Your Sidemount BCD is a harness with a bladder and a somewhat intricate system of sliding D-rings, bungee cords, and clips. Their position and fit are crucial for your tank position and trim later in the water and your instructor will probably spend quite a bit of time to get them just right.
It is becoming more popular to do technical diving and we were immediately drawn to it at Girls that ScubaHQ! We had many questions and nerves, so we went to Theresia Gollner, who is working at Blue Marlin Gili T in Lombok. We were given an introduction to twin sets by her and then she let us in on the amazing world of technical diving. Here are the lessons she gave us:
If you want some diving classes alternative and lessons or want to know what's best next for your education, take a look at the three options below.
Technical diving is defined by being exposed at the ceiling, which prohibits the diver from reaching the surface at any time during the dive. This can be due either to a literal ceiling (a cave, wreck, or virtual ceiling) or a decompression obligation. In such cases, mandatory decompression stops are required on ascent for anyone who exceeds the NDL. This may require the use of special equipment (e.g. Twinsets, Sidemount, special gas mixtures, and more training are needed to perform those stops as well as other tasks on ascent. This will optimize Nitrogen offgassing.
2nd stage regulator; exposure suit with side pockets, BCD-sidemount, SMB cutting tool, diving spool. Jet fins. Mask and spare mask. Technical diving equipments. 1 long hose (2.10m-7ft), hogarthian, or cave harness.
Gear - While all gear is identical, divers in their introductory tech classes (Intro To Tech, Sidemount and CCR Air diluent), will notice some fundamental differences in their configurations. Instead of being split into 2 stages on a single cylinder, the second stages are divided up between two with a separate stage on each. Gas planning becomes more complex and the harnesses are more chrome.
How To Become A Sidemount Technical Scuba Diver Octopus Attack2nd stage regulator and exposure suit with side pocket, BCD sidemount. SMB. Cutting tool. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulation. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulatory. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd Stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd stage regulator. 2nd hose
Depending on the environment and type of diving each configuration has its advantage and disadvantage. Diving in caves or wrecks the preferred way to dive for sure is either Sidemount or rebreathers. There is also an option for a Sidemount rebreather which makes the diver more streamlined to fit through narrow restrictions. Sidemount also gives the diver the advantage to leave tanks behind that will be picked up upon exiting the cave or wreck. To fit through narrow bedding planes unclipping the tanks makes the profile of the diver even smaller and places that are not available to a backmounted twinset diver become accessible.
At first, technical diving was not something that interested me. I can clearly recall chuckling to my self at the Tec divers I observed, and wondering why anyone would want to have more equipment under water. I love the feeling of freedom and closeness to nature that can envelope you in "the quiet world". Tom was a respected teacher who I felt it was important to share my experience in Tec courses with.
The Sidemount dive setup is slightly different from the backmount, as is the equipment.
You can do eLearning and coursework at home to help support local dive shops. Then, travel to complete your training dives. For a referral, contact your local PADI Dive Center.
Sidemount can be a boon for all divers, but it's especially useful for cave diving. (It was actually cave divers that invented sidemount. These are some of the benefits:
The Sidemount diving setup differs from that used for backmount diving.
Sidemount rigs were initially designed for cave diving. It allows divers to pass through small cracks and restrictions (tiny hole) much more easily than the traditional back mount rig.
Technical diving (also known as tec diving or tech diving) is non-professional scuba diving that exceeds the agency-specified limits of recreational diving.