There are three parts to certification. Knowledge development, skill practice and open-water diving. You can do all three on your own, or take a break to complete one of them.
Your Sidemount rig also includes clips and tank bands. These clips will attach to your harness. Again, their location is crucial for the positioning of your tanks.
The SSI technical-sidemount diver course allows you to take extended dives with four+ tanks (cylinders). Technical diving is easy with the technical sidemount course. You can learn to operate multiple cylinders at once. Config your sidemount gear. Learn how to make a tec sidemount harness. Also learn how adjust the sling tanks on your body.
Decompression divers can use all sorts of oxygen mixtures to extend their time looking at reefs and wrecks on the sea floor. While the sport diver may only have two 15-minute bottom time dives at 100ft, the decompression diver is able to cruise for up 60 minutes. This allows them to get the most bang possible.
Technical diving refers to being exposed to a ceiling which prevents divers from reaching the surface at all times. This could be caused either by a physical ceiling such as a cave or wreck or a virtual one created by a dive restriction. If the NDL is exceeded, mandatory decompression stops must be made on ascent to avoid any decompression sickness. Most cases require special equipment, such as Sidemounts or Twinsets. To optimize Nitrogen offgassing, Twinsets or Sidemounts are necessary.
The Sidemount diver's setup is slightly different than the backmount.
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.
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You can choose from the following options to learn more about diving or for lessons alternatives.
Sidemount diving is a great way to get additional air. There are two tanks that you use, one tank with an SPG and the other with regulators. This makes it safer and gives air-hogs like me a lot more air. Sidemount also makes diving extremely easy, since you can simply put tanks on top and there isn't any pressure on your spine.
Although we can teach the SDI course if specifically requested, by default we offer the TDI one. It is possible to take this as a standalone program; however, our students generally combine this with our Apprentice Cave Diver course.
An Open Water Diver is all you need to get started in Sidemount diving. It is important to have good buoyancy, trim, and be able set up your equipment and manage it yourself. Sidemount diving can bring a new dimension to your equipment setup and skills.
Mentality - Technical diving still has its fun side. It's about seeing cool stuff, just as sport diving. But technical divers see things longer, deeper and more hidden than the sport diver. Although technical divers are still fun-focused, they are also regularly focused. There are still jokes to be made and laughs can be had. But, diving planning and execution must be done with a sense of seriousness. Divers are exposed to risks.
Technical diving is on the rise and Girls That Scuba HQ was quick to notice it! There were many questions to be answered and nerves to overcome so we decided to seek out Theresia, an Asian tech instructor. She is currently working at Blue Marlin Gili T, Lombok. She provided an introduction course in twin sets, and allowed us to dive into technical diving. Here's her lesson:
To begin a technical diving course, you must have completed the following prerequisites: a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certificate or equivalent, a PADI Enriched Air Diver certificate or equivalent, and a PADI Deep Diver certificate or proof of at least 10 dives to 30 metres/100 feet.
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.
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).