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 might consider continuing to Tec Sidemount Diver, where you will learn additional skills that are specific to tec diving in sidemount like switching deco cylinders and staging.
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.
Academics - Technical courses have similar academic requirements to other classes. Students will conduct some self-study and present their findings to their instructor. A technical course requires that you plan your dives in advance. This is a crucial step to ensure a safe and successful dive. The gas management discussion in overhead and deep diving is more complex than what most divers are used too. A computer program can be used to calculate gas volumes and reserves.
PADI Training App is available on both Android(tm), as well as Apple(r) iOS. To ensure the best experience, your device should not exceed three years of age and be running the most recent OS (operating system).
Whatever configuration a diver chooses there is benefits for each and in different situations each configuration has its up or downside.
Sidemount has many benefits, but it is particularly well-suited for cave diving. (It was cave divers who invent sidemount. These benefits include:
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.
All our Tec diving lessons (open circuit or closed circuit rebreather) and technical scuba diving classes are given at our Scotty's dive center headquarters facility, located in the Shangri-la hotel in Mactan, Cebu province. If you are not a guest of the Shangri-la hotel, you can always walk in, or we can pick you up at your hotel.
There are several more agencies that provide technical diver training which are more region specific. In general the recommendation is to find a reputable instructor, look for recommendations from trusted sources and choose your instructor accordingly. Trust and comfort during the course are invaluable and will help you to feel confident and comfortable to push your boundaries and gain the knowledge you need to go beyond your current certification level.
Gear - Although the gear is the same, divers who are enrolled in an introductory tech class (Intro Tech, Sidemount, or CCR Air Diluent) will notice fundamental differences in the configuration. Instead of having 2 second stages per cylinder, they are split into two with each stage having a separate first. The gas planning process becomes more detailed and the harnesses have more chrome.
Nowadays diving sidemount became popular even in open water as you get more streamlined than having a tank on your back, it is not hurting your back, and you can get a lot of fun as it is extremely comfortable to dive sidemount.
And then there are the rebreathers…a rebreather is a machine that recycles exhaled gas and is the preferred method for ‘very’ deep dives in order to use the gas carried more efficiently. In this case the exhaled gas is going thru a canister filled with a chemical which is called Sofnolime or scrubber to remove CO2 from the breathing loop and the remaining gas will be inhaled again by the diver. Metabolised oxygen is replaced into the loop to keep the oxygen content in the divers’ body at the desired pressure.
The sidemount rig was originally invented for cave diving as it allows the diver to pass thru cracks and restrictions (tiny holes) easier than the classic back mount rig.
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).