A sidemount configuration (scuba tanks alongside of the diver) offers more flexibility and better steamlining options. Learn about the many benefits of diving with a sidemount configuration. Description Having scuba tanks on your back isn’t a requirement for exploring the underwater world. Many scuba divers have discovered the joy of mounting cylinders on their sides. Sidemount diving gives you flexibility and streamlining options. Plus, you don’t have to walk with heavy cylinders on your back – just enter the water, clip them on and go. Sound interesting? Sign up for the PADI Sidemount Diver Specialty 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. Academic 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. Get credit! 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. Equipment You’ll want to use your own mask, fins, snorkel and exposure suit. Your PADI Instructor or local dive center staff will explain the sidemount equipment you’ll need, such as a BCD and harness configured for sidemount diving along with cylinders, each with a regulator and SPG. Getting Started Visit your local PADI dive shop to enroll in the course and get your PADI Sidemount Diver and Tec Sidemount Diver Manual. 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. If technical diving interests you, chapters two and three of your manual apply to the Tec Sidemount Diver course. More Courses Continuing Education Advanced Rebreather Diver Dive in silence and train to dive as deep as 40 metres/130 feet. Learn about scrubbers, oxygen consumption and bailout requirements including how to configure a bailout cylinder system. Continuing Education Altitude Diver Diving in altitudes higher than 300 metres/1000 feet above sea level is altitude diving. Discover a hidden world where only a few have ventured. Continuing Education AWARE Shark Conservation Sharks are an essential part of a healthy ocean. This course explores why they are vulnerable, the importance of a healthy shark population, managing threats and how to take action to protect them. Continuing Education Boat Diver This course helps you expand your knowledge about boats from small inflatables to large liveaboards. You'll gain experience scuba diving by completing two dives from a boat. Continuing Education Cavern Diver Gain the knowledge and skills to explore caverns correctly and safely. This course guides you to enter far enough for adventure, but stay within the light zone for an easy exit to open water. Continuing Education Coral Reef Conservation This course helps you appreciate the complexity of coral reef habitats and teaches how you can help conserve these vital systems.