only need to fit a few hoses.

Wing

You want to continue diving single-cylinder or twin set backmount? With a hybrid system (e.g. Hollis SMS 100) you can dive sidemount, single-cylinder backmount and twin set backmount! These systems have the same lifting capacity as a normal wing jacket, hence it dispenses with the need for a traditional ADV jacket. So why not swap it for a sidemount system?

With a sandwich system you can also dive with all kinds of mounting and all kinds of cylinders - by simply unrigging the second backplate; you can use it for backmount again.

But after trying sidemount you might not want to continue diving backmount anyway…

And whichever sidemount system you may choose: you can conduct any kind of dive with virtually the same equipment, be it a recreational dive or a challenging technical dive!

Benefit no. 2: Sidemount is ideal for travel!

Taking your diving gear on a plane trip with limited baggage allowance can be expensive, complicated, or simply impossible.

Most sidemount systems will save you carrying much weight because the components of the systems are lighter than wings with a backplate or jam-packed ADV jackets.

The picture shows the harness of a puristic sidemount system. A small buoyancy compensator completes the system, thus it has much smaller dimensions and a lower weight than a customary buoyancy control device.

The benefit is even more striking when diving with a twin set. The dive base at your holiday destination may not have twin sets for hire and taking a twin set on a plane is likely to be very problematic.

It is much easier to pack rigging kits or cam bands for the sidemount cylinders as you will only need to hire mono tanks with basic valves from the dive base at your holiday resort! Just mount the rigging and you’re ready to go! Also, on many boats – unless they are specially equipped - twin tanks are not well liked. Often they cannot be stored in brackets during the trip and have to be kept lying on deck. The cylinders for sidemount are mono tanks and can be stored just like any other cylinder.

Benefit no. 3: Sidemount is back-friendly

Remember how it all started? The English system was created for quick donning and removing of the cylinders, and we benefit from that.

You can comfortably take the rigged cylinders one by one to the entry area, then change into your diving gear, go to the entry area without any load and don the bottles in the water. No need to carry 30 kg of equipment on your back, before you enter, or heave them onto your back on shore!

And if you have a longer way to the entry area you can use a cart or a trolley. You might argue that a trolley can be used for the twin tanks too however, donning them is usually much more difficult and requires help, like a place to put them down (a table, bench or similar) or a diving partner, who is probably carrying heavy equipment himself.

In chapter 6.2 we will show you that sidemount cylinders can also be donned comfortably while sitting down.

Another point is the subject of lead weights.

The required weights for sidemount diving can be spread in various places all over the body, in order not to put all the pressure on your lower back, as with a conventional weight belt.

Most sidemount systems have integrated weight systems, some of which can hold enormous amounts of lead weights!

Benefit no. 4: Sidemount is safer!

In sidemount diving you have complete control over all important parts of your equipment!

In technical diving, learning to reach the valves, opening and closing them without help is a mandatory part of the training. However, many divers find it quite difficult. Among recreational divers the short 12 l cylinders are widely-used, even though from a diver’s point of view they are technologically less suitable. Often they hang so low down on the jacket that it is nigh impossible to reach the valves. Also trim and attitude in the water are not ideal with short cylinders and can only be changed slightly.

Again, sidemount is different: You can see all parts of your equipment, and it is easy to reach and operate the valves. If necessary you could even unscrew a regulator and replace it by another.

Since the sidemount configuration is a very minimalist configuration, with a harness based on the concept of a back pack, the chest area is free from unnecessary equipment. All vital parts of the equipment can be reached easily and safely. This also means you are able to act independently in an emergency situation when diving with a partner.

On top of that, the position of the cylinders and the specially tailored buoyancy control systems enable you to adjust your trim optimally.

This means a safe and relaxed diving experience.

Benefit no. 5: Sidemount is comfortable

In terms of comfort and ease there is a whole number of benefits that can be outlined.

We have already mentioned how back-friendly sidemount is. Moreover, the fact that cylinders can be donned and removed easily also facilitates the entry into the water in all possible circumstances.

You can, for example, lower your cylinders into the water on a rope, then don them at the surface or even under water. This is very helpful when you are entering from a boat into a moderate current. But also the giant stride is possible with mounted cylinders.

The minimalist configuration results in more flexibility and freedom of movement and, as mentioned before, greater safety.

Sidemount configurations are more streamlined. It requires less effort, less energy and less gas. Photo: PADI EMEA Ltd.

Photo: Radoslav Husak

Benefit no. 6: Sidemount is more streamlined

The laterally mounted cylinders reduce the front surface of the diver significantly.

In horizontal position, when properly configured, the cylinders lie in the slipstream under the arms of the diver, and unlike backmounted cylinders, don’t add to the outline.

This will save labour, energy and breathing gas. The dive will be even more laid-back. In more challenging, technical dives this will leave you with more back-up resources, and if a scooter is used, it will be less burdened.

In cave dives the cylinders can be pushed ahead of the body when meeting a bottleneck. This will allow you to pass through very tight passages.

4 Equipment

In this chapter we will have a look at the components the sidemount gear consists of.

4.1 Harness and buoyancy compensator