We can offer the SDI course if requested. However, we only offer the TDI course by default. This can be taken as a stand-alone program, but our students usually combine it with the Apprentice Cave Diver course.
You should know what you are getting. Prices include instruction fees and eLearning fees. Keep in mind that eLearning can cost anywhere from $140 up to $280. If you pay for elearning separately, then a course costing $640 from us could be the same price as a course costing $500 from another source.
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!
SDI/TDIIncludes 2 open water divesMinimum 18 years, 15 years with parental consentMust have an SDI Open Water Diver or the equivalent
Sidemount divers typically use two tanks, but you can use just one tank (I was taught it's called "monkey") or more than two tanks to do deco dives.
So, what are you waiting for? Find a TDI instructor near you today: https://www.tdisdi.com/search/?area=instructors
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver General
Overhead diving professionals are allowed to use cave passages that were formed by millions of years worth of water erosion. They can be found thousands of feet away from the entrance. These sites are a treasure trove of beauty and tranquility, which was only possible because of the time it took to form them.
The benefits of rebreathers include the ability to extend your diving time by avoiding large cylinders and instead recycling the gas exhaled from the diver. They also scrub the CO2 out of the air and inject prescriptive amounts gas from smaller cylinders. This can significantly increase your dive time, especially for deep dives. The configuration of the rebreathers will determine the shape they create. They can be either sidemounted or back.
Although the gear selection is important, entry level tech divers will learn how to streamline their equipment and prevent drag. This maximizes propulsion efficiency and awareness.
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.
New gear means new techniques. Diving sidemount, if it's easy, require some new skills (easy to learn).
Skills (generally speaking) - The introductory technical diver will practice their trimming and buoyancy using new equipment. This builds the foundation for efficient diving. Once the foundation is in place, students can start to practice locomotion and then move on with more advanced skills.
Academics: The academic sections of a technical class are the same as any other scuba class. Students will complete some self-study, and then bring their knowledge to the instructor for a discussion. While the technical course's dive planning is more complicated than what most people are familiar with it is an essential part of performing a successful dive. Decompression and overhead diving require gas management discussions that will take much longer than normal. To calculate the required gas volumes for the dive, they use a computer program.
Sidemount cylinder mounting was originally developed for cave diving, and has become more common in technical diving. The sidemount cylinder mounting allows you to separate the dual cylinders with one stage per cylinder and mount them on either the left or right side of your body. Although this doesn't allow for the diver to breath from any cylinder in the case of a regulator malfunction, it does make it easier to access valves. Sidemount diving allows the diver to have a wider horizontal profile but a narrower vertical one.
Technical diving (also known as tec diving or tech diving) is non-professional scuba diving that exceeds the agency-specified limits of recreational diving.
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.
To begin a technical diving course, you must have completed the following prerequisites: a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certificate or equivalent, a PADI Enriched Air Diver certificate or equivalent, and a PADI Deep Diver certificate or proof of at least 10 dives to 30 metres/100 feet.