Sidemount Diver
Course

If you’re a PADI Open Water Diver who is at least 15 years old, you can enroll in a PADI Sidemount Diver course. The pre requisites include:

• Be certified as a PADI Open Water Diver.
• Be 15 years of age or older.

Knowledge development is based on a self-study method, allowing you to study in your own time, at your own pace. Home study is backed up by an academic session with your PADI Instructor, to ensure full understanding of the course material.

• You'll explore and experience the benefits of sidemount diving
• Get hands on the with sidemount equipment set-up, adjustments and fine tuning the configuration for you.
• Understand planning considerations and safety concerns for sidemount diving
• Get plenty of in-water time to enjoy sidemount and work on trim, finning, buoyancy & skills

Along with learning about the many benefits of diving with a sidemount configuration, during one confined water and three open water scuba dives you’ll learn how to:

• Properly assemble and configure sidemount scuba diving equipment.
• Trim your weight system and sidemount gear so you’re perfectly balanced in the water.
• Manage gas by switching second stages as planned, if wearing two cylinders.
• Respond correctly to potential problems when sidemount diving.
• The first dive of this PADI Specialty Diver course may credit as an Adventure Dive toward your Advanced Open Water Diver certification – ask your instructor about earning credit.

You can read chapter one before meeting with your instructor to review key points. By studying ahead, you’ll be better prepared to start using your sidemount gear.

You will be able to use your basic recreational diving equipment but with some variations that will help you start familiarizing with technical diving conditions.

(a) Sidemount training course – US$ 300 (b) PADI Materials – US$ 65 Investment includes:​

• ​​PADI Sidemount Diver Instruction
• PADI Certification Fee
• Theory Review Session
• 1 Confined Pool Session
• 3 Open Water Dives
• Equipment rent & air fills

We can prepare personalised schedules for each diver. Please let us know when are you planning to take your course, and we will have a plan for you. You need two days to complete the entire course.

If technical diving interests you, chapters two and three of your manual apply to the Tec Sidemount Diver course.

If you’ve looked into technical diving, you realize that tec divers always wear more than one tank. Sidemount is an increasingly popular way to configure multiple cylinders for technical diving. You can enter the world of tec diving with the Tec Sidemount Diver course and apply what you learn to other TecRec courses. Your instructor may offer to integrate this course with the Tec 40, Tec 45 or Tec 50 courses.

If you’re a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver, at least 18 years old and have a minimum of 30 logged dives, you qualify to enroll in a Tec Sidemount Diver course. It’s recommended that you also have a PADI Enriched Air Diver certification.

You’ll learn about the advantages of diving with a sidemount configuration and how to set up a tec sidemount harness. You’ll get hands-on training during one confined water session and four open water dives where you’ll start with two tanks and add at least two more, maybe even getting to six sidemounted cylinders.

Get the PADI Sidemount Diver and Tec Sidemount Diver Manual here at Roatan Dive Academy and start studying immediately. If you have a recreational sidemount diver certification, you’ll focus on Chapters Two and Three, if not, you'll read the entire manual.