How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Position

Rebreathers offer an extension of diving abilities by forgoing large cylinders in favor of recycling the gas exhaled by the diver, scrubbing the CO2 exhaled, and injecting prescriptive amounts of gas from smaller cylinders. This can drastically increase the dive time compared to carrying double cylinders of the same generate size/weight, especially for deeper dives. Rebreathers can be back or sidemounted, and the profile they create is dependent on the configuration.

Cave passages formed over millions years of water erosion and extending thousands of feet from their entrance are reserved only for overhead divers. They are stunning in their beauty and peacefulness, but only because they were formed so long ago.

Due to the issues with single-orifice doubles or backmounted independents (which are not as common in modern diving), backmounted doubles were invented. Independents are two independent cylinders attached to one's back, with independent regulators for each. One cylinder was sufficient to take care of a failed 1st Stage. Single orifice duplicates were two cylinders linked with a valve and one regulator. A single orifice doubles set would cause all gas to be lost if a first stage fails. These problems can be eliminated with the modern isolated manifolds. Each cylinder can work independently but divers can also inhale gas from both of them through one regulator. These doubles are typically held together with metal bands. The valves can also be linked with an isolation device, which allows them to be seperated if required. Backmounted doubles diving offers a profile that's vertically identical to regular single-cylinder backmount.

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.

If you're a Tec diver and want to do sidemount diving, it's important to know how to set up your new rig, adjust it, enter the water with it, and much more.

Our Scotty’s diving center headquarters facility is where all our Tec diving and technical scuba diving lessons are offered. It's located at the Shangri-la Hotel in Mactan. If you don't belong to the Shangri–la hotel, we can either pick you up at home or you can walk in.