Sidemount Diver

Tanks on Your Hips, Not Your Spine

  • Divers with back, neck, or shoulder issues (backmount tanks cause pain)
  • Travel divers (sidemount tanks are easier to transport and handle)
  • Cave and technical divers (sidemount is the standard for tight restrictions)
  • Photographers (easier to roll and maneuver)
  • Women and smaller-framed divers (better weight distribution)
  • Anyone who wants to look cool (honestly, it looks cool)

Prerequisite: Open Water Diver

Minimum Age: 15 years old

Duration: 2 days

Dives Required: 1 confined water and 3 open water dives

eLearning Available: Yes

“Backmount is a backpack. Sidemount is a hip holster. Once you try it, you may never go back.”

Skills covered:

Gear Configuration

  • Harness setup
  • Cylinder positioning
  • Regulator routing
  • Clip management

Donning and Doffing

  • Gearing up on land
  • Gearing up in water
  • Removing gear underwater

Diving Skills

  • Buoyancy and trim
  • Tank switching
  • Valve shutdowns
  • Gas management
  • S-drill

Propulsion

  • Frog kick
  • Helicopter turn
  • Back kick

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