Houston's Premier Scuba and Dive Shop Oceanic Ventures Inc.

(713) 523-3483 (dive)
5808 Newcastle Drive
Houston, TX 77401

Sidemount

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Facebook Live – The Sidemount Revolution

This week is all about sidemount diving! We will be joined by Hollis Brand Manager, Nick Hollis and cave diver Edd Sorenson to discuss the history of sidemount diving, its rise to fame, and where it stands today. We’ll dive into different sidemount configurations, what is used in different regions around the world, and Nick and Edd’s favorite setups. Don’t forget to bring your questions!

You can find the link on the Hollis Facebook page on Monday. We will also update this post with the link when they update it.

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Club Aquarius Social Club – What is All of the Hype about Sidemount diving for Recreational Divers?

Photo by Pete Nawrocky

Fresh from a week of diving in Fiji, Eric will be staying awake with tall tales and fun stories while helping you to understand why…

So What is All of the Hype About Sidemount Diving for Recreational Divers?

When he is not diving his rebreather, you will find Eric diving using a sidemount configuration, especially on recreational dives.  Come learn more about why he likes it and why you might like it too…
  • WHAT:         Club Aquarius Social Club
  • WHERE:       Black Labrador Pub, 4100 Montrose
  • WHEN:          7:00 PM
  • HOW:             By car, plane, boat, or on foot

Dinner Special:       Yes, there will be a dinner and an drink special too!

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Experiencing the Solomon Islands a Scuba Diving Trip Aboard the Bilikiki

Diving in the Solomon Islands – Guadalcanal

Dive Manager - Csaba
Dive Manager – Csaba

 The morning finds is on our first diving location.  Diving off the Bilikiki is done primarily off the “tinies,” aluminum boats with cylinder holes and a small ladder. Csaba (pronounced Chaba) was in charge of the first dive and after the briefing it was – this way to the South Pacific and Tinie 1, Tinie 1 as the crew moved the diving equipment from the deck to the tinie.  The order was the same each day, diving equipment, cameras then divers.  All you as a diver needed to do was to let the crew members know that you were ready, move your name tag from “on-board” to “diving” and then step aboard your waiting diving chariot.

 The adventure continues…

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Open Water Side Mount Scuba Diving

Diver Hovering
Photograph by Pete Nawrocky

If you look through the various diving publications or look at current diving trends on the internet, you will find references to side mount diving. Have you ever wondered why? In order to help answer that question we should first talk about what side mount diving is.

Like the name implies, in side mount diving, you mount the cylinders on your side instead of on your back. This is accomplished using some clips on the bottles and the d-rings on your buoyancy control device, BCD. You can see a diver in side mount gear in the photo above.

So now that you have a basic understanding of what it is, you may still be wondering why? Side mount divers have a variety of resons fro switching to this method of diving. Of course technical divers have been doing this style of diviing for a long time in order to squeeze into tighter spaces; but recreational divers are discovering new reasons to try it.

One reason given by these divers is the fact that you can carry the bottles to the water or better yet to the boat’s dive platform one at a time and then enter the water with no cylinder. This allows you to reduce the strain on your back especially when you get to hand the bottles back up to the crew and climb out of the water with no cylinders on at all.

Another reason is simply a gas supply issue. This is especially desirable if you are a heavy breather. By carrying two bottles, you have a larger gas supply and can remain underwater longer. Yes, guys, this means you can stay down as long as your wife. An additional benefit is that by changing the placement of the cylinders, side mount divers trim out better or obtain a better, horizontal posture underwater.

You may be asking that if it is simply a matter of mneung the bottles, why should I take a course to learn how to do it? That is a good question to ask. One of the things you will learn in class is how to configure your equipment to best carry the bottles. Another thing is the scheme of changing second stages as you swim underwater. In another lesson, you will learn how to deal with the bottles and the beginning and end of your dive so you don’t drop them to the bottom (a really bad thing especially when you are over a wall).

So, to put it simply, there is a lot of interest in lightinig the equipment load exiting or entering the boats for all of us. Side Mount divers also love the extra gas available! If you have not tried it, you should take a course and get started…it is a lot of fun.

To find out more about Open Water Side Mount diving, send Eric an email or leave a comment.

 The next Open Water Side Mount Course is scheduled to begin 28 February 2012. Other classes are available. Email us for more information.

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Side Mount Open Water Course to be offered in June

Photo by Pete Nawrocky

A number of divers have been asking about side mount diving lately.  It seems that a number of people are becoming interested in adding side mount diving to their skill-set.  You will find this style of diving different but freeing, especially when compared to diving in twins.

Eric Keibler will be offering an Open Water Side Mount course in June.  This is a 3 night class with one to two days of open waters.  It is intended for open water diving, not side mounting in caves or wrecks.  You will find it to be an easy way to extend your bottom time.
If you would like to find out more, please send Eric a note.  Or, if you are ready to sign-up just send Eric an email or sign-up now through our on-line system.

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Open Water Sidemount Scuba Diving

Diver in Sidemount Equipment
Diver in Sidemount Equipment Photo by Pete Nawrocky

Pete Nawrocky is on a mission.  He is interested in expanding divers options around the world by introducing them to open water side-mount diving.  When Pete is not using his rebreather, you will find him diving this way and telling everyone he meets that this is the only way to dive open circuit.
 Diving side mount is not a new concept; it was originally created by cave divers that had a need to safely penetrate narrow and confining spaces. In recent years, many open water divers have viewed side-mounting as the next step in their diving skill evolution. Much of this interest comes from the way the divers are able to divide the weight of the equipment. Preparing for a dive is different. The diver can carry the cylinders to the waters edge and leave them there. After suiting up in the appropriate thermal protection, you put on your harness/air cell combination that is independent of the cylinders. After entering the water, you attach the cylinders to the harness. 
One thing you might notice when looking at a side-mount diver is that the hose routing is completely different this is a result of the different methodology employed by these divers.  Each tank is independent and is used for different tasks.
 So why would an open water diver want to “dive side-mount?”  One reason is that as an alternative to twin cylinders, you can dive anywhere single cylinders are available.  This allows for longer bottom times where twin cylinders are not available.  Additionally, many side mount divers prefer carrying single bottles to the water rather than a set of manifolded, twin cylinders.
 Lamar Hires, President of Dive Rite discusses side mount diving in a series of videos.  You will find all of the videos on our youtube channel.  In this video, Lamar discusses why you might want to learn to sidemount diving: 

 There are some drawbacks to side-mount diving over twinset diving.  The redundancy prneuded by using manifolded twin cylinders is eliminated as is the simplicity of the system.  There are ways to manage the lack of redundancy which is taught in side-mounting programs.
 Learning to dive “side-mount” is more than just hanging two cylinders off of your BCD or harness system.  Learning how to deal with the bottles, donning and remneung them so as not to lose them in the water, and establishing a breathing regime are all part of a side-mounting training program.
 There is also some additional equipment needed to take advantage of this method of diving.  In looking at Dive Rite’s sytem, the Nomad XT sidemount rig is our “off road” model made with a super-tough exterior. The outer panels of the wing are engineered using SuperFabric® brand technology for optimum resistance to punctures and abrasions, while remaining very flexible.  It was built with the explorer in mind.  It has the added benefit of being a modular system: the harness, wing, butt-plate and crotch strap are all separate elements. This allows the traveling explorer (or any diver wishing to modify their rig) the ability to trade out wings, remove the buttplate or make any fit adjustments necessary to meet the objective of the dive mission.  Here are some divers using Pete’s preferred system.  While this video shows divers in a cave, this same system can be used while swimming on a reef or touring a wreck.

 To effectively mount the bottles on the harness you will need some bungee straps to keep the valves and bottles in position and make some other modifications to your kit.  You will also find yourself “kitting up” differently.  Because of  this, some additional training is necessary to do it correctly.  Learning to dive in a sidemount kit is not difficult, it is just different.  It takes some practice and some flexibility. 
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Pete Nawrocky: Pete is the Sales Manager for Dive Rite and is best known for his willingness to share his passion for diving with others. Pete has established quite a following of divers who enjoy his affable approach to teaching and Pete can be found at least once a month in the water with a group of divers who want to learn new techniques or try new equipment. Pete makes it a point to dive with all of his clients as often as possible; believing that diving is what builds lasting relationships and after all, is what draws everyone to this unique industry in the first place.