A Guide to Sidemount Diving

This book provides future sidemount divers with a comprehensive foundation for all aspects of sidemount diving, and is intended to be used as both a student manual in conjunction with sidemount training, and a reference guide to further a certified sidemount divers' understandings.

Sidemount is an equipment configuration that places the cylinder(s) for SCUBA on the divers' side rather than on the back. It offers a lower profile than back-mounted cylinder configurations do, and despite its higher cost in equipment and increased complexity in both equipment management and dive planning, sidemount configurations bring with them many benefits. These can include redundancy through independent cylinders, increased safety through redundancy and the ability to easily reach and manipulate cylinders and valves, increased options for dive profiles, planning, and emergencies, nearly unlimited customizability, and increased comfortability for the diver.

Many divers desire to learn to dive using sidemount systems for a variety of reasons. Some simply want to be more comfortable in the water, others are looking at advancing into technical diving, some are already established technical divers now looking at sidemount as an alternative, some may want to use it for professional or occupational purposes, and still others may have physical limitations that sidemount could be the answer for. No matter which reason you personally may have for taking a sidemount course, you should be expected to put fourth your absolute best effort at all times, your instructor should provide a thorough and comprehensive course that exceeds the standards, that challenges you, and they should be willing to offer careful mentorship and guidance both during and after your course to help you grow into a truly competent, confident, capable, and safe sidemount diver.