TDI Sidemount Diver
TDI Sidemount Diver at a glance
- Prerequisites
- Minimum age 18
- Minimum certification of Open Water Scuba Diver
- Online materials
- 3 days - pool & 4 dives
- All Sidemount equipment (see FAQ's), gases & dives included
Discover the Freedom of Sidemount Diving
Sidemount diving is rapidly growing in popularity—and for good reason. Once considered exclusive to cave exploration, it is now a mainstream configuration that offers incredible flexibility, comfort, and accessibility for all levels of divers.
Whether you want to streamline your profile or take your first step into the world of technical diving, the TDI Sidemount Diver course is the perfect gateway.
Why Choose Big Blue Tech?
Learning to dive sidemount requires specialized skills and precise equipment tuning. That’s why your choice of instructor matters:
Active Sidemount Divers: Our instructors don’t just teach sidemount from a manual—they dive it every single day as their configuration of choice.
More Time in the Water: Conducted over 3 days, we exceed standard course requirements by adding a dedicated pool session and at least one extra open water dive to the curriculum.
Build Real Experience: We offer optional additional dives as part of our course packages, letting you gain confidence and log hours under the guidance of our pros.
Flexible Online Learning
Get the theory out of the way before you even pack your bags. With the TDI eLearning platform, you can complete all of your academics online prior to arriving at Big Blue Tech. Once completed, you will have lifetime access to the digital course materials so you can refresh your knowledge at any time.
TDI Sidemount Diver gallery
Itinerary
What to Expect: Day 1 of Your Technical Sidemount Course
Your journey into technical sidemount starts with a relaxed but structured first day, perfectly balancing essential theory with hands-on water work.
Morning: Logistics, Coffee & Theory
We kick off the morning by meeting your Big Blue Tech Instructor at our beachfront restaurant. Over a coffee, we’ll take care of the paperwork and review your online academics.
Your instructor will deep-dive into the core principles of technical sidemount, including:
Equipment Selection & Tuning: Custom-fitting your harness and understanding component placement.
Gas Management: Planning for redundancy and multi-cylinder configurations.
The Sidemount Advantage: Exploring the incredible underwater freedom and technical opportunities this rig unlocks.
Afternoon: Confined Water Skills Session
Following a lunch break, we head up to our training pool for your first practical, hands-on session. The primary focus of this session is achieving perfect buoyancy and horizontal trim while mastering critical safety drills.
You will practice buoyancy in your new configuration and
Regulator Exchanges & Gas Switching
Valve Shutdown Drills (managing simulated leaks)
Out of Air (OOA) Scenarios & donor/receiver protocols
Backup Mask Deployment
Low-Pressure Inflator (LPI) Failure management
Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) Deployment from depth
Day 2: Perfecting the Setup & First Ocean Dives
With the pool session complete, Day 2 is where we fine-tune your configuration and take your skills into the open water.
Morning: Advanced Dive Planning & Gear Tuning
Once again you’ll meet your instructor to wrap up the academics. We will ensure you have a thorough understanding of all aspects of sidemount diving theory and technical dive planning.
Before the lunch break, we will use this time to fine-tune your equipment setup, making precise adjustments to your harness and cylinders so everything is perfectly balanced for the afternoon.
Afternoon: Open Water Dives 1 & 2
After lunch, we head out on the boat for your first two open water training dives, transferring your pool practice into the ocean.
Dive 1 (Skills & Buoyancy): We focus on water entries and exits, including donning and doffing your equipment both in and out of the water. You will practice gas management planning and regulator switches, as well as backup mask deployment—all while maintaining perfect position and trim in a fixed water column.
Dive 2 (Building Competency): This second skills dive is designed to build your confidence and fluid movement. We will introduce more of the critical safety drills practiced in the pool the day before, ensuring they become second nature in an open water environment.
Evening: Debrief & Logs
Then it’s back to our bar for a thorough debrief with your instructor, where we’ll review video footage or feedback from the day and log your dives.
Day 3: Mastering the Rig & Graduation
On the final day of your course, everything comes together. You will transition from practicing individual skills to truly mastering the sidemount configuration in real-world scenarios.
Morning: Advanced Gas Management & Planning
We begin the morning by wrapping up any outstanding academics. With the basics out of the way, your instructor will expand on advanced gas management protocols and technical dive planning, ensuring you are fully prepared to plan and execute sidemount dives independently.
Afternoon: Open Water Dives 3 & 4
After lunch, we board the boat for your final two training dives, where you will showcase your comfort and competency in the water.
Dive 3 (The Turning Point): This is the dive where everything starts falling into place. We will conduct a final skills review and evaluate your specialized finning techniques (such as frog kicking and helicopter turns). By this point, you will be demonstrating true mastery of the sidemount configuration.
Dive 4 (The Freedom Dive): Your final course dive is all about relaxing and enjoying the incredible freedom, perfect balance, and sheer fun of sidemount. To truly appreciate the flexibility of the rig, you’ll practice unclipping and swinging your tanks forward to negotiate tight spaces and obstacles. It is the perfect high-note dive to finish the course.
Evening: Debrief
Back on land, your instructor will conduct a comprehensive final debrief. You’ll have the chance to reflect on your hard work over the last three days, and upon successful completion of your TDI Technical Sidemount course, it’s time to grab a celebratory drink.
FAQs
Will I be able to dive this certification with Big Blue Tech after the course?
Absolutely, We encourage all of our newly certified students to get back in the water and enjoy their new certifications. With a healthy number of Technical divers on the staff and a dedicated Tech boat, we offer unequaled Tech diving opportunities here on Koh Tao.
What's included in the course?
Everything! No Hidden Extras Guaranteed
TDI SIdemount standardsOK, let's do this... How do I book?
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