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INTO TO TECH DIVER

Foundational backmount course
In a Nutshell

The TDI Intro to Tech Diver Course with CDT Mexico is designed for divers aiming to refine fundamental skills and become familiar with redundant backmount configurations in preparation for technical or cave diving.
 

Students develop precise buoyancy and trim control, advanced propulsion techniques (modified frog kick, reverse kick, helicopter turns), and gas management via the rule of thirds. The course focuses on equipment configuration, setup optimization, and redundancy awareness for adapting gear to various environments.
 

It also covers breathing control, situational awareness, refined entry/exit protocols, equipment donning/doffing sequences, and problem-solving strategies.
 

By completion, divers gain a solid technical diving foundation, ready for advanced training in deep or cave environments using classic backmount twinsets.


Minimum course duration: 3 days.

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for certified divers who want to:

  • Transition from recreational to technical diving

  • Learn doubles and backmount configuration properly

  • Improve buoyancy, trim, and propulsion under task load

  • Prepare for decompression or overhead training
     

It is also ideal for divers who:

  • Have technical ambitions but lack structured fundamentals

  • Want a clean, transferable skill base before progressing

Prerequisites

  • Minimum age: 18

  • SDI Open Water Diver (or equivalent)

  • TDI Nitrox (Nitrox 32 used as standard gas)

  • Minimum 25 logged dives

Skills & Challenges Ahead

Technical diving demands a higher level of precision and awareness:
 

  • Increased task loading

  • Equipment complexity

  • Failure management under stress

  • Team-based procedures and communication
     

Intro to Tech focuses on eliminating instability and inefficiency before adding depth, time, or decompression.

Training Content (overview)

In-water training includes:

  • Gas management, awareness, and maintaining redundancy

  • Valve drills

  • Hand and light communication

  • Fundamental skills: breathing, buoyancy, trim, propulsion, and positioning

  • Advanced propulsion: modified frog kick, modified flutter kick, reverse kick, and helicopter turn

  • Problem-solving scenarios (including mask replacement while maintaining buoyancy) 

  • Managing leaks and free-flows (valves, first and second stages, LPI hose, etc.)

  • Lift bag deployment

Land-based training covers:

  • Equipment configuration and set-up

  • Pre-dive checks and team dynamics

  • Donning/doffing sequences

  • Valve drills simulations
    Gas donation

  • Communication drills

  • Thorough briefings and debriefings for every exercise

Academic presentations explore:

  • Awareness and mindset in technical diving

  • Gas planning strategies: rule of thirds, conservatism, and gas matching

  • Maintaining redundancy

  • Dive planning, potential failures, and countermeasures

  • Emergency and safety procedures

  • Psychological and physiological considerations

  • Stress recognition, management, and maintaining control

Course Combinations
 

Minimum durations shown

Into to Tech

3 days

Nitrox + Intro to Tech

4 days (1 "dry" day)

Get Ready

Training is not about collecting a card.
It’s about earning real autonomy, safety, and confidence.
The objective: divers who can plan and execute dives independently.

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