All our Tec diving lessons (open circuit or closed circuit rebreather) and technical scuba diving classes are given at our Scotty's dive center headquarters facility, located in the Shangri-la hotel in Mactan, Cebu province. If you are not a guest of the Shangri-la hotel, you can always walk in, or we can pick you up at your hotel.
Sidemount divers usually use two tanks. However, it is possible to use one tank as a standard. I was also told that you can use one tank for deco diving.
This course will require the same equipment, as your goal is to learn the operation and setup of the equipment you will use during your cave diving or tech diver training. This includes:
TDI is an American tech diving organization that was found in 1994 and has instructors all around the world. The prerequisite to start technical diving with a TDI instructor are the Advanced Open Water certification of any organization, Nitrox certified and a minimum of 25 dives. The first technical diving courses are TDI Sidemount (within No deco limits) and Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures allowing to dive to 45m, using oxygen mixes up to 100% of oxygen and doing staged decompression stops. The course contents include theory, pool work, and a minimum of 6 dives depending on your level of comfort in the water in order to be able to complete all open water requirements safely and efficiently and to understand planning and preparation of a technical dive.
The freedom of movement of the head for sidemount divers is very attractive where a twinset can always be felt in the neck by a diver…something to get used to.
Don't worry if you are worried about how everything will fit together. You will learn how to set up your Sidemount equipment. Also, how to measure and adjust your bungees and clips so your tanks stay in line next to your legs. Your instructor will guide you through all this!
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver ExamSidemount diving is also very popular, even in open water. Why? Because diving sidemount is very comfortable and easy to learn.
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.
Your Sidemount BCD is a harness with a bladder and a somewhat intricate system of sliding D-rings, bungee cords, and clips. Their position and fit are crucial for your tank position and trim later in the water and your instructor will probably spend quite a bit of time to get them just right.
Gear – While the gear is fundamentally identical, divers in their intro tech class (Intro, Tech, Sidemount or the CCR-Air diluent), may notice some fundamental configuration changes. They now have two second stages, each with a separate start stage. Gas planning becomes a detailed, thorough process. The harnesses also have more chrome.
You will also find tank bands, clips and possibly some additional bungees in your Sidemount rig to store your regs. Your harness will have clips that attach to it. Their position is critical for your tanks.
It was difficult to get into the pool for my first session. I felt like an open water diver, securing myself in twin tanks and conducting valve drills. As we went through the Tec 40, 45, and 50 courses, I found new skills and was enjoying the course. The best part about Tec diving is the ability to improve your buoyancy, awareness and dive skills. It's quite an experience to know that you can manage life-threatening emergencies at depth without having to go to the surface due to decompression requirements. It's also satisfying to execute your dive plan with military precision.
Academics - A technical course's academic portion is very similar to other scuba classes. Students will be required to do self-study and share their new knowledge with their instructor. Although the dive planning requirements for technical courses are more complex than what most people are used to, they are essential in executing a successful dive. The gas management portion of the planning discussion for overhead and decompression diving will take more time than most divers are used. A computer program is used to calculate the gas volumes and reserve required for each dive.
Although I have not yet mastered the art of Sidemount diving, I am proud to be a Sidemount 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.
- Increased Bottom Time A Closed Circuit diver is not concerned with running out of gas because they are only limited by decompression. This can also be reduced by selecting an oxygen partial pressure that provides the diver with virtually limitless bottom times in 60 feet or less of water.
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).