Side Mount Dive Training

Dive Center

Technical diving is fun, but not for those who want to dive deeper. Cave and decompression diving carry a greater risk. Dive planning and training are key to reducing this risk. These divers are held to a higher standard. To become a skilled diver, it will take practice. It is not possible to replace the time spent in water, no matter how much research you do. Divers will see that minimum standards are often exceeded by instructors during training courses. Technical training teaches diver redundancy. This allows problems to be solved at 1500ft in a cave, and then an exit can be made to the surface. Although it sounds scary and complicated, this is an essential aspect of diving in such an environment. Technical training is challenging, but also fun. The diver will have a golden ticket that opens up new areas of the world.

It is possible to rent items such as primary light bulbs and cylinders which can be cumbersome to carry. You should let us know if any of these are required.

Side Mount Dive Training

I Want To Be A Scuba Diver —

My first courses were sidemount and technical sidemount. Sidemount diving, as the name suggests, involves placing your tank my hands and knuckles were covered in cuts by the end of the session. The idea is that you can unclip the tanks and put them out in front of you, Superman style, thus streamlining yourself. After some sizing adjustments to the harness, the afternoon dive went much more smoothly. I was now comfortably unclipping and ‘Superman-ing’ with the tanks. Compared to having doubles on your back, sidemount offers an incredible level of freedom. Matt set up obstacle courses and we were soon flying around them with tanks held out front, barrel-rolling and even swimming upside down.

Because single orifice duals and backmounted independencies are less common today, backmounted doubles became popular. Independents have two cylinders strapped to the back of one another with independent regulators. If the 1st stage failed, the diver would only need one cylinder. Single orifice twos were two cylinders that were connected with a regulator and a valve. A failure on the first stage would result in gas loss. Both problems are solved by the isolation manifold doubles that are used today. Each cylinder may be used independently. But, divers can also use the same regulator to breathe gas from both. These doubles are often held together by metal bands. If necessary, the valves can be connected to an isolation manifold. Backmounted doubles diving has a similar profile to regular single-cylinder dives. However, the profile is vertically identical.

Wreck

The entry-level tech diver will be trained to optimize their equipment to reduce drag and avoid dangling gear. This will ensure a maximum profile for efficient propulsion, awareness and propulsion.

My first pool sessions were difficult. I felt like an open-water diver once more, strapped into twin tanks and trying valve drills. The Tec 40 and 45 courses were difficult at first, but I soon found that new skills became natural and I enjoyed the course. The joy of Tec diving lies in taking your diving skills, buoyancy, and awareness to the next level. The feeling of knowing that you are capable of handling life-threatening situations at depth and without needing to descend to the surface (dues to decompression requirements) can be quite satisfying. It's satisfying to execute your dive plans with military precision.

Wreck
Recreational Divers

Recreational Divers

To make dives beyond 130ft, decompression divers will add Helium to the cylinders. Then they can explore the realm of the uncommon. Their experiences at wrecks and reefs are often less frequent than those of astronauts who visit the moon.

To dive beyond 130ft, decompression divers should add some Helium to their cylinders. This will allow them to enter the realm of the seldom seen. Sometimes, the reefs and wrecks they visit are visited less often per year than astronauts to orbit the moon.

How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Company

We offer the TDI course as an option, although we can also teach the SDI course if asked. This course can be taken on its own, or with the Apprentice Cave Diver course.

Sidemount diving provides an independent air source. Two tanks are used, each with their own regulators and first stage, SPG. This makes it much safer and gives little air-hogs (like me) a lot more oxygen. Sidemount's tanks can be easily accessed from the surface. There is no pressure on the back.

How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver 200m
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver 200m

To become a technical diver, you need to have passion, experience and training. Technical diving can be dangerous if one or more of these factors is lacking.

Decompression divers may add Helium into their cylinders to make deep dives over 130ft. Sometimes they are less likely to visit wrecks or reefs than astronauts to reach the moon every year.

Diving

Consider taking the Tec Sidemount Diver Course. You'll gain additional skills related to tec sidemount diving, such as switching deco cylinders or staging.

While most Sidemount divers use two tanks as a standard, you can also just use one tank (I was told it’s called ‘monkey’) or more than two tanks for deco dives.

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Frequently Asked Questions

- Increased Bottom Time A Closed Circuit diver is not concerned with running out of gas because they are only limited by decompression. This can also be reduced by selecting an oxygen partial pressure that provides the diver with virtually limitless bottom times in 60 feet or less of water.