Sidemount course cost

[90to90]

Wondering what amount you all have paid for a recreational OW sidemount course. I’m sure there’s a number of variables that impact price, but what I’ve been quoted seems a bit steep to me, so just want to get a feel for what everyone else has paid.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Between $250 and $300 per person per day. You may get a discount for multiple students. Make sure to pick an instructor and not an agency. Call and talk to them. They need to be an avid sidemount diver/instructor, not just an instructor who is qualified to teach the course.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Robert is right, in the states it is typically $250-300/day not including course materials. In other parts of the world it is much cheaper. For instance, at the center I work at, the SM course is IDR 4,750,000 which is around $315.

As someone who dives sm exclusively and specializes in teaching it, I feel this is super cheap, too cheap for how I teach and what I offer the student. But I also know that if the cost was the standard U.S. instructor rate, we would never sell a sm course.

A great sm course is worth it's weight in gold.

 

[90to90]

Thanks for the feedback

 

[ChuckP]

I'll second every bit of that. Side mount is a very unique course in my mind, probably could be one of the most in depth non tech courses you could take if really taught well, then again you could take a simple course, get your card and fuddle away.

I would pick an instructor well in tune with the rig you will dive and also learn in the enviroment that you will dive. Tulum Mexico has some of the finest X Deep instructors but that won't help you diving a Halcyon in some cold quarry in Oregon. A good class, an in depth class - worth every penny.

I took the PADI class from a PADI course director that wasn't well versed on X Deep - learned some cool drills, fun little torpedo games but at the end - I was still lost in the set up. I can teach the PADI class but would not ever do it - I don't know enough and no where near proficient enough to be teaching that, I wish my instructor could say that......

 

[Jim Lapenta]

When I was teaching, a sidemount class was 375.00 plus quarry entry fees. Per person. 2 pool/classroom sessions that ran from 10am to 4 pm. Followed by a minimum of 4 dives on another weekend.
For a private class there was an additional $200 charge.
$50 of that went to the pool owner for use of it.
This did not include any gear or air fills.
Even if the student showed up in say an XDeep, I showed them my rigs and explained the differences and why I used what I used. Including the ones I built from scratch.
The only one I ever saw that was really a piece of crap, was the one from ScubaPro. It looked like the designer had never been in the water, let alone in sidemount.
We got it to work for him but by the end of the class he was ordering an X Deep (not from me because I was not a dealer but they are a really nice rig and I told him so) and selling the SP.
Even the Hollis SMS100 that is a total pig to dive without mods to it, was like a Rolls Royce would be to a Yugo compared to SP.

 

[TerryC]

Honestly, if you can find a quality instructor pay whatever thier price is.
I often see the results of poor sidemount instruction. I trained in technical sidemount with a first class instructor, I could sign myself up to teach sidemount tommorow but I don't because after only about 50 ot 60 dives I don't feel I have the experience.( as opposed to 4k + dives in backmount).
Too many sidemount instructors out there who don't have enough experience.
US$300 or 400 a day is not too much to pay and probably at least a 3 day course.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Honestly, if you can find a quality instructor pay whatever thier price is.
I often see the results of poor sidemount instruction. I trained in technical sidemount with a first class instructor, I could sign myself up to teach sidemount tommorow but I don't because after only about 50 ot 60 dives I don't feel I have the experience.( as opposed to 4k + dives in backmount).
Too many sidemount instructors out there who don't have enough experience.
US$300 or 400 a day is not too much to pay and probably at least a 3 day course.

Mine was two days with the stipulation that if the skills weren’t completed correctly we’d have to do an extra day (which we didn’t have to do).

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

I paid $1200 for my gorazor sidemount one on one 4 day course in Cancun cenotes/caves. To this day it’s still far an away the best training course I’ve had in any facet of life. 100% worth it IMO

Day 1:
- configuration and adjustment of the harness
- prepare the tanks
- gear up at the surface
- gear up in water
- proper weighting,
- descent/ascent
- buoyancy,
- trim
- communication
- Read pressure gauge
- 2 hands Regulator switch
- pressure gauge reading
- swimming techniques (frog kick, flutter, helicopter turn, back kick...)

Demo Dive in Side Mount practicing skills

This will be the base for Day 1 and then depending on how it goes, the program will be adjusted to enable you to get the best out of your training.

Day 2 and 3: The skills will include
- one hand regulator switch (both right and left)
- gaz sharing receiving and doning (3 ways: breathing from the long hose, breathing from the short hose unclipping long hose, breathing from the short hose using the break away connector) - static, swimming and ascending
- stowing the long hose underwater
- send a SMB
- drop and recover right tank underwater
- Valve drill
- swim without mask

Equipement failures:
- Clip failures
- mask replacement
- bungee replacement
- LPI failure self inflate disconnect and oral inflate
- primary wing failure switch to back up
- regulator's free flow

Side Mount dives including practice of the skills

Day 4
- tune up if necessary and evaluation of all skills .

 

[rick00001967]

price def will vary depending where you do your course, who is teaching it, the duration, the number of dives, what is included etc
i will repeat what chuckp said about choosing an instructor that dives the rig you want (if you even know which one you want) and that dives in the same environment you do.
i does you no good to learn from someone in a cenote in mexico in a 3mm suit and allum tanks if you will be diving in a drysuit with heavy steels.
they are two compeletely different types of diving.