Sidemount

I like sidemount. I will frequent­ly, jokingly, disparage the configuration, but I do like it. It can be comfortable and streamlined. It can be very flexible. There is an argument to be made for completely isolated redundancy. Mostly, it is good for moving through places no bigger than the space below your coffee table.

“Long dives, no pain” was the main reason for me to learn this configuration. I have been using sidemount for nine years now, and I still think it is the best approach to prevent the deterioration of one’s neck, shoulders and back.

One of the least mysterious things about sidemount diving is how to rig a set of steel primary cylinders so they hang at diver’s sides as they are supposed to, rather than hanging pendulum-like below them. However, some still struggle to get it anywhere close to right. Perhaps this article will help.

Doing something right has never been more important that being ready—and even eager—to change for the better. What was considered great a few years ago is not always great today. All we need is to find a better option, since what was right yesterday, may not be right anymore. Doing It Right (DIR) is about doing it better than it was done before. For me, that is the only right thing to do.

When I started scuba diving, I became aware of the limitations of an injured body. Every time I carried a scuba tank, the acute pain in my lower back and shoulders increased, and it took a long time for the pain to go away. I did not want to give up scuba diving, so I looked for a solution and found one—diving sidemount.

It has been a year now since I started to exclusively side-mount the off-board tanks of my rebreather—either a Megalodon CCR or an Evolution CCR. Why? Simply because it’s much more convenient!