Dive Deeper: Your Ultimate Guide to Technical Diving

If you’ve always been curious about Tec Diving, this blog is for you.

Technical diving combines adventure, skill, discipline and precision, allowing divers to explore deep reefs, wrecks, and caverns in ways recreational diving can’t.

We’ve compiled common questions, myths, and expert insights to help you understand Tec Diving better — and take you on a virtual journey of what this thrilling sport is all about.

1. What is Technical Diving?

Technical diving is diving beyond recreational limits, not just in terms of depth. When most divers hear “Tec Diving” they immediately think “diving deep” but it’s much more than that. Tec Diving is about:

• Developing deeper understanding of safe and custom dive planning
• Understanding your personal limits (SAC, experience, physical & physiological attributes)
• Using advanced techniques and equipment to maximize safety

Tec Diving allows you to:

• Conduct longer or deeper dives with decompression stops
• Learn and use advanced gas mixtures like Nitrox and Trimix
• Operate specialized equipment such as Twinset or Sidemount configurations, Stage Tanks, DPVs, Dry Suits and more

2. Who Can Become a Tec Diver?

You’ll need a strong foundation in diving and an eagerness to learn more to begin your Tec journey. To begin Tec 40, you should:

• Be 18 years or older
• Have PADI Advanced Diver certification (Rescue Diver recommended)
• Have at least 30 logged dives, including experience with Nitrox and dives deeper than 18m/60ft
• Hold Enriched Air Specialty certification
• Have Deep Diver Specialty or at least 10 dives to 30m
• Be physically and mentally fit for diving (Medical Clearance within 12 months)

DiveCampus ensures you progress safely, starting in controlled environments like our Dubai DiveTank, then advancing to pristine open water dives in Khorfakkan.

3. Is Technical Diving Dangerous?

Yes, if you are not properly trained or compromise on time and gear. At DiveCampus, we focus on:

• Controlled training environments
• Progressive learning with skill repetition to build muscle memory
• Use of redundancy and safety protocols
• Continuous mentorship from top instructors

Our goal: Create confident divers who understand the “why” behind every procedure. Proper training transforms technical diving into a safe, precise, and deeply rewarding pursuit.

4. Can I Do Tec Diving If I’ve Never Dived Deep Before?

No and you shouldn’t, you must have experience with dives deeper than 18m or have Deep Diver Specialty training.

If you don’t meet this requirement, you can join DiveCampus daily dive trips to gain experience under supervision before starting your Tec journey.

5. How Long Does a Tec Diving Course Take?

Tec Diving courses include Knowledgement Development through eLearning,  practical application workshops and 4 training dives, usually completed in 3–5 days, depending on your availability.

6. Can I Sign Up Directly for Tec 50?

Tec courses are progressive to build safe and responsible divers. To qualify for Tec 50:

• Minimum 100 logged dives
• You must be a Tec 40 and Tec 45 Diver
• At least 20 dives on enriched air Nitrox deeper than 18m/60ft
• At least 15 dives deeper than 30m/100ft

7. How Deep Can I Go as a Tec Diver?

• Tec 40: up to 40m / 130ft
• Tec 45: up to 45m / 145ft
• Tec 50: up to 50m / 165ft
• Trimix options allow even deeper dives using helium-based gas mixes

8. What Equipment Do I Need for Tec Diving?

DiveCampus provides the core setup during your training:

• Backplate Doubles / Sidemount BCD
• Twin regulators, Stage regulators
• Wetsuit, mask, tanks, weights, fins and boots

Additional required items (rented or purchased):

• 2 x masks
• 2 x cutting tools
• 1 orange & 1 yellow SMB
• 1 wet note or arm slate
• 2 x dive computers
• 1 lift bag, 60m spool
• Tec shorts or Sidemount back pouch (for storing additional gear)

9. What Gases Are Used in Tec Diving?

• Nitrox: Enriched air for longer bottom time
• Trimix: Helium, oxygen, nitrogen mix for deep dives to reduce narcosis
• 50% & 100% Oxygen: For accelerated off-gassing during deco stops
• Specialty blends for advanced exploration

DiveCampus trains you in proper gas planning, switching, and management.

10. Can I Dive Solo?

Tec diving is never solo. You will always dive with a buddy or team trained in redundancy and emergency response. Teamwork is a core principle of Tec diving.

11. How Can I Start My Tec Journey at DiveCampus?

• Start with Tec Basics or Tec 40 Diver Course
• Progress step by step through Tec 45 → Tec 50 → Trimix 65 → Advance Trimix
• Train under Islam Etman (PADI TecRec Instructor Trainer) and Sneha Shetty (Tec Trimix Instructor & PADI Course Director)
• Experience open water dives in Khorfakkan, UAE’s premier Tec diving site

12. Can Tec Diving Be a Career?

Yes! Tec diving opens paths to:

• Tec Instructor & Trimix Instructor
• Instructor Trainer / Expedition Leader
• Underwater photography, research, and exploration

DiveCampus provides structured Instructor Development Programs to advance your career.

13. Why Train at DiveCampus?

DiveCampus is recognized as a center of excellence for technical and instructor-level training in the UAE. Our facilities in Dubai and Khorfakkan combine classroom precision, confined-water training, and open-water experience in some of the UAE’s most pristine diving locations.

• Elite training environment: Led by PADI TecRec Instructor Trainer and Co-Founder Islam Etman, one of the region’s most accomplished technical diving educators.
• Exclusive locations: Train in the region’s largest indoor DiveTank in Dubai or near prime Khorfakkan dive sites, serving as the UAE’s hub for recreational and technical Instructor Development.
• Hands-on mentoring: Small groups ensure personal attention and skill mastery.
• Safety and conservation first: As the Dubai and Northern Emirates’ first PADI Eco Center, DiveCampus integrates responsible exploration and marine conservation into every training program.
• Exploration Opportunities: As member of Tec Diving community at DiveCampus you have the opportunity to join our Tec Exploration Dives where we dive to explore new dive sites in Khorfakkan

Islam Etman brings over a decade of professional diving experience and a teaching approach that balances technical precision, calm guidance, and deep understanding of diver psychology.

A PADI Master Instructor, PADI Freedive Instructor, and PADI TecRec Instructor Trainer, Islam is certified to teach a wide range of PADI specialties — including Full Face Mask, Self-Reliant, Tec Sidemount, Dive Propulsion Vehicle (DPV), Dry Suit, and Trimix Diving.

His training emphasizes:

• Step-by-step skill development – mastering advanced technical diving progressively
• Confidence through competence – ensuring divers understand the reasoning behind every procedure
• Leadership by example – mentoring instructors to uphold professional, safety-conscious standards

Training with Islam is more than certification — it’s about developing the mindset and habits that define a technical diving educator.

All Tec courses conducted by Islam are also supported by Tec Trimix Instructor and PADI Course Director Sneha Shetty, whose extensive experience in instructor development and technical diver training ensures:

• Smooth course coordination and in-water assistance
• Uncompromising safety standards
• The best instructor-to-student ratio in the region
• Building on Team training