Advanced Sidemount

Although sidemount has become “just another way to cave dive,” it was originally developed to allow cave divers to go places you simply can’t fit if using backmount. This type of extreme cave diving remains the goal of a some divers. It does, however, require special training.

If you are considering dives in passageways to tight you can only get through using sidemount, or which require dropping one or both sidemount bottles to get through, you need this course.

This is a very advanced course and should not be confused with the recreational Sidemount Diver course, or with an orientation to using sidemount equipment in caves.

Who Can Take This Course?

To take this course, you must:

Be at least 18 years old.
Prior Sidemount Diver training or equivalent experience.
Have logged at least 50 dives past Cave Diver certification.
Either be able to answer No to all the questions on an industry-standard Medical History form or obtain a physician’s approval for diving before the start of the course. If you require a physician’s approval, the doctor must sign off on the standard Medical Exam form. Forms signed no more than twelve months before the start of the course are acceptable — provided you have had no change in medical history since then.

If you intend to take the course in north-central Florida, you must also be a fully certified cave diver. This is because the only sites possessing sufficient depth are inside caves.

What is Involved?

This course consists of at least three training dives and 120 minutes of Actual Bottom Time.

Where Does the Course Take Place?

Assuming they already possess Cave Diver certification, most of our students do their training in north-central Florida’s freshwater springs and caves — however, you are by no means limited to this. We regularly conduct courses in Russia’s famous Orda system, the world’s largest underwater gypsum cave, as well as do training in Mexico’s cenotes. The choice is up to you.

How Much Does it Cost?

The exact cost of this program will depend on a variety of factors, such are:

Will you be taking this course by yourself or with one or two other friends or family members?

Are there any prerequisite courses you need to take in conjunction with this course?

Where will you be taking the course? (Courses conducted in north-central Florida generally have the lowest cost.)

Once we determine your specific needs, we can give you a firm price for all the required training. Bear in mind, the course fees generally cover just the cost of instruction. You are responsible for:

Transportation to and from the course location and dive sites.
Any overnight accommodations and meals.
Supplying all of the required equipment and gas fills.

By default, we certify cave students through NSS-CDS. If you want certification cards from additional agencies, you must pay the associated card processing fees. Any additional agency you choose generally requires you purchase their textbook or eLearning materials. This can add significantly to costs.

What Equipment Will You Need?

The minimum equipment requirements for most courses include:

Mask and adjustable fins.
Adequate exposure protection for the environment.
Two properly configured sidemount cylinders (we can help you set these up).
An appropriate sidemount harness/air cell with adequate lift capacity.
Two separate high-performance regulators.
One primary and two backup lights.
One primary reel per team; two safety reels/spools per diver.
Jump reels/spools as required by the course.
Three line arrows/cookies per diver.
Two cutting tools per diver.
Two depth gauge/timers or two mission-capable dive computers per diver.

Some very specific requirements pertain to each of these items. Do not make any equipment purchases without first speaking to your instructor.

Note: if you will be traveling by air to the course site, we can help you to arrange the rental of heavier items such as tanks at your destination.

How Do You Sign Up?

The best way to get started is to simply contact us.