You may have seen in our recent social media posts that we are all about sidemount right now. So it’s a great time to ask - what is sidemount diving, and what are the benefits of diving on a sidemount set-up?
What is Sidemount Diving?
Sidemount diving is when you dive with two (or more) tanks streamlined along your side, rather than mounted on your back. Our head sidemount instructor, Liam, will tell you that sidemount is the best because “one tank is good, two tanks are better”, but there’s more to it than that!
Sidemount diving gives you redundant systems, it’s great for diving in narrow spaces because you’re so streamlined, and is also great for divers who have back problems because the harness set-up alleviates any stress on your back that a backmount system would put. Sidemount is a highly versatile system that you can customize for different types of diving, whether it’s with aluminum or steel tanks, tropical or cold climates, caves or wrecks, tec diving, deep diving, self-reliant diving - the list goes on.
On top of all the actual reasons to dive sidemount, sidemount diving also just looks cool, if we’re being totally honest.
Roatan Divers PADI Sidemount Course and Bundles
Now that you know why you should go sidemount diving, it’s time to find out how!
Roatan Divers offers the PADI Sidemount Diver course for $400, including PADI manual, certification fee, confined water work, 4 sidemount dives, equipment, taxes and credit card fees. The course normally takes 3 days.
We’ve also created some awesome bundles to help you get the most out of your sidemount training. Sidemount’s versatility means it can be paired with so many other PADI specialties, but these are three bundles that we think you’ll enjoy.
Sidemount + PPB bundle: $500, including 2 PPB dives on sidemount equipment and 3 sidemount training dives (5 dives total).
Sidemount + PPB + Nitrox bundle: $650, including 2 PPB dives on sidemount equipment, 3 sidemount training dives with the last 2 dives on Nitrox (5 dives total).
Sidemount + PPB + Deep bundle: $825, including 2 PPB dives on sidemount, 3 sidemount training dives and 4 Deep Dives on sidemount (9 dives total).
Whether it’s with the standalone PADI Sidemount course or one of our bundles, you’ll walk away feeling well-trained and well-versed in sidemount diving.
Roatan Divers and Dive Rite
For our recreational scuba needs, Roatan Divers is still proudly partnered with Mares, so you can get of the best recreational equipment in the industry at a great price with the Roatan Mares store in West End.
