Sidemount course cost

[NDonahue]

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.

I think I get your point, but to me sidemount skills should be considered foundational skills — they apply in every use case, and instruction shouldn’t be equipment or environment specific.

After demonstrating the required competencies, a SM diver should only need a 10 min familiarization discussion to be capable of using the vast majority of SM equipment (know your inflates, dumps, redundant lift).

The only thing that varies for me between 2C and 26C (from rash guard to drysuit) from a sidemount perspective is my backup up buoyancy (if I’m bothering) and maybe my tank attachment point if I’m switching from steel to AL.

 

[grantmac]

My course was relatively inexpensive ($400 cad). Included and hour of harness fitting, two hours in the pool and 3 open water dives plus countless online communications. I consider it an absolute bargain and likely only possible because my instructor teaches as a sideline.
I'll be doing my SDI AN/DP and wreck with him as well.

 

[ChuckP]

I think I get your point, but to me sidemount skills should be considered foundational skills — they apply in every use case, and instruction shouldn’t be equipment or environment specific.

That is a "normal" everyday run of the mill sidemount class, much like a simple PADI AOW class.

Come see me for a sidemount class in Xdeep diving aluminum here in Cozumel and go home to your Halcyon diving steels in a drysuit - you'll feel like you've never taken a class before. You'll be frustrated and searching - that isn't my idea of a good certification - I went thru that and I wouldn't expose a student to that.

The skills are simple BS things that can be taught while tanks aren't setup correctly.

With the anal attention that the average sidemount diver wants to all the little details, I view sidemount classes much like CCR classes - sure, you learn how to use one but you get certified on a specific unit.

Taking the course with someone that dives your equipment everyday will save you so much frustration, add to that environmental conditions - why should a student ever return home and immeadiatly have questions or be searching for answers?

 

[Marie13]

That is a "normal" everyday run of the mill sidemount class, much like a simple PADI AOW class.

Come see me for a sidemount class in Xdeep diving aluminum here in Cozumel and go home to your Halcyon diving steels in a drysuit - you'll feel like you've never taken a class before. You'll be frustrated and searching - that isn't my idea of a good certification - I went thru that and I wouldn't expose a student to that.

The skills are simple BS things that can be taught while tanks aren't setup correctly.

With the anal attention that the average sidemount diver wants to all the little details, I view sidemount classes much like CCR classes - sure, you learn how to use one but you get certified on a specific unit.

Taking the course with someone that dives your equipment everyday will save you so much frustration, add to that environmental conditions - why should a student ever return home and immeadiatly have questions or be searching for answers?

Bingo! SM at home is steels, drysuit, heavy undies, and 16 lbs of lead. I had two sessions at the local quarry with 5mm wetsuit and AL80s before I went to MX for full cave last year, but cave instructor still had to do some tweaks.

 

[J-Vo]

Mine was cheap.

Self taught sidemount, then did AN/DP, TRIMIX, Full Cave, and Cave Stage in sidemount.

Decided to get a KISS SW. Bought the Unit and took 7 days of RB heliotrox training. The instructor had to issue me a sidemount card before he could issue the SW card.

So, it was either free, or it cost me $25k. I'm not really sure.

Had I gotten a KISS Spirit, would I have needed a Doubles card?

 

[Skunky]

know an instructor..$50. don’t know $500

 

[Marie13]

Mine was cheap.

Self taught sidemount, then did AN/DP, TRIMIX, Full Cave, and Cave Stage in sidemount.

Decided to get a KISS SW. Bought the Unit and took 7 days of RB heliotrox training. The instructor had to issue me a sidemount card before he could issue the SW card.

So, it was either free, or it cost me $25k. I'm not really sure.

Had I gotten a KISS Spirit, would I have needed a Doubles card?

No, silly, you wouldn’t have needed a doubles card for a Spirit. I have one (clsss last fall). I dive OC SM but didn’t go with a SW as my first love is wreck diving and the SW isn’t good for boats.

I don’t think the requirement for a SM card to get SW cert is all that bad. Too many people are getting a SW because they think it’s cool (from all the social media hype) and they have zilch SM experience.

 

[halocline]

I took a cave sidemount class from Nat at Under the Jungle. I think it was 4 long days, around $1200. Worth every penny. In addition to the various SM-specific skills, the course included performing all the cave protocols (like zero vis exit through restrictions) in SM.

When I switched to SM in cave diving. I already had a few years of cave experience in BM, and I underestimated how much new stuff there was to learn. SM offers more flexibility, but with each new 'thing' you can do comes a skill that has to be mastered with excellent buoyancy/trim control in potentially very tight confines. The gear up and pre-dive checks alone take some time to get really fluent.

How much of this would be necessary or even appropriate for OW recreational diving I can't answer. I'm not sure why someone would use two tanks for OW recreational diving in the first place, but as a stepping stone to using SM in technical diving, then it makes sense to me.

 

[ChuckP]

A friend here in Cozumel has some issue with his backmount wing and has switched over to diving single tank sidemount. I have not looked at the details of his tank setup but I do see it looks so much simplier, looks like so much less "stuff".

Was never a fan of sidemount from a boat but his minimalistic setup looks pretty good.......

 

[sujoe]

I took a cave sidemount class from Nat at Under the Jungle. I think it was 4 long days, around $1200. Worth every penny. In addition to the various SM-specific skills, the course included performing all the cave protocols (like zero vis exit through restrictions) in SM.

What BCD did you use may I ask