You will need your standard wetsuit, fins and mask as well as a computer, compass and DSMB.
Sidemount rigs also include tank bands, clips, bungees, and likely some more to store your regs. The clips are attached to your harness. Also, their position will affect the position of your tanks.
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.
Sidemount Diver Specialty courses may count towards Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Ask your instructor.
Gear - While the gear remains the same, divers taking an introductory tech class, such as Sidemount, Intro to Tech or CCR air diluent, will notice some configuration differences. Instead of two second stages on one cylindrical, they're divided between two with a separate initial stage for each. The gas planning becomes a more in-depth process, and the harnesses appear to have more chrome.
I Want To Be A Scuba DiverA 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.
Take our SSI technical sidemount dive course to learn how to use four tanks (cylinders) for longer dives. Technical sidemount diving is a great way to learn technical diving. It will teach you how to use multiple cylinders in one dive. You will also learn how to set up your sidemount gear, configuring a sidemount harness and how to adjust the sling tanks (cylinders).
The goal of this course is to teach you the basics of how to use the equipment in your cave or tech diver training. You will also need the same equipment for the course. This includes:
The initial pool sessions were tough; I felt like an open-water diver again, strapped into the twin tanks and trying to conduct valve drills. But as we progressed through the Tec 40, 45 and 50 courses, new skills started to come naturally, and by the end of the course I was enjoying myself. The satisfaction in Tec diving comes from taking your dive skills, buoyancy and awareness to the next level. Knowing that you’re capable of managing life-threatening emergencies at depth, and without the option to ascend straight to the surface (due to decompression requirements) is quite a buzz. And it’s satisfying to execute your dive plan with military precision.
Technical diving is growing in popularity and it didn't take long until it grabbed our attention here at Girls that Scuba HQ! But we had a lot of questions first and a few nerves so we headed to the woman in the know - one of the only female tech instructors in Asia - Theresia Gollner - who is working at Blue Marlin in Gili T, Lombok. She gave us an intro course to twin sets and let us into the wonderful world of technical diving. Here's what she taught us:
To register for the PADI Advanced Rebreather Diver course, you must first: You must be a PADI Open Water Diver, but you must also be a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver to become a PADI Advanced Rebreather Diver. Have at least 30 dives under your belt.
The depth range of oxygen rebreathers (simple closed circuit) is limited to approximately 6 m, beyond which the risk of acute oxygen toxicity rises to unacceptable levels very quickly.
from 170 to 350 feet
While conventional scuba diving has a recommended maximum depth of 130 feet, technical divers may work at depths ranging from 170 feet to 350 feet, and sometimes even deeper.