Nowadays diving sidemount became popular even in open water as you get more streamlined than having a tank on your back, it is not hurting your back, and you can get a lot of fun as it is extremely comfortable to dive sidemount.
My first courses were technical sidemount, and sidemount. Sidemount diving, which is the name of the course, involves placing your tank into your hands. My hands and knuckles were covered with cuts by the end. It is possible to remove the tanks from the clips and lay them out front of you Superman-style. The afternoon dive went much better after I made some adjustments to our harness. I was now comfortable with my harness, and was 'Superman'-ing with the tanks. Sidemount allows for an extraordinary level of freedom. Matt had set up obstacles courses. Soon we were flying around them, with tanks out front, barrel rolling and even swimming upside-down.
Sidemount has many benefits, but it is particularly well-suited for cave diving. (It was cave divers who invent sidemount. These benefits include:
Sidemount diving originated in cave diving, but it has made its way to recreational and non-overhead diving in recent years. You will now wear your tanks side-by-side, instead of having one or two tanks attached to your back. You can attach the tanks to your Sidemount BCD using clips or bungee cords. This allows for extreme flexibility. This flexibility was initially what allowed cave divers to remove their tanks underwater in order to fit into narrow spaces and make their profile smaller.
I arrived just two months ago on Malapascua Island in Philippines. There, I will learn how to become a Tec diver instructor. Since 2012, I've been a Bali recreational instructor. I am eager to improve my diving skills and expand my knowledge. Sidemount PCB was the place where my first experience of technical diving was. Tom West, PADI course director and instructor-trainer for Tec, made me a Certified Tec-50 Diver.
Backmounted doubles came into use in part because of the problems with backmounted independents and single orifice doubles, neither of which are as common in modern diving. Independents are two cylinders strapped to one’s back with independent regulators on each one. If a 1st stage was to fail the diver was down to one cylinder. Single orifice doubles were two cylinders linked together with a valve, and one 1st stage regulator. If a first stage failed on a single orifice doubles set all the gas would be lost. The isolated manifold doubles used today eliminate both of those problems. Each cylinder can be worked independently, but the diver can also breathe gas from both cylinders out of one regulator. This form of doubles is typically held together with metal bands and the valves are linked with an isolation manifold, allowing the two to be separate if needed. Backmounted doubles diving is similar to regular single cylinder backmount, offering a profile that is vertically the same.
The Sidemount dive setup is slightly different from the backmount, as is the equipment.
You should know what you are getting. Prices include instruction fees and eLearning fees. Keep in mind that eLearning can cost anywhere from $140 up to $280. If you pay for elearning separately, then a course costing $640 from us could be the same price as a course costing $500 from another source.
If sidemount will not be used during your cave diver training, then you should take our CDS Basics Orientation program.
Sidemount diving is also very popular, even in open water. Why? Because diving sidemount is very comfortable and easy to learn.
All our Tec diving lessons (open circuit or closed circuit rebreather) and technical scuba diving classes are given at our Scotty's dive center headquarters facility, located in the Shangri-la hotel in Mactan, Cebu province. If you are not a guest of the Shangri-la hotel, you can always walk in, or we can pick you up at your hotel.
Your Sidemount BCD harness is made up of a bladder, sliding D-rings and bungee cords. Your tank position and trim will depend on their fit. Your instructor may spend a lot of time getting them right.
Have a PADI Deep Specialty Instructor certification or have completed a PADI Deep Specialty Instructor course. Have at least 100 logged dives, including at least 20 enriched air dives, 25 dives deeper than 18 meters/60 feet, and 15 dives deeper than 30 meters/100 feet. You can become a Tec 45 diver.
5-6 days
Rebreather training classes are typically 5-6 days long, but can be longer depending on a variety of factors such as the training agency, your local conditions, your instructor, and your ability to meet the class standards.
2-3 hours
Even with small cylinders, you can usually dive for 2-3 hours (rebreathers typically have two 2/3l cylinders or one 3/5l cylinder).