Sidemount Diver
Carrying cylinders at your sides — redundancy, streamlining and access through restrictions.
Sidemount configuration mounts cylinders along the diver's sides rather than on the back, which provides full gas redundancy with independent cylinders and a lower, more streamlined profile.
It originated in cave diving, where restrictions make a backmounted twinset impractical, and has since become popular well beyond that context — including with recreational divers who simply find it more comfortable.
It also allows a diver to don and doff cylinders in the water, which matters for shore entries, boat ladders and anyone with back or shoulder issues.
Why divers choose it
Independent cylinders mean a failure affects only half your gas. Streamlining improves in restricted spaces. Cylinders can be removed and handed through a restriction.
For divers with back problems, carrying two cylinders separately to the water rather than one heavy twinset is a decisive practical advantage.
Gas management differs
With independent cylinders, a diver must switch regulators regularly to keep the cylinders balanced, both for gas reserves and for trim.
It is a discipline that becomes automatic quickly but has to be learned deliberately — a sidemount diver who forgets to switch ends the dive with one full and one empty cylinder.
Before you sign up
Are you ready?
- Stable buoyancy and trim should exist before cylinders are moved to the diver's sides.
- Recreational sidemount, decompression sidemount and cave sidemount are different training goals.
- Use the same harness, cylinders and regulators during training that you expect to use afterwards where practical.
Comparing programmes
- Compare instructors by the environments in which they actually use sidemount, not by the number of equipment brands they sell.
- Confirm whether the course covers independent-cylinder gas management, shutdowns, propulsion, restriction work and stage handling.
- A warm-water aluminium-cylinder configuration does not transfer unchanged to southern steel-cylinder diving.
What you come out with
- The diver should be able to configure, trim and manage two independent cylinders without losing awareness of gas balance.
- The qualification does not itself grant decompression or cave privileges.
Questions to ask the centre
- Which cylinders will be used?
- Is the goal recreational, wreck, decompression or cave sidemount?
- How much confined-water configuration time is included?
Sources: SSI — Extended Range training · TDI — current diver standards
Dive sites where Sidemount Diver matters
Sites where the skills this course teaches are directly useful.
Dive centres that teach at this level
Centres whose training capability covers this course. Availability, schedules and the exact agency programme vary; confirm with the centre.
Perth Scuba
ProfiledCanning Vale · Perth · WA
One of the most fully documented operations in Western Australia, covering recreational, professional, technical and freediving training alongside substantial equipment facilities.
perthscuba.com · (08) 9455 4448
Abyss Scuba Diving
ProfiledRamsgate · Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
A Sydney operation associated with training across recreational and technical levels, boat diving and equipment services.
abyss.com.au · +61 2 9583 9662
Dolphin Scuba Diving
ProfiledWelshpool · Perth · WA
A Perth business providing training, equipment and service support.
dolphinscuba.com.au · (08) 9353 2488
Dive Darwin
ProfiledDarwin · Darwin Harbour · NT
The main verified dive operation in the Northern Territory, offering recreational training through professional level alongside technical diving and a large specialty range.
divedarwin.com.au · +61 401 751 651
Frog Dive Sydney
ProfiledGladesville · Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
A Willoughby PADI 5 Star IDC founded in 1985, teaching recreational through Trimix and rebreather courses with PADI, SDI and TDI, and testing cylinders in-store.
frogdive.com.au · (02) 9958 5699
Dive Centre Manly
ProfiledManly · Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
A Northern Beaches operation with a long-standing presence at Shelly Beach, offering recreational training, boat diving and technical pathways.
divesydney.com.au · (02) 9977 4355
Dive Centre Bondi
ProfiledBondi · Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
An Eastern Suburbs PADI 5 Star IDC on Bondi Road teaching through Instructor and technical levels, with air, Nitrox and Trimix fills and manufacturer-approved servicing.
divebondi.com.au · +61 2 9369 3855
Grey Nurse Charters
ProfiledNelson Bay · Port Stephens · NSW
A PADI-registered dive boat running charters around Port Stephens, Newcastle and Swansea, with PADI courses to Divemaster and TecRec.
greynurse.com.au · 0408 633 793
Feet First Dive
ProfiledNelson Bay · Port Stephens · NSW
A Nelson Bay SSI centre running Broughton Island boat dives and Port Stephens shore dives, with rebreather and Extended Range training.
feetfirstdive.com.au · (02) 4984 2092
Dive Experience
ProfiledMount Gambier · Mount Gambier Sinkholes & Caves · SA
A Mount Gambier business serving the region's cave and sinkhole diving community, including equipment and gas support.
dive-experience.com.au · 0478 693 760
Scuba Haven Port Macquarie
ProfiledPort Macquarie · Port Macquarie & Camden Haven · NSW
A Port Macquarie SSI centre offering air and Nitrox, equipment servicing, and boat, shore and river dives around Port Macquarie and Laurieton.
scubahaven.com.au · 0407 457 542
Shellharbour Scuba
ProfiledShellharbour · Wollongong & Kiama · NSW
A Shellharbour Village dive shop giving access to Bass Point and Bushrangers Bay, teaching SDI and TDI courses from beginner to technical levels.
shellharbourscuba.com.au · +61 2 4296 4266
Sidemount Diver: frequently asked questions
Is sidemount only for cave divers?
No. It originated in caves but is now widely used recreationally and in wreck diving, and many divers prefer it purely for comfort and redundancy.
Can I use sidemount for recreational dives?
Yes, and many divers do. The configuration provides redundancy that a single-cylinder setup does not.