If you’re interested in technical diving, but haven’t yet met the prerequisites for the PADI Tec 50 Diver course or PADI Tec 45 course, you can consider enrolling in the PADI Tec 40 course. It is the first subdivision of the full PADI Tec Deep Diver course and consists of the first four dives. Because you can do one of these dives in confined water (such as a swimming pool), many divers start the Tec 40 courses in the winter months, ready to continue in open water when spring arrives.
You’ll learn to
- Use decompression software and dive computers to plan and make decompression dives with no more than 10 minutes of total decompression and not deeper than 40 metres/130 feet.
- Use a single cylinder of decompression gas with up to 50 percent oxygen (EANx50) to add conservatism to the required decompression.
Since it’s part of the course, your PADI Tec 40 course training credits toward the PADI Tec 45 and Tec 50 courses.
The Scuba Gear You’ll Use
You use recreational scuba equipment, with some minor additions to enhance your ability to deal with tec diving conditions.
The Learning Materials You’ll Need
You’ll use the Tec Deep Diver Crew-Pak, which introduces you to
- tec diving lingo
- emergency procedures
- decompression and stage cylinder handling
- gas planning
The pak includes a manual, dive planning checklist and dive planning slate. The optional Equipment Set-up and Key Skills video on DVD is a great tool to help you practice at home in between your tec diving adventures. You’ll continue to use the Tec Deep Diver Crew-Pak through Tec 50.
Prerequisites
You must:
• Be a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or hold a qualifying certification from another organization)
• Be a PADI Enriched Air Diver (or hold a qualifying certification from another organization)
• Be a PADI Deep Diver (or hold a qualifying certification from another organization)
• Have a minimum of 30 logged dives, of which at least 10 dives were made with enriched air nitrox deeper than 18 metres / 60 feet.
• Have a medical form signed by your physician