Welcome to Sidemount Romania
It’s scuba diving, but different. Eperience unparalleled freedom with a safety and convenience bonus.
What is sidemount diving?#
Sidemount diving is a streamlined, flexible approach to scuba that places cylinders along your sides instead of on your back. Cylindrs are easily detachable and completely independent from each other.
Originally developed for cave diving, sidemount has evolved into a popular configuration for recreational, technical, and exploration divers alike.
Sidemount.ro is here to support Romania’s growing community of sidemount divers and instructors with education, training and a place in which to find like minded divers.
Why dive sidemount?#
- Enhanced mobility and freedom in the water
- Better gas redundancy and safety (compared to single tank backmount)
- Easier on your back
- Lower profile that makes it ideal for tight environments (wrecks, caves, flooded quarries)
Get sidemount training#
Are you ready to take the plunge? We’re excited to welcome new members and share the wonders of sidemount diving. Once you get into it we’re sure you won’t want to look back, but in order to learn sidemount safely (and correctly) you should do so with an instructor. Ideally one that actually dives sidemount regularly.
Why is proper sidemount training a good idea#
While we all know not all dive courses are created equal (cough cough shore diving speciality), sidemount is pretty involved in the beginnning. Here’s why standardised and certified training helps:
- Safety: sidemount initially means a lot of new gear and procedures. Learning with an instructor significantly reduces risks you’ll do something wrong and potential accidents when just starting out.
- Primacy: learning a procedure or skill properly the first time will be much quicker than fixing a bad habit further down the line.
- Equipment: sidemount gear is almost endlessly configurable - that’s one of the reasons we love it. However setting up everything may initially be daunting, so doing this with an instructor will not only save you time, but will also help you understand the “levers” you need to pull when you start fine tuning later on.
- Mentorship: going through proper training (with an instructor worthy of the name) will not only get you training - you’ll end up with a mentor that’s happy to answer questions and support you as you progress in the sport.
Is sidemount the only way to dive?#
Look, it’s scuba diving, not a religion. Sidemount, like any other configuration, is a tool for a job. It’s true that some of us, including the authors of this website and community founders dive almost exclusively sidemount. That happens for a variety of reasons and is down to personal preference. But we don’t look at sidemount as an “end all be all”. We enjoy the advantages of sidemount and are happy to live with it’s drawbacks (yes, they exit).
Join the Community#
Sidemount.ro is first and foremost a community. A growing group of like-minded divers and instructors that help each other out, dive together and at the end of the day have fun.
What you’ll find:
- Sidemount courses and equipment tips
- Buddies with similar interests that actually live near you
- Regular guided dives and trips
- Events, workshops, and conservation dives