What is the difference between TDI and SDI Sidemount

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chaseyerkey

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I have been thinking about taking a side mount course and I’m trying to figure out what is the difference between SDI side mount and TDI side mount if there is one I see some places market them as the same thing and other others market it has learned to dive with four or more cylinders any help would be appreciated
 
Perhaps some useful info here:
S

Thread 'SDI Open Water Sidemount & TDI Sidemount difference'

SDI Open Water Sidemount Diver | SDI | TDI | ERDI
  • Equipment considerations
  • Gas management
  • Attaching cylinders
  • Trim and Buoyancy
  • Different water entries
Prerequisites to enroll on the SDI Open Water Sidemount Diver course are: Age 18 (or 15 with parental consent), SDI Open Water Diver or equivalent.
Click to expand...
TDI Sidemount Diver | SDI | TDI | ERDI
  • Equipment considerations
  • Gas management
  • Attaching cylinders
  • Trim and buoyancy
  • Deployment of surface marker
  • Different water entries
Prerequisites to enroll on the TDI Sidemount...
Click to expand...
 
From the perspective of the agency they are the same course. The SDI TDI website lists the course as SDI/TDI Sidemount Diver. The only difference would be based on the instructor, a recreational instructor would teach the fundamentals while taking the course with a tech instructor would introduce other aspects of tech diving in that configuration if you are a certified tech diver.

What it comes down to is the quality of the instructor, this is always the case with classes.
 
Essentially they are one and the same; but, some instructors will say that the TDI one is the prerequisite for tech training on sidemount (like for DecoPro class)
The difference in practice is handling more than 2 main tanks (stage/deco tanks)

I (unwillingly) did both; the TDI one was just squashed with DecoPro class where we worked on the 3rd tanks skills, dropping the deco bottle and retrieving it, before moving on to actual DecoPro skills
Funny enough, I only got a cert for the SDI one

Honestly, what should matter to you is what the instructor is willing to cover in class, and what you’re after — the rest is just details
 
tursiops:
Both course use the same manual. The SDI version has two dives and minimal content (see below); the TDI version has three dives and more content.

www.tdisdi.com

SDI/TDI Sidemount Diver Program

www.tdisdi.com www.tdisdi.com

www.tdisdi.com

SDI/TDI Sidemount Diver Program

www.tdisdi.com www.tdisdi.com
Click to expand...
For some reason whenever I go through the TDI website, it takes me to the SDI side mount course but when I go through your link, it takes me to the TDI side mount course
 
Another thing I’ve noticed is the links that I’ve been provided say 18 but pretty much every shop that offers it says it’s 15 with parental consent for TDI side mount here’s an example TDI Sidemount Diver Course - Blue Marlin Dive Tech
I turned 15 tomorrow and this was what I was wanting to do for my 15th birthday worst case scenario I do SDI side mount, but I would prefer to do TDI side mount because it is more in depth
 
chaseyerkey:
For some reason whenever I go through the TDI website, it takes me to the SDI side mount course but when I go through your link, it takes me to the TDI side mount course
Click to expand...
There is a tab just above "Who this TDI course is for:" to switch between the SDI and TDI versions.
 
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