How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver No Experience

How many dives do you need for cave 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.

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:

Side-mount —

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.

Our Scotty's headquarters facility for diving, Scotty's Scotty's, is located in Mactan, Cebu. We offer Tec diving lessons (open-circuit or closed-circuit rebreather) as well as technical scuba diving classes. You can walk in if you're not a Shangri-la guest or we can pick your up at your hotel.

How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver No Experience

Sidemount Scuba Setup

Dive sidemount has become a popular sport in open waters. While it looks more sleek than having a tank strapped to your back, it doesn't hurt your back.

Sidemount cylinder mounting was originally developed for cave diving, and has become more common in technical diving. The sidemount cylinder mounting allows you to separate the dual cylinders with one stage per cylinder and mount them on either the left or right side of your body. Although this doesn't allow for the diver to breath from any cylinder in the case of a regulator malfunction, it does make it easier to access valves. Sidemount diving allows the diver to have a wider horizontal profile but a narrower vertical one.

Sidemount Scuba Setup
Sidemount Bcd

Sidemount Bcd

A great fact book about technical diving is ‘Deco for Divers – A Guide to Decompression Theory and Physiology’ written by Mark Powell.

Sidemount diving has many advantages. You have two tanks with one regulator, a first stage, and SPG. It makes it safer and allows for little air-hogs such as myself to get more air. Sidemount is also very comfortable, as you can quickly put tanks on the water surface and there's no pressure on your back.

Aqua

These cards are only issued to those who have earned them. Participating in a course is not a guarantee of certification. Certification cards may be offered by multiple agencies for cave courses. C-cards cost $30 to $30 per card, depending on the agency. Ask your instructor for more information.

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.

How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Equipment
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Equipment

The Sidemount Diver Specialty course dive may count toward your Advanced Open Water Diver certification – ask your instructor about earning credit.

You can rent items like primary lights and cylinders, which may be difficult to carry. Please let us know if you need these.

Time

Sidemount Diver was, I must admit, one of the most difficult courses I have ever taken. My instructor Fiona and Big Blue Tech in Koh Tao were able to include a lot more skills as well as dives into my course. We practiced many skills, including mask removal, tank deployment underwater, out-of-air drills and SMB deployment. All the while keeping my trim.

You can learn the SSI technical diver course and dive with up to four tanks (cylinders), for extended dives. The technical sidemount diver class is a great way for you to start technical diving. You will learn how to manage multiple cylinders during one dive. Also, learn how to configure your sidemount gear and set up a tec harness.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Technical diving (also known as tec diving or tech diving) is non-professional scuba diving that exceeds the agency-specified limits of recreational diving.