Transitioning to Tech

A Collection of Resources for Divers Thinking About
Heading to the 'Dark Side' of Diving

Transitioning to Tech Diving

If you have been a diver for a while you might be curious about what lies beneath 40 m. Have you ever wondered what the inside of a shipwreck looks like after 100 years underwater? Transitioning to tech diving will allow you to find out for yourself.

But where to start? The good news is that there is not really a wrong way to become a technical diver. Just like with recreational diving, there is a step by step progression and an Intro to Tech course is a great place to start for many divers. However, this progression includes sidesteps and detours, all of which can be part of your development.

On this page, we have compiled a number of resources covering different aspects of the transition to tech diving. We don’t claim to have all of the answers. But over the years, our instructor trainer Yvonne Press has been writing and talking about this topic repeatedly. Putting the information together in one place seemed worthwhile.

Video-based Resources

If you’re not keen on reading, check out the Facebook Live link below. Organised by SDI, it is a conversation with fellow tech instructor trainer Mark Powell of Dive Tech in the UK. This conversation also covers a bit of teaching philosophy, as well as some reminiscing about UK-based wrecks.

More Detail

Below, you find short posts and links to longer articles about specific aspects of tech diving. Whilst we’re not promising to cover everything, this hopefully answers some of your questions.

Reasons

Why you should tech dive

Risks

What you need to consider

Right Time

When to start

Choices

Courses, instructors etc.

Equipment

Twinsets / doubles or sidemount?

CCR

What about diving in silence

What to Expect When Transitioning to Tech Diving

More videos! To give you a good idea of what might happen on a tech diving course, this section links to a series of skills demo videos we produced with underwater photo / videographer Bram Jochems. Bram also shot the image at the top of the page.