You will need your standard wetsuit, fins and mask as well as a computer, compass and DSMB.
Skills (generally) - An introductory tech diver will practice his trim and buoyancy using the new equipment configuration. This is the first step to efficient diving. Once this foundation is established, the student can begin practicing locomotion before moving on to more advanced skills.
Our CDS Basics Orientation course is the best option if you don't plan to use sidemount while you cave diver training.
The next day, technical sidemount was underway. This meant adding our deco 50 percent oxygen and 100% oxygen tanks on either end. The tanks will make you appear more prominent underwater. Each side of your waist has a few clips. As your tanks become buoyant from the air you exhale, adjust your tank to the second clip. You want to make your life as simple as possible. In a matter of minutes, your breathing is switched between the tanks. You can breathe easily because the pressure in each tanks is equal. Like all new things, experience is crucial to comfort and enjoyment. The following days I spent deco diving with the sidemount rig. My buddy David Joyce, Evolution co-owner and Trimix instructor, was with me. We went to the Japanese Mogami Japanese Mogami shipwreck at 164 feet. There, I was charmed and enthralled by the remnants of gas masks, uniforms, bones, and other old items we saw.
Sidemount rigs were created originally for cave diving.
Computer-aided instruction is an integral part of nearly every course we teach. The Why? is simple: eLearning helps get our students in the water sooner and spend more time there. It’s why we include the cost of any applicable eLearning programs — usually a $140 value — in our courses at no extra charge. This translates directly into an extra day of in-water training. The value of that? Priceless.
Each PADI Specialty you complete gets you one step closer to earning the elite Master Scuba Diver™ rating.
Sidemount BCDs are a harness that has a bladder and an intricate system of sliding D rings, bungee cables, and clips. They are important for the tank position and trimming later in the water. Your instructor will likely spend quite some time making sure they fit perfectly.
Sidemount Diver was one of my most challenging courses. This was due to the fact that my instructor Fiona, from Big Blue Tech, a trusted dive center in Koh Takao, included more skills and dives than I needed. My task load was always manageable so we practiced skills repeatedly. This included mask removable, tank removable underwater, out of air drills, and SMB deployment. We also kept our trim.
I’ve just arrived on Malapascua Island in the Philippines, where over the next two months I’ll work my way up to becoming a Tec diving instructor. I’ve been a recreational instructor in Bali for the last two years and want to expand my experience and professional dive résumé. My first taste of technical diving was at Sidemount PCB, where PADI course director and Tec instructor-trainer Tom West molded me into a Tec-50 diver.
Technical divers are able to explore wrecks and reefs at depths that are below the recreational limit of 30 m/130 ft. Specialized training allows them to explore underwater caves, and other places that are beyond the reach of recreational diving.
Whatever configuration a diver chooses there is benefits for each and in different situations each configuration has its up or downside.
We do not issue certification cards unless they are earned. The mere fact that you have taken part in a training course does not make you certified. There may be multiple certification agencies that offer certification cards for cave courses. C-cards typically cost $30 each depending on the agency. You can ask your instructor more.
Most agencies allow you to choose between technical Sidemount or recreational Sidemount. While the prerequisites for SDI and TDI are identical, the tec Sidemount course will require more skills. You will need to master them more - perfect trimming and maintaining a level of skill is essential!
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.
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.
Technical diving (also known as tec diving or tech diving) is non-professional scuba diving that exceeds the agency-specified limits of recreational diving.