From Backmount to Sidemount: Lamar Hires on the Dive Rite Transpac

Episode Description In this episode of Pod Diver Radio, we're on location at Dive Rite HQ in Lake City, Florida with Lamar Hires to dive deep into the design, evolution, and versatility of the Transpac harness system. Lamar shares the origin story of the Transpac from tough expedition work in remote Japanese cave systems, and how the need to hike, crawl, and sump-dive with gear led to a soft, modular harness that could do what rigid backplates couldn't. Lamar breaks down how the Transpac scales from single-tank recreational diving to heavy doubles and into full sidemount with the Nomad system, all while maintaining fit, comfort, and familiarity. We explore the differences between UK "sump-first" sidemount roots and Florida-style cave sidemount, why sidemount is the ultimate self-sufficient / "solo-capable" rig, how it integrates with scooters, and why starting newer or smaller-framed divers (like teens) in a modular harness gives them a smoother path into technical and cave diving later on