Sidemount is not something you'll be doing during cave diving training. Instead, you should look at our CDS Basics Orientation Course.
Each PADI Specialty you complete gets you one step closer to earning the elite Master Scuba Diver™ rating.
You will need your standard wetsuit, fins and mask as well as a computer, compass and DSMB.
The next day was technical sidemount. This means that we added our deco 50 and 100 percent oxygen tanks on either side. This can increase your profile underwater. It is important that you keep your tanks as small as possible. The clips can be found on each side. As your tanks become buoyant, you will adjust your tank position to fit the second clip. Here, the goal is to be as efficient as possible. Each few minutes, you switch your breathing between the tanks. By doing this, the pressure in each of the tanks will decrease at roughly the exact same rate. In the event that a tank or regulator fails you will still be able to breathe. It is important to gain experience with any new thing. I spent the next few nights doing deco dives with the sidemount rig. I was buddied with Evolution coowner David Joyce who is a very experienced Tec diver as well as a Trimix instructor. One dive saw us visit the Japanese Mogami Japanese Mogami sank at 164 feet. It was here that I was seduced by old gas masks and uniforms as well as a few bones.
One of the most important changes in equipment cave divers have made since the start of the century was the switch from sidemount to backmounted doubles. Sidemount is a popular choice for cave divers. It's also possible that sidemount cave divers are more common than backmount cave divers.
The entry-level tech diver will be trained to optimize their equipment to reduce drag and avoid dangling gear. This will ensure a maximum profile for efficient propulsion, awareness and propulsion.
Sidemount and technical sidemount were my first courses. Sidemount diving is, as its name implies, where you place your tank in front of you. By the end of the session, my hands were covered with cuts. You can remove the tanks from their clips and place them in front of yourself, Superman-style, to streamline your life. The afternoon dive went much smoother after some adjustments to the harness. I was now comfortable unclipping the harness and 'Superman-ing" with the tanks. Sidemount is a great way to have more freedom than having two people on your back. Matt created obstacle courses, and soon we were flying around them with tanks at our fronts, barrel-rolling, and swimming upside down.
If you worry now about how this will all come together, don’t – a big part of the course is learning how to set up your Sidemount equipment as well as to measure and adjust bungees and clips to make sure your tanks are in trim next to your legs. And of course, your instructor will help you with all of it!
The Sidemount Diver Specialty course dive may count toward your Advanced Open Water Diver certification – ask your instructor about earning credit.
It takes passion, experience, and training to become a technical dive instructor. Technical diving comes with additional risks, so it's not worth taking on if you don't have the right combination.
I arrived just two months ago on Malapascua Island in Philippines. There, I will learn how to become a Tec diver instructor. Since 2012, I've been a Bali recreational instructor. I am eager to improve my diving skills and expand my knowledge. Sidemount PCB was the place where my first experience of technical diving was. Tom West, PADI course director and instructor-trainer for Tec, made me a Certified Tec-50 Diver.
You should not use sidemount in your cave diver training. Our CDS Basics Orientation class is what you need.
Technical divers explore reefs and wrecks at depths below the 40 meter/130-foot recreational limit. With specialized training, they can explore underwater caves and other places well beyond the reach of mainstream recreational diving.
The Sidemount dive setup is slightly different from the backmount, as is the equipment.
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).
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.
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.