Tec Sidemount
Class cost include shore dives. Boat dives are optional.
Includes e-learning materials, certification and custom scheduling.
Prerequisites before starting the Tec Sidemount course:
Certified as a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
30 logged dives
PADI Tec Sidemount Diver is the technical-track version of sidemount training, distinct from the recreational Sidemount Diver specialty.
Prerequisites: PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification, minimum age 18, and at least 30 logged dives. PADI Enriched Air (Nitrox) certification is recommended but not strictly required. Qualifying certifications from other training organizations may be accepted.
What it teaches: Full sidemount cylinder configuration and gas management built for technical diving standards — not just the recreational comfort/trim benefits, but the redundancy, independent-cylinder gas planning, and emergency procedures that overhead-environment and decompression diving demand.
How it's typically used: PADI designs Tec Sidemount to be taught integrated directly into Tec 40, Tec 45, or Tec 50 — which is exactly the package you offer. Instead of a diver learning back-mount doubles for their Tec certification and switching to sidemount later, they complete the same Tec 40/45/50 knowledge, skills, and dive requirements from day one in sidemount configuration, so the certification and the equipment platform are built together rather than bolted on afterward.
Where it leads: it's the natural foundation for anyone eyeing cave diving, wreck penetration, or CCR down the road, since sidemount is the dominant configuration in most overhead-environment technical diving.