Sidemount Diving in Dubai — My First Time Going Sideways
Last month, I stepped out of my comfort zone and into a whole new diving configuration: Sidemount. I took the course here in Dubai and I have to say that it was both challenging and exciting in all the right ways!
The Sidemount course wasn’t just getting used to a new piece of kit and configuration, but also a complete rethink of how I move, breathe and solve problems underwater.
First Things First
I decided to take the course through SDI rather than PADI, which was a deliberate choice. All my certifications so far had been with PADI, so I was curious to experience a different teaching style and e-learning approach.
SDI’s materials felt straightforward and to the point, with a strong focus on practical application. Another factor in my decision was what the future might bring… if I ever decide to move into technical diving, the transition from SDI into TDI would be much smoother, as they’re sister agencies with aligned training philosophies and highly praised by technical divers. It felt like a good way to advance my diving education while opening doors for potential next steps down the line.
I began with the e-learning theory which made my inner dive geek happy and it was delivered in a way that felt approachable and even fun.
Then came the first confined-water session in the pool.
From the first moment I entered the water with only my BCD in order to get the two tanks clipped on my sides instead of my back, I felt… different.
Everything felt unfamiliar. My buoyancy which is usually second nature, suddenly became a moving target. But instead of feeling frustrated, I found myself laughing behind my regulator. Every adjustment felt like a tiny win and there was something exciting about working through a new skillset that pushed just enough outside my comfort zone.
Open Water, Real Skills
After the pool came two dives in open water, where the skills we’d practiced began to make sense. We simulated sharing gas, removing a tank and swimming with it in front to navigate tight areas, and sliding through swim-throughs in spaces that would make backmount divers stop and navigate around.
That’s where sidemount’s real beauty shines — the freedom to move in ways you just can’t with a traditional backmount setup. The extra mobility gave me a new kind of confidence, even if it meant I had to keep my brain fully engaged to manage two separate cylinders.
Two Tanks, Think Twice
After the course, I started practicing with 7-litre steel tanks — and what an incredible difference this made! They are a lot smaller and easier to handle than what we’d used during training. I found the 11-litre aluminium tanks too bulky for my body size and struggled at times with handling them when attaching and detaching to my harness.
Gas switching was the part that took the most getting used to. It’s one thing to know you have two independent gas sources and another to stay disciplined about managing them and remembering to keep gas consumption balanced.
That discipline was tested sooner than I expected!
Out Of Gas At 5 Metres
On my second sidemount dive trip after getting certified I had a bit of a reality check.
So far I had been demonstrating skills and progressing without many hiccups, but during a safety stop, I got hyper-focused in helping my buddy untangle a reel. So focused on the task, I completely forgot to switch to my other tank afterwards. A few minutes later… mmmm.. the tank I was breathing from was empty. I was so surprised when I felt that distinctive hard pull on my reg indicating I only had one or two short breaths more left!
We were only 5m deep and my second tank had still plenty of gas, but in those first seconds I felt a flicker of panic. It was the first time I’d ever been truly “out of gas” underwater and even though the solution was simple, the moment was unforgettable.
It made me immediately appreciate sidemount’s redundancy and also the importance of balancing gas consumption so you’re not relying too heavily on one cylinder only.
Since then, I’ve been much more aware of switching regularly. Lesson learned!
Sticking With It
I’m still building muscle memory, but I can already see sidemount becoming part of my regular diving life. The flexibility, safety benefits and fun of it are too good to ignore. For now, I’ll be experimenting with different setups — from a single 11-litre aluminium to twin 7-litre steels — to find what works best for my style of diving. This takes time but the process is very empowering and keeps you hungry for more.
If you’re already a confident diver and looking to challenge yourself with something that will make you think differently underwater, sidemount is worth every minute of learning. It’s not just a new configuration but a new mindset underwater.
