Excellent video, I was looking for something like this. I've done my sidemount training couple years ago but still need to practice. Thanks for this video!
Watched it a couple of times now... A remarkably good video. Perfect bouancy, perfect skill and clear visible communication. Love it... Music is very nice too ;)
Damn. What buoyancy control. An instructor I trained under had amazing buoyancy control. He would "sit" cross legged in mid water, but these folks would give him a run for his money.
Cool. Perfect trim! Thank you for the video! Just one remark: in my opinion, gauges in sidemount configuration should be between tank and body. It’s not good, when the gauges dangle so...
Beautiful skills, impressive trim and buyancy. However..I would never fill an SMB with a reg in that way. Too much risk of free flow. Either mount use exhaust to fill it or mount an inflator hose to each bottle.
Should you not check the flow to your necklace regulator *before* closing the long-hose regulator so you are certain in the training drill that you have a good regulator to switch too?
Why do side mount/Tech divers donate the reg in their mouth then get their spare to breath from ? Why not just donate spare in one action ? Also why is spare reg Yellow inc hose in rec diving ( I assume so they can be seen easily) and in tech/side mount all black ? Just curious.
Tech diving with a set of doubles/twins = donate what you're breathing. That way you can confirm it's working and also where it is as you're breathing it. Given that the donor isn't the diver having an issue requiring gas donation you can reasonably assume that they will have the mental faculties to swap to the backup which will be under their chin held in place by a bungee necklace. With sidemount adding a long hose allows an option to donate gas when diving in a mixed group. Rec divers have a yellow alternate/safe second/octopus depending on the agency. It originally was an evolution from buddy breathing where having a second demand valve in a bright colour which can be identified and found easily was a good progression.
Just curious, when you stow your long hose it ends up being on the outside of the tank. I understand it's quicker and easier to stow it there, but it can potentially snag/get damaged in restrictive environments. I stow my hose on the inside (closer to the body), to keep everything streamlined and tangle free. Even with this everything gets scratched up! :)
I have a question on the skills where you bring both cylinders in front. I'm not overhead trained so that's why I want to ask this. If you do this on an overhead environment, would it not mean that you let go of the guide line? Would it not be better to just put 1 cylinder in front and do a no mount with the other clipped on the crotch d-ring? thank you.
It is not necessary to "always" hang onto the line if the visibility is good. If you are going through a squeeze you may want to put one tank in front of you for a smaller profile. I agree with Charles that both tanks is just a drill.
If your penetrating without a guide line then you may have to get through a thin gap. Most wrecks I’ve done don’t have guide lines. You lay them yourself. Passing the reel to a buddy and moving through may require pushing tanks through.
