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.
Sidemount diving can be done by anyone who is an Open Water Diver. While it is essential to have good buoyancy and trim, you will be able setup and handle your equipment by yourself. Sidemount diving is a great way to expand your skills and knowledge in equipment setup.
Some other wreck diving books are ‘The Last Dive’ by Bernie Chowdhury about father and son who are crazy about wrecks and eventually find their destiny on a German U-boat.
The very general definition of technical diving is to be exposed to a ceiling that does not allow a diver to ascend to the surface at any moment of the dive. This might be due to a real ceiling, in terms of a cave or a wreck, or a virtual ceiling created by a decompression obligation. In this case, by exceeding the NDL’s, mandatory decompression stops have to be performed on ascent in order to avoid any case of decompression sickness. In most cases this requires the use of special equipment, e.g. Twinsets or Sidemount, special gas mixes and of course additional training to be able to perform those stops accurately on ascent to optimize off-gassing of Nitrogen.
New gear means new techniques. Diving sidemount, if it's easy, require some new skills (easy to learn).
The Sidemount diving setup is a little different from the setup when diving backmount and so is the equipment.
To become a technical diver, you need to have passion, experience and training. Technical diving can be dangerous if one or more of these factors is lacking.
There are several more agencies that provide technical diver training which are more region specific. In general the recommendation is to find a reputable instructor, look for recommendations from trusted sources and choose your instructor accordingly. Trust and comfort during the course are invaluable and will help you to feel confident and comfortable to push your boundaries and gain the knowledge you need to go beyond your current certification level.
Sidemount rigs were created originally for cave diving.
Consider taking the Tec Sidemount Diver Course. You'll gain additional skills related to tec sidemount diving, such as switching deco cylinders or staging.
Know what you're getting. Prices include instruction, eLearning fees and other costs. You should also consider that eLearning costs can vary from $140 to $280. In other words, a course that costs $640 may cost as much as a $500 course you purchase from us if you are required to pay for the elearning separately.
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The Sidemount diver's setup is slightly different than the backmount.
When or why I decided to do my Sidemount course I don’t remember. As with most of my diving decisions, it was probably a case of – oh that looks cool, could be useful, I’m going to try it!I knew that Sidemount was going to be a useful certification and something that I could use in the future and build on. I also knew that I eventually wanted to do some proper cave diving and that a Sidemount certification would come in handy for that.
To register for the PADI Advanced Rebreather Diver course, you must first: You must be a PADI Open Water Diver, but you must also be a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver to become a PADI Advanced Rebreather Diver. Have at least 30 dives under your belt.
Have a PADI Deep Specialty Instructor certification or have completed a PADI Deep Specialty Instructor course. Have at least 100 logged dives, including at least 20 enriched air dives, 25 dives deeper than 18 meters/60 feet, and 15 dives deeper than 30 meters/100 feet. You can become a Tec 45 diver.
from 170 to 350 feet
While conventional scuba diving has a recommended maximum depth of 130 feet, technical divers may work at depths ranging from 170 feet to 350 feet, and sometimes even deeper.