Technical Diving

If you're an experienced diver looking to further your education and skills you may be interested in specialty diving. Technical diving pushes pasts the limits of recreational diving (normally considered to be a maximum of 40 meters with no decompression). There are many things to see in our oceans that are deeper than you would normally dive to – deep reefs and pinnacles, historic shipwrecks and more.

The range of PADI Cavern, Sidemount and Technical diving courses on offer at Kon-Tiki can train you to explore much deeper and further than this in a safe and controlled manner. So if you're interested in learning to dive past recreational limits, keep reading.

Through a balanced mix of self-study and classroom discussions you'll learn a lot more about human physiology, decompression planning and procedures, deep & cave diving techniques and equipment. On the practical side you'll learn how to dive deep, using reels, planning for emergencies and new equipment configurations.

The course dives are conducted from our well-equipped dive boat. The Kon-Tiki Krabi dive boat has large areas for setting up our equipment and a dry area for dive planning with 220V electricity for laptops.

Since the boat does 3 dives per day we have plenty of time between the dives for recovery, additional dive planning and preparation.

The range of courses are extensive and demanding but the knowledge and skills gained will make you an extremely advanced diver, making these some of the most rewarding courses you can take.

The cavern, sidemount and technical diving training is based on Koh Lanta and Ao Nang. From here it's easy to reach the greater depths of the Andaman Sea, which includes the sites of Koh Haa, King Cruiser, Hin Daeng & Hin Muang but also a short drive away from the lake of Song Hong close to Krabi. In these places we will also have pristine underwater environments just for ourselves.

PADI Discover Tec (1 day / 2 dives)

Many divers today dive with double cylinders in a "technical rig" making only recreational dives,  which has several advantages. Learn more about this popular configuration by joining us on a day out in full technical gear. 

This program exposes you to the equipment, skills and techniques for technical diving. During this program you will experience diving with double tank systems, technical diving rig and technical plate and harness systems including a stage/decompression cylinder.

If you are thinking about technical diving but aren't sure, PADI Discover Tec experiences can also credit towards the PADI Tec 40 Course. Get used to the world of twin tanks and slings as you get ready to go deeper and longer!

The experience is done on our well equipped dive boat on a day excursion to either Ao Nang ArchipelagoArchipelago, Phi Phi or the Bida Islands departing from our dive center in Krabi.

PADI Tec Basics (2 days / 3 dives)

This course is ideal for divers seeking to prepare themselves for Advanced diver training and those who may want to extend their abilities.

The techniques and knowledge learned during this course prepare divers for more advanced diving. It is an excellent program for all levels of Open and Closed Circuit diving in open water and overhead (cave, wreck, ice) environments.

Along with buoyancy, trim and control in the water, we teach you the essential skills for problem solving, gas switching and valve handling.

This course doesn't qualify divers for deeper dives, but it is strongly recommended for all divers wishing to increase skill competency before heading into decompression, cave and wreck diving.

The course is conducted over 2 days. The first day includes an introduction to the theory behind decompression diving. The second half is a skill workshop explaining the basic philosophy with the technical diving rig and skill practice. Our second day is spent on the boat conducting gas switching, valve drills and problem solving in a real open water environment.

Skills you will learn during the course includes:

• Technical equipment set up
• Buoyancy check
• Neutral buoyancy control
• Remove and replace stage at surface/underwater
• Gas shut down drills
• Free flow shut down drill
• Out of Air
• Bubble check
• S-drill
• NOTOX gas switch
• Lift bag deployment
• Calculating sac rate
• Maintain simulated deco stop
• Failed lift bag deployment drill
• Decompression dive planning with desk top software

PADI Tec 40 (3 days / 4 dives) - 40M, max. EANx50%

The PADI Tec 40 course introduces divers to limited decompression, using software or computers, for diving within recreational depth limits. The diver will learn how to make limited decompression dives to 40m/130ft using a single stage cylinder of decompression gas. Decompression is limited to a maximum of ten minutes on this course with a single decompression gas up to 50% oxygen being used to add conservatism only.

The course consists of one confined water dive, three training dives, three knowledge development sessions and three practical applications. Skills are introduced and developed to allow handling of reasonably foreseeable emergencies that may occur in this type of diving.

Practical skills you will learn includes:

• Technical equipment set up
• Buoyancy check
• Neutral buoyancy control
• Remove and replace stage at surface/underwater
• Gas shut down drills
• Free flow shut down drill
• Out of Air
• Bubble check
• S-drill
• NOTOX gas switch
• Lift bag deployment
• Calculating sac rate
• Maintain simulated deco stop
• Failed lift bag deployment drill
• Decompression dive planning with desk top software

PADI Tec 45 (3 days / 4 dives) - 45M, max. O2 100%

The diver will learn how to make decompression dives to 45m/150ft using a single stage cylinder of decompression gas. No limits to the amount of decompression are set on the course other than those dictated by gas management and student comfort, environmental factors. Skills are further developed to allow handling of reasonably foreseeable emergencies that may occur in this type of diving.

The PADI Tec 45 course consists of one confined water dive, three training dives, three knowledge development sessions and three practical applications.

PADI Tec 50 (3 days / 4 dives) - 50M, max. O2 100%

Full standardized technical diving equipment is required, and procedures and skills are polished to the high level required to manage foreseeable problems and emergencies that could be encountered at this level of diving.
This course provides the foundation for further training in specialized technical diving like deep trimix, technical cave and wreck diving.

The PADI Tec 50 course consists of one confined water dive, three training dives ( one simulated, two actual decompression dives), two knowledge development sessions and three practical applications.