Why is PADI sidemount specialty so much more $$$?

[grantctobin]

FWIW, I'm totally confident in my instructor. I was just curious as it seems all the shops around here have very similar pricing scales when it comes to sidemount as compared to the other specialties they offer.

Who is it, per chance? Best of luck in class.

 

[bamafan]

FWIW, I'm totally confident in my instructor. I was just curious as it seems all the shops around here have very similar pricing scales when it comes to sidemount as compared to the other specialties they offer.

Honestly you don't know what you don't know. I am sure we have all been burnt. I sure have.

 

[Cap335]

Similar pricing is a simple result of competition.

 

[decompression]

Some reasons my SM courses may seem higher than others are; far more time is spent than minimums, pool time more than minimums, a wide variety of equipment is not only shown but used ($$$). I do not charge per course but a per day cost, as some people progress at different rates.

Maybe these are some reasons behind your inquiry.

 

[DogDiver]

Taking a sidemount course in Kansas is like trying to learn how to drive in snow by taking a snow driving course in Florida. Ya want to learn safe and correct sidemount come down to North Florida and get it done Rite.

 

[bamafan]

Taking a sidemount course in Kansas is like trying to learn how to drive in snow by taking a snow driving course in Florida. Ya want to learn safe and correct sidemount come down to North Florida and get it done Rite.

I agree with most of this but I would recommend going to Mexico. There are a few descent sm instructors in Florida. I would say 4 or 5 and it is highly dependent on what bc you are using. In Mexico there are lots of great sm instructors who in my opinion consistently turn out much better cave divers. There are some differences in equipment between North Florida and Mexico but from all I have seen cave diving in both places the divers who went to Mexico and were trained through Protec or the Go Sidemount group are generally better divers than the US trained ones with the same experience.

 

[JohnnyC]

To be fair we don't know that OP is taking their sidemount course in Kansas, or who their instructor trained with. That being said, unless they themselves trained with real SM divers like those in Mexico, some in Florida, etc., the likelihood of getting a halfway decent sidemount class is pretty slim.

 

[Marie13]

I'm getting both my sidemount and deep specialties in a couple of weeks. Why is the side mount specialty so much more money than other certs? I've noticed it's significantly more at all the dive shops around here. Just curious as to what makes it cost so much more.

OP, to piggyback on the recommendations to go to FL or MX to learn SM, why do you want to do SM? Do you want to go onto cavern/cave or do you have other plans for SM?

 

[Pedro Burrito]

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[rjack321]

Between FL and MX there are probably 20-25 SM instructors who are really worth your money. Some of them might be Padi instructors but I doubt they'd issue you a Padi card in this case. You didn't say where you were taking your course or even what course you are taking, but none of the high quality SM instructors are in KS.