Scuba Sidemount Setup

Accelerated Decompression

To extend their time at the wrecks and reefs below the ocean floor, decompression divers use oxygen mixtures. Decompression divers can cruise around the ocean floor for as long as 60 minutes, whereas sport divers may only be able to do two bottom dives at 100ft for 15 minutes each.

Do you want to share the experience? PADI eLearning (r) can be purchased online and shared with a person of your choice. You can purchase the course for a gift or assign it to family members. It's easy!

Sidemount and technical were my first courses. Sidemount diving involves placing your tanks in your hands. I was so numb that my fingers and knuckles had been cut by the end. The idea is to take the tanks off of your hands and let them flow out in front. After making adjustments to the harness's size, the afternoon dive went much easier. I was now able to unclip the harness and 'Superman' with the tanks. Sidemount provides an amazing degree of freedom. Matt installed obstacle courses, and we soon found ourselves flying around them while holding tanks at our feet. We also tried barrel-rolling and swimming upside down.

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How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver 007

Rebreathers allow for greater diving ability by eliminating large cylinders. Instead, they recycle the gas exhaled by divers, scrub the CO2 and inject small amounts of gas. This can greatly increase the time it takes to dive, especially if you are doing deeper dives. Rebreathers can either be sidemounted or back, and their profile is determined by the configuration.

While I still haven’t perfected this art, I am proud that after 20 Sidemount divers I can call myself a Sidemount Diver. It is the most comfortable way of diving!

How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver 007
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Light

How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Light

Computer-aided instruction is an integral part of nearly every course we teach. The Why? is simple: eLearning helps get our students in the water sooner and spend more time there. It’s why we include the cost of any applicable eLearning programs — usually a $140 value — in our courses at no extra charge. This translates directly into an extra day of in-water training. The value of that? Priceless.

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.

Divemaster

International Training, the parent organisation for Technical Diving International / Scuba Diving International (TDI), offers both SDI (and TDI) versions of their Sidemount Diver courses. Both courses are very similar. Both courses share the same learning materials (which were written by us). What is the difference?

Computer-aided instruction forms an integral part of most courses we teach. The Why? The reason is simple. eLearning helps students get in the water earlier and spend more of their time there. We offer all applicable online eLearning programs at no additional charge. They are typically $140. This can translate into an extra day in-water instruction. That is an incredible value. Priceless.

How many dives do you need for cave diving
How many dives do you need for cave diving

Sidemount regulators can also be used. One regulator will be on a long length hose, while one regulator will be on a shorter one with a necklace. Sidemount regs have a marked design, which makes it easy to identify the tank you are in. This also included a swivel connector for my short-hose regulator. Two SPGs will be provided - one for each stage.

The next day it was on to technical sidemount, which means adding our deco 50-percent oxygen and 100-percent oxygen tanks on either side. This increases your profile underwater so you must keep the tanks as trim as possible against your body. You have a couple of clips on each side of your waist. As you breathe down your tanks and they become positively buoyant, you adjust your tank position to the second clip position. The aim here is to be as streamlined as possible. Every few minutes you also switch your breathing from one tank to the other. That way the pressure in each tank runs down at roughly the same rate, and if there is a failure with either tank or regulator, you’ll still have gas to breathe. As with all new things, building up experience is key to comfort and enjoyment. I spent the next few days doing deco dives with the sidemount rig, buddied up with Evolution co-owner David Joyce — a hugely experienced Tec diver and Trimix instructor. On one dive we visited the Japanese Mogami wreck down at 164 feet, where I was beguiled by the bits of old gas masks, uniforms and even a few bones we saw.

Ssi Xr

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.

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.

Scuba Sidemount Setup
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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.

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.

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.