TDI Intro to tech course

[JFB110]

I am considering taking the Intro to tech course and it requires you to have your Advanced Cert, if I read it correctly. I was wondering if it mattered which certification agency your Advanced came from. I am PADI certified and I've heard it's a little weak. Would it be worth it to go and do a NAUI or some other agencies Advanced cert, then enter into the Intro to tech? Thanks.

 

[decompression]

TDI instructor manual says SDI advanced or equivalent, so technically, yes.
Contact your instructor/shop and confirm that they will accept the PADI adv cert, as technically it is acceptable. I prefer to do an evaluation of the diver for tech classes, that way I can see what level they are at and give them an idea of where they should be to get the most from the course.

The quality of the course is really dependent on the instructor, most TDI courses give the instructor a fair bit of "room" to expand on the curriculum. So if you have an experienced instructor, it's a very good course that should give you a very solid foundation for future courses (deco procedures, extended range etc.). Also, if I may suggest, checkout Unified Team Divings course essentials of tech, an excellent course as well. Enjoy!

 

[JamesK]

Deco covered it pretty well. An Advanced course is only as good as your instructor. Find the instructor you wan to do Intro To Tech with and ask them to do an evaluation dive with you.

 

[JFB110]

Excellent. Thanks guys.

 

[boulderjohn]

If it were me, I would accept your PADI AOW as meeting the requirement. I would look at your diving skill and then make a recommendation. I have created a workshop course for recreational divers that introduces most of the basic skills required, and doing such a course (followed by practice) prior to Intro to Tech might be the smartest move.

On the other hand, I have the course set up as being quite flexible, so you could start the class and then do a lot of practice on individual skills and then resume the class when ready. It might take a long time that way, but it would still work for someone who comes in without great skills.

The bottom line is to find an instructor you want to work with and then talk things over to find out what is possible.

 

[Dive the World]

I am considering taking the Intro to tech course and it requires you to have your Advanced Cert, if I read it correctly. I was wondering if it mattered which certification agency your Advanced came from. I am PADI certified and I've heard it's a little weak. Would it be worth it to go and do a NAUI or some other agencies Advanced cert, then enter into the Intro to tech? Thanks.

People always say this in the forum - its true. Its all about the instructor. Focus on getting the right instructor.

As for Advanced - all agencies welcome crossovers - keep in mind that it is not the agency but the actual diver and their skills that matter the most.

 

[boulderjohn]

As for Advanced - all agencies welcome crossovers -

Not really. In some agencies crossovers are much more difficult than with others.

 

[JFB110]

Either way I kinda figured it was better to ask first. I am a pretty descent diver, I'm comfortable in the water and in less than a year have over 100 dives. But I don't take the idea of tech diving lightly and if I am to properly take the intro to tech course and learn skills required for tech, I want to be all polished up on my "regular" scuba skills. Does that make any sense?

 

[boulderjohn]

Either way I kinda figured it was better to ask first. I am a pretty descent diver, I'm comfortable in the water and in less than a year have over 100 dives. But I don't take the idea of tech diving lightly and if I am to properly take the intro to tech course and learn skills required for tech, I want to be all polished up on my "regular" scuba skills. Does that make any sense?

There are a lot of videos online showing tech diving skills. Look up videos showing buoyancy and trim, frog kicking, back kicking, etc. It doesn't matter what agency is showing the skills--they are done the same way regardless of your agency. Do you look like those videos? If not, start working on it.

 

[JFB110]

I'm way better looking than anyone in the videos. But on the skills I'd say I'm about on par.