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If you are a certified diver looking for something new, it might be time to try sidemount diving. Instead of carrying your cylinder on your back, sidemount diving places one or two tanks at your sides. This simple change in configuration transforms your dive experience. It gives you more freedom of movement, improved trim, and a fresh sense of exploration that feels completely different from traditional scuba.
One of the biggest reasons to try sidemount diving is the comfort it provides. Without a heavy tank strapped to your back, you feel lighter, more balanced, and more flexible underwater. This makes every kick easier and every turn smoother. Divers who have back or shoulder issues especially enjoy sidemount, since the equipment is easier to carry and handle.
Another major advantage is the ability to don and doff tanks in the water. Instead of carrying the full weight of your cylinders on land, you can float your tanks in the shallows and clip them on once you are ready to descend. At the end of the dive, you can unclip them before exiting. This reduces strain on your body and makes diving more accessible for many people.
Sidemount diving is also valued for its safety. By carrying two independent tanks and regulators, you always have a backup air source. If one tank or regulator has a problem, you can switch to the other and continue the dive safely. This redundancy is reassuring whether you are exploring deep reefs, enjoying long drift dives, or thinking about progressing into technical diving.
The gas management skills you learn while sidemount diving also make you a more disciplined diver. Switching between tanks keeps your air supply balanced and builds awareness of your gas consumption. These are skills that carry over into all your diving.
The streamlined profile of a sidemount diver makes exploration more exciting. You can glide smoothly through narrow coral swim-throughs, caves, or wreck passages that would be awkward or impossible with a tank on your back. Even in open water, the freedom of movement feels different. You will notice how much easier it is to position yourself for photos, hover near marine life, or enjoy long, relaxed dives without the weight pressing against you.
Sidemount is a style that encourages adventure. Every dive feels like a new way to interact with the underwater world. Many divers who start sidemount say they never want to go back.
Sidemount diving is not just for technical divers. It is for anyone who wants to expand their diving experience. If you are an Open Water diver or beyond, you can try sidemount diving as a specialty course.
It is also an excellent step if you are thinking of moving into advanced diving later, since sidemount is widely used in technical, wreck, and cave diving. But you do not need to be a future tech diver to enjoy it. Plenty of recreational divers use sidemount simply because it makes their everyday reef dives more comfortable, flexible, and fun.
At Ocean Tribe in Diani Beach, we love introducing divers to new adventures. Our experienced instructors will guide you through every stage of the process, from setting up your sidemount equipment to managing your tanks and mastering your buoyancy. You will learn how to clip on your tanks in the water, how to streamline your hoses, and how to enjoy the unique freedom that sidemount provides.
And of course, you will be doing all this training in Kenya’s warm tropical waters. You will get to practice sidemount skills while exploring vibrant coral reefs, wrecks, and swim-throughs filled with marine life. It is the perfect mix of learning and adventure.
If you are ready to shake up your diving and experience the ocean in a whole new way, it is time to try sidemount diving. Twice the tanks means twice the comfort, twice the safety, and twice the adventure every time you drop beneath the waves. Whether you are chasing freedom of movement, looking for extra security, or simply want to add a new dimension to your diving life, sidemount is the path to a whole new underwater experience.
Sidemount is a configuration where one or two cylinders are clipped along your sides instead of on your back. It started in cave and wreck diving and is now popular with recreational divers for the comfort, valve access, and redundancy it offers.
You get more comfort, better trim, easier valve access, and built-in gas redundancy. Many divers find the streamlined profile more efficient and relaxing for long or adventurous dives.
Yes. A key advantage of sidemount is that you can clip cylinders on and off in the water. This reduces strain on your back and makes shore entries, boat dives, and exits much easier.
It is not harder, just different. With a specialty course you will quickly learn equipment setup, buoyancy, hose routing, and cylinder handling. Most divers adapt to it very quickly.
You will need a sidemount harness or BCD, two regulators with hose lengths suitable for sidemount, bungees and clips to secure cylinders, and pressure gauges for each tank.
You manage two independent cylinders and switch between regulators at set pressure intervals to keep them balanced. This builds strong gas awareness and ensures each tank has a reserve for emergencies.
Sidemount is for any diver who wants more comfort, safety, or flexibility. It is especially popular with divers who have back or shoulder issues, those who enjoy wrecks and swim-throughs, or anyone planning to move toward technical diving.
Yes. With tanks positioned at your sides, many divers find it easier to maintain perfect horizontal trim, which reduces effort and improves air consumption.
Yes. Recreational courses allow you to start with a single sidemount cylinder before moving on to two, making it a flexible option for different dive situations.
Ocean Tribe offers warm tropical waters, experienced instructors, and plenty of opportunities to practice in real-world conditions. You will learn how to set up and manage your gear, don and doff tanks in the water, and then take those skills straight onto the reefs, wrecks, and passages of Diani. For the sidemount rigs we use world-leading X-Deep Stealth 2.0 sidemount rigs.
Ocean Tribe Dive Team
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