Basic Sidemount
from £375 Pp
- 2-day course
- max. 3 students
- SDI Sidemount Diver e-learning
- Certification fee
Tec Sidemount
from £675PP
- 3 or 4-day course
- max. 2 students
- RAID/TDI e-learning
- Certification fee
Sidemount is becoming a very popular configuration and not just for cave or technical divers, but also for recreational divers looking to have a more comfortable kit and some redundancy. We offer training from different agencies to suit best your expectations.
Prerequisites:
Course details:
The SDI Sidemount Diver Program is designed for divers seeking to enhance their skills and versatility by learning to dive with sidemount configuration. This course teaches participants the proper setup, techniques, and safety protocols for diving with tanks mounted along the sides of the body, offering increased mobility, streamlined profiles, and ease of access to equipment.
Divers will gain practical experience in buoyancy control, tank management, and adapting to various diving environments, making it an excellent option for recreational and technical divers alike. Completion of the program equips divers with the knowledge and confidence to enjoy the unique advantages of sidemount diving.
The RAID/TDI Sidemount Diver Program is tailored for divers interested in applying sidemount techniques within technical diving environments, such as deep or extended-range dives. This course focuses on advanced configurations, gas management, and redundancy systems critical for technical diving. Divers are trained to use sidemount setups for greater flexibility, efficiency, and safety in overhead environments like caves and wrecks or for managing multiple cylinders in decompression scenarios.
Key Differences from the SDI Sidemount Diver Program:
-Level of Focus: While the SDI program caters to recreational divers and emphasizes comfort, buoyancy, and streamlined configuration, the RAID/TDI program builds on this foundation to meet the demands of technical diving.
–Cylinder Management: The RAID/TDI course trains divers to handle multiple tanks for extended dive times, staged decompression, or gas blending.
–Diving Environments: RAID/TDI sidemount training often includes practice in more challenging conditions, such as overhead or deep environments, where technical diving protocols are essential.
–Equipment Redundancy: Greater emphasis is placed on redundant systems and troubleshooting in scenarios where failure is less forgiving.
This distinction ensures that RAID/TDI sidemount divers are prepared for the complexities of technical diving, while SDI sidemount divers enjoy the configuration’s benefits within recreational limits.
For all technical diving courses we would expect that you have your own equipment and that you are familiar with it. However, with sidemount courses, we understand that you might not want to commit to buying equipment before doing the course. So we will happily provide the siemount wing, regulators and cylinders. You should have all the basic equipment such as: mask, fins (preferably tec fins), suitable suit, dive computer,…
At MK Scuba Diving we like to keep the group as small as possible to ensure that you have plenty of time in the water and full attention from the instructor. The maximum students per group is three with the standard package and one for the 1-2-1 option
We use mainly Stoney Cove – Sapcote Rd, Stoney Stanton, Leicester LE9 4DW. This is formal quarry which has great facilities and is ideal for dive training. They have a shop, gas filling station, changing rooms with showers and a pub where we usually go to do our debrief.
We also use Vobster Quay so we can be flexible depending on where you are based.