Our Scotty’s diving center headquarters facility is where all our Tec diving and technical scuba diving lessons are offered. It's located at the Shangri-la Hotel in Mactan. If you don't belong to the Shangri–la hotel, we can either pick you up at home or you can walk in.
For dives deeper than 56m gas mixes called Trimix are used. In order to reduce narcosis and reduce the toxic effects of Nitrogen and Oxygen, Helium is added which has no negative effect on our body to very deep depth. There are additional risks with helium but those start at depths of around 180m. In history tests have been executed with different noble gasses, however they all turned out to be toxic for the human body, so helium was the only one adequate for diving. One other gas that has no effect on the human body is Hydrogen but due to its high risk of fire and explosion in contact with oxygen, the blending of it is very difficult if not almost impossible with the techniques we use currently.
The freedom of movement of the head for sidemount divers is very attractive where a twinset can always be felt in the neck by a diver…something to get used to.
If you plan to go sidemount, particularly if you are a tec diver already, you will need to learn about your new rig. How to adjust it, how it can be used to enter the water, and more.
You will need the same equipment as the course to learn how to operate and set up the equipment you'll use for your tech diving training. This includes:
Don't wait! Find a TDI instructor near you today: https://www.tdisdi.com/search/?area=instructors
Sidemount rigs were originally designed for cave diving. They allow the diver to easily pass through cracks and restrictions (tiny holes), much faster than traditional back mount rigs.
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International Training, which is the parent organization for Technical Diving International / Scuba Diving International, offers both the SDI version and TDI versions their Sidemount Diver course. Both courses can be used in the same way. Both courses use the exact same learning materials (which, obviously, we wrote). What's the difference then?
Sidemount can be a boon for all divers, but it's especially useful for cave diving. (It was actually cave divers that invented sidemount. These are some of the benefits:
The popularity of sidemount diving continues to grow, even when it is open-water. Why? Sidemount diving is very simple and comfortable.
There are two options available with most agencies: technical Sidemount or recreational Sidemount. Similar prerequisites apply to both TDI or SDI. However, the tec-sidemount course will increase your skills. The course will also require you to learn more about them. Perfect trim and maintaining your level during the skill development is a must.
Are you interested to become a Sidemount divers? This is the place for you!
While we are able to teach the SDI course if you ask, the default is the TDI. Although you can do this program as an individual course, we recommend that students combine it with our Apprentice Cave Diver course.
2-3 hours
Even with small cylinders, you can usually dive for 2-3 hours (rebreathers typically have two 2/3l cylinders or one 3/5l cylinder).
Have a PADI Deep Specialty Instructor certification or have completed a PADI Deep Specialty Instructor course. Have at least 100 logged dives, including at least 20 enriched air dives, 25 dives deeper than 18 meters/60 feet, and 15 dives deeper than 30 meters/100 feet. You can become a Tec 45 diver.
5-6 days
Rebreather training classes are typically 5-6 days long, but can be longer depending on a variety of factors such as the training agency, your local conditions, your instructor, and your ability to meet the class standards.