By allowing divers to exhale gas, the rebreather can extend their diving capabilities. The rebreather will then recycle the gas and inject the required amount of gas into the cylinder. This can dramatically increase the dive time when compared to using double the size and weight cylinders, especially for deeper dives. You can have rebreathers back- or sidemounted. The profile they create will depend on their configuration.

You may also be interested in the PADI tec Sidemount Diving Course.

There is a wide variety of equipment that is used by technical divers the biggest impact on the decision is the environment a diver is exposed to. Many cave divers prefer to use Sidemount which means, independent single tanks are mount to the side of the divers’ body and attached by clips on a D-Ring on the waist band on the harness and on the shoulder. This allows the diver to detach and don tanks to fit thru tiny restrictions and have a lower overall profile to go to places unreachable for divers who chose backmount. During multiple trips, additional tanks can be placed in a cave or a wreck to allow the diver deeper penetration dives and to pick up tanks when leaving the cave or wreck.

Sidemount diving is a great option, especially for those who are already tec divers. You will need to learn how to adjust your rig, how you can enter the water with it (yes, it is different, but it is more relaxed).

Open Water Dives

You must be at least a level of fitness and health to dive. You may need to have written permission from your physician if you have chronic health issues, take certain medications or are recovering from recent surgery.

There are three parts to certification: knowledge development, skill practice and open water dives. You can complete all three parts locally, on holiday, or split between the two.

Open Water Dives
Do rebreathers actually work

Do rebreathers actually work

I can't recall when or why it was that I decided to take the Sidemount course. Like most of my diving decisions it was just a matter of "oh, that looks cool", and I was willing to give it a try. Sidemount would have been a valuable certification that I could use for future training. Sidemount certification would also be helpful if I wanted to go cave diving.

Sidemount diving was originally developed in cave diving. However, it has now made its way into recreational non-overhead diving. Simply put, sidemount diving means that you no longer wear one or two tanks on your back. Instead, you wear your tanks on either your side. The tanks can be attached to a Sidemount BCD with clips and/orbungee cords. This gives you great flexibility. Cave divers were able to use this flexibility to allow them to transport their tanks underwater and fit into tight spaces.

Dive Centre

Additionally, sidemount diving has become wildly popular even for open water diving. Why? It is because sidemount diving can be very relaxing and simple to learn.

The popularity of sidemount diving continues to grow, even when it is open-water. Why? Sidemount diving is very simple and comfortable.

How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Job
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Job

Even though the gear choice is important, the entry-level tech diver can learn to streamline their equipment to minimize drag and dangling items. This optimizes the profile of the diver's equipment for optimal propulsion and awareness.

SDI/TDIIncludes 2 open water divesMinimum 18 years, 15 years with parental consentMust have an SDI Open Water Diver or the equivalent

How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Gear
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver 200m

Technical diving means that a diver is not allowed to reach the surface from any point during the dive. It could be due to a ceiling in the form of a cave/wreck or virtual ceilings created by decompression obligations. To avoid decompression sickness, you must perform mandatory stops on ascent when the NDL's are exceeded. This usually requires the use special equipment like Sidemounts and Twinsets. Twinsets and Sidemounts require special gas mixes, additional training, and twinsets/sidemounts to ensure that you can perform these stops correctly on ascent in order to maximize Nitrogen offgassing.

Sidemount diving is easy with an Open Water Diver. You will need to be able to handle your equipment yourself. Sidemount diving adds a new dimension in terms of equipment setup and skill.

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Frequently Asked Questions

According to experts, approximately 40% of technical divers enroll in additional education and training programs. This yields a reasonable estimate of approximately 160,000 active technical divers worldwide.