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I've made a bunch of BASE jumps and skydives with a side mounted L bracket. I've never had any issues with it. I've always deployed stable though.

However, have one unstable deployment where the camera is in line with where the riser needs to go and you can kiss that sucker goodbye.

You're also effectively bolting a lever to the side of your head that can transmit quite a bit of force to your neck on a slider down opening. Something to think about.

2 times
#1 skydive
#2 BASE
both times by riser hit on a L mount no protection for the cam what so ever.
Lost the objective at the skydive but found it on BASE jumped,actualy i mannegede to glue it up and still use it.

It were the same cam a pc2,needed a 1820$repair(on incurance,sadly they didnt replaced the cam).It had to be done as the "house" will be ripped apart and you´ll need some new expencive parts.
On the second time i glued the cam my self,it worked just fine and still does,even as it has been retiret(it kept loosing power).

That is what I used to jump. I only had a few issues with it like not putting a tape in it and a charged battery. No really, I have had a couple riser strikes and once I got a cut-away guide on my Reactor wrapped around the wide angle. I think it is jsut a risk you take having that thing hanging off the side of your head. I see some guys that wear them top mounted.

The good thing about having the camera, I have found, is that your face is never on the vid and since you are usually the last one off no one can see ya shittin' yourself before the countdown.

I've seen a camera ripped off the side of a helmet by riser strike. The camera cratered about a days hike up the side of a mountain. As far as I know, no one was willing to hike up there and search for it.

Two thoughts:

1) You can reduce the risk of riser strike by loosening your chest strap a litle. This allows more space between your risers as they deploy.

2) Deployment stability is even more important (if such a thing is possible) with a camera, and even more more important with a side mount.