Tech Diving Resources

This website aims to collate information about tech diving. To be clear, I’m not promoting my tech diving courses or selling trips or dive equipment, I just like technical diving as much as you. The initial seed for this website began back in 2013 when I created a shared google drive folder for my tech students, which contains many of the articles collated here. I initially created the website in 2018 with the purpose of compiling tech diving information and also promoting my courses. However, since COVID I have moved away from teaching technical diving and just do it for fun.

 

Useful info for all divers

It probably won’t come as a surprise that you cannot learn to do physical tasks underwater just by reading about them. There is no substitute for proper technical dive training. Nevertheless, it’s always good to brush up on tech diving theory, refresh your knowledge, and see other approaches.

 

Although qualified technical divers will get the most out of this site, there is also a lot of information that will be useful to recreational divers.

Video credit: Naucrates UW

Use the top menu to navigate through the website, or jump to the links below (clicking on the logo on the top left will always get you back to the homepage). The best way to view the site on mobile/cell phones is to “request desktop site” and zoom out (50% on iPhones)

Tech diving articles

Whether you’re an experienced tech diver or a recreational diver interested in learning more about a different style of diving, there are lots of interesting articles about various aspects of tech diving on the internet. It’s always worth taking the time to increase your knowledge of diving. The articles are grouped into deco theory, diving physiology, dive equipment, rebreathers, human factors in diving, diving procedures, and annual diving incident reports. 

Diving Apps

I’ve trawled the internet and created lists of the best diving apps available for IOS and Android, grouped by category. App categories include dive logging, gas blending, dive planning, photo & video editing, rebreather, weather & tides, diving insurance, dive agencies, dive magazines, and environmental apps.

 

Diving Books

I’ve collated a list of what I consider to be the best books about different aspects of technical diving, along with a seperate list of general scuba diving books. The Technical diving books are grouped into general, deco theory & physiology, rebreather, famous diving locations and stories, incident analysis and human factors, deep diving, cave diving, sidemount, gas blending, diving locations, and diving biographies.

 

Scuba diving books are grouped into dive training, diving physiology, human factor in diving, marine life, famous dive stories and locations, underwater photography, diving locations, marine archaeology, and diving biographies and memoirs.  

 

Tech Diving videos

The video section is split into three categories- Deco theory & diving physiology, diving documentaries, and skills and tutorials. All videos are YouTube playlists that i’ve put together. This does mean that it’s at the mercy of the uploader whether a particular video appears in the list or not. Generally they seem to be left on Youtube once uploaded. I regularly check for deleted content and refresh the playlists.

I endeavour to keep this website updated and regularly seek out new content to add. If you’re bored you can read about my diving background here.

Site Menu

scuba diving sitting on a table with some mathematical formula next to it.
Baltic-deco-logo
solo diving
Decompression diver about to conduct a gas switch. This is an essential part of a technical diving course and has to be done right. But there are different ways of doing it. Watching tech diving is a good way to see these different approaches after your course
technical diving books
Deco theory written on a whiteboard
ccr tech diving
TDI articles written by Richard Devanney outline decompression theory. Two divers at Silfra fissure undertaking a safety stop must obey the rules governing offgassing of nitrogen to minimise their risk of decompression sickness
Frankenwald-wreck-norway
Diving equipment sitting on a bench. A sidemount harness and wing, and backmount wing. Sidemount shorhose and longhose regulators, and a DSMB
4 JJ-ccrs lined up on a bench. CCR tutorials on how to disinfect the counter lungs can be very useful
sidemount diving

Tech Diving has never been so popular

Since the 1990s, tech diving has seen a remarkable increase in popularity and has transformed from a niche pursuit into a well-regarded discipline within the diving community. There are multiple reasons why it’s become more popular.

 

Dive training agencies have worked hard to make technical diving more accessible. They have also pushed instructor training. Consequently, more dive centres have a tech department, which means more recreational divers have access to tech diver training. Sidemount has also introduced more divers to tech diving- It’s fun, comfortable to dive with, and easier to learn than the traditional backmount equipment configuration (twinset).

 

As more tech divers are seen on dive boats and dive sites, traditional recreational divers become more curious to learn more about tech diving.

tech-diving-twinset-silouhette

Tech Diving Safety

There is an argument to be made that tech diving is safer than it was 30 years ago. Deep diving on air is now considered taboo, and rebreather diving allows helium to be used without worrying about the cost. The sophistication, functionality, and reliability of dive computers have hugely increased, and our understanding of decompression theory has steered us away from previously established practices such as deep stops.

 

Diving physiology has also evolved. We have a better understanding of decompression stress, and know more about Immersion Pulmonary Edema (IPE) than when it was first described in 1989 (It’s called Oedema in the UK and abbreviated to IPO). Consequently, such knowledge helps divers to plan dives more effectively and manage the risks associated with deep and extended dives.

 

Dive Equipment Improvements

Since the 1990s, improvements in the design of dive equipment has played a crucial role in the development of tech diving. Modern dive computers offer detailed tracking and real-time decompression data, significantly aiding tech divers to manage their safety. Dive equipment is very well made. It’s stronger, more reliable, and often tailored for specific uses, e.g. sidemount harnesses.

 

Popularity of Rebreather Diving

As tech diving has grown in popularity, so has rebreather diving. There are multiple reasons for this. With skyrocketing helium prices, more open circuit tech divers have begun CCR diving to undertake deeper dives without going bankrupt. Undoubtedly, this should be balanced against the cost of buying a rebreather and getting trained on it.

 

In the last 20 years, significant improvements in rebreather build quality and reliability have increased their safety. Unquestionably, the human element is still the largest contributor to CCR incidents and fatalities, but equipment malfunctions are much rarer as long as the manufacturer’s recommendations for maintenance are carried out.

 

Opening up new types of diving

There’s a reason that the course you take when learning how to dive is called the open water course. Open water means that you always have direct access to the surface. Recreational divers should never enter an overhead environment such as a wreck or cave without the correct training and equipment. Similarly, recreational divers should never dive deeper than 40m (130ft).

 

Tech diving exists specifically to allow divers to dive deeper, and enter overhead environments such as wrecks and caves. It’s not a case of simply using additional equipment and carrying extra gas. Rather, it requires incremental training to understand and utilise appropriate equipment and dive procedures. Technical dive training opens up a lot of diving locations that are off-limits to recreational divers, such as many of the wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon.

 

Technical diver training

For recreational divers looking to explore tech diving, Intro to Tech and Sidemount courses are a great start for learning the fundamentals. Both courses introduce the equipment and principles unique to technical diving. Divers should gain experience before progressing to more advanced training such as decompression procedures and trimix diving. Rebreathers have a separate training path, and I highly recommend that divers gain experience in open-circuit decompression diving before progressing to rebreather diving.

 

With ongoing improvements in technology, equipment, and training, tech diving has become more accessible and is taught in more dive centres than ever. If you enjoy being challenged and love to learn new things, tech diving might be exactly what you’re looking for.

 

Look around this website to learn more about all aspects of technical diving. I hope you enjoy the content.

I would appreciate your feedback on this website. If you have suggestions on how I could improve or add relevant content, contact me. I’d also be very grateful if you could leave a Google review of the website, which you can do by clicking the link below.

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