PADI Tec 45 Diver - Technical Diving Course on Koh Tao
The PADI Tec 45 course extends your depth limit to 45 meters and introduces the ability to perform accelerated decompression using 100% oxygen.
You will master the use of a single decompression cylinder to significantly reduce your hang time while managing more complex gas-switching and emergency protocols.
Training at this level focuses on precision and psychological preparation, qualifying you to explore the outer reaches of Koh Tao’s deep reefs with a redundant gas supply.
PADI Tec 45 Diver in Koh Tao
The PADI Tec 45 Diver course at Black Turtle Dive represents the second stage of full technical training on Koh Tao. This course extends depth limits to 45 meters and introduces the use of a single decompression cylinder containing up to 100% oxygen for accelerated off gassing. Students master complex dive planning using desktop software and refine their technical handling of foreseeable emergencies, bridging the gap toward the PADI Tec 50 elite certification.
Gateway to Technical Diving
Your gateway to true Technical Diving…unlimited decompression, accelerated with the use of up to 100% O2, and as a result, unlimited exploration and possibilities, as you continue to build your technical toolbox, allowing you access to underwater adventures that few others will unlock in their diving journey!
Continue your technical training and further enhance your abilities with a certification that allows and enables you to access and explore all of the deep reefs and wrecks around Koh Tao and The Gulf of Thailand, as well as almost all other premium dive destinations around the world.
During the course, you will expand on and hone the foundations formed in your initial introductory Technical Diving training, to make you a confident, informed and knowledgeable diver, executing exceptional technical decompression dives within the 45m depth range, and preparing and priming you for PADI Tec 50 Diver and exhibiting exemplary Extended Range diving abilities.
Extended Range Technical Diving
If you feel the call of the deep, and are beginning to find a lack of challenge, excitement and motivation in the durations and limitations of your advanced Recreational Diving activities and where they are taking you, then it is time to consider becoming a true Technical Diver. Acquire and earn a certification that will open an almost endless list of exploration opportunities for you!
With extended bottom-times at depths up to 45m, and an unlimited decompression schedule, accelerated with the use of 100% O2, there are few underwater adventures, or dive sites, almost anywhere in the world that now sit beyond your abilities and skills, and consequently, your opportunity to access.
Included in the PADI Tec 45 Diver Technical Diving Course
- PADI Tec 45 Diver eLearning & PADI Tec 45 Diver Manual
- 6 x Dives at varying shallow skills focused and advanced deep dive sites around Koh Tao
- PADI Tec 45 Diver Certification eCard
- Rental and use of all required Technical Diving equipment, including Sidemount Harness & Sidemount Regulators, 100% O2 Compatible Decompression Regulator + required backup / redundant equipment, including Dive Computers, Reels, SMBs, Slates etc. + Decompression Cylinders & Gases
- FREE rental and use of 2 x Dive Computers required throughout the course
- 2 x Students per PADI TecRec Instructor, and / or max. 4 x Students per PADI TecRec Instructor + PADI TecRec Certified Assistant
- Black Turtle Dive Customer & Environmental Promise + FREE Black Turtle Tech T-Shirt
Prerequisites for PADI Tec 45 Diver Technical Diving Course
**If meeting this with a qualifying certification, provide proof of CPR / First Aid training within previous two years.
- 10 dives deeper than 30 meters / 100 feet
- 50 logged dives
- 18 years old
- Medically fit to dive, including Dive Medical with Physicians Approval prior to course start
- Personal Dive Accident Insurance, with partnerships / options for packages to cover course / dive trip duration, and / or annual packages included with our Pro-Level courses applicable
**Please note that qualifying certifications from another agency can be used to meet the pre-requisites for the PADI Tec 45 Diver Technical Diving Course on Koh Tao – please contact us for clarification / confirmation, or with any additional questions.
PADI Tec 45 Diver Course Schedule & Structure
We conduct the PADI Tec 45 Diver Technical Diving Course on Koh Tao over a minimum of 4 x Days.
This includes 1 x Day initially spent on Academics, Equipment & Theory, plus an additional 2 x Days with the AM sessions spent on enhancing and expanding students understanding of these Academics, Equipment & Theory concepts, including Q&A opportunities with our in-house PADI TecRec Instructor.
The PM sessions on Day 2 & 3 are comprised of 2 x Training Dives required by PADI Standards on Day 2, as well as 2 x Additional Training Dives from Black Turtle Dive aligned with our personal Safety & Training Standards.
This is included at no additional cost on Day 3, to allow for reevaluation / remediation if required, or simply to enable extra familiarity and fluidity with newly acquired exercises and skills.
On the final day of the course, Day 4, you will be heading out on our AM boat to deeper decompression diving sites with your PADI TecRec Instructor to engage in the final 2 x Decompression Dives required for certification as a PADI Tec 45 Diver.
PADI Technical Diving Course
Our PADI Tec 45 Diver course consists of 3 x sections:
- Knowledge Development – Complete PADI Tec 45 Diver eLearning, including Knowledge Reviews and the Tec 45 Diver Exam.
- Academics, Equipment & Theory – A full day, plus an additional 2 x Days of AM sessions, spent on the associated academics for Technical Diving, including:
- Decompression theory, dive planning software, contingency / emergency planning etc.
- Preparation and setup of Technical Diving equipment, including double / multi-cylinder configurations, management / rigging of decompression / stage cylinders, as well as backup / redundancy equipment requirements etc.
- Plus, associated theory concepts concerning dive physics and physiology, including decompression algorithms / models, general gas laws, oxygen / nitrogen partial pressures + gas narcosis etc.
- Confined & Open Water Training – A minimum of 6 x Dives is included with the course, comprising 2 x Training Dives required by PADI Standards on Day 2, plus 2 x Additional Training Dives aligned with Black Turtle Dive Safety & Training Standards on Day 3, before the course concludes with the final 2 x Decompression Training Dives on Day 4
At Black Turtle Dive we take our customer promise and training standards very seriously.
All PADI TecRec courses are conducted with a maximum ratio of 2 x students per PADI TecRec Instructor, or where demand dictates, a maximum ratio of 4 x students per PADI TecRec Instructor + PADI TecRec Certified Assistant.
PADI TecRec Technical Diving Instructor
Our in-house PADI TecRec Instructor is highly experienced and trained, holding multiple student and instructor level certifications with both PADI & TDI, in a range of Technical Diving disciplines, including deep, open-water Extended Range diving, hard-overhead Advanced & Technical Wreck diving, and Cave / Cavern diving, choosing, and continuing, to learn from some of the most accredited and experienced Technical Diving Instructors in Thailand, and the wider South-East Asia region.
Become A PADI Tec 45 Diver
Each course is individually tailored to both your current experience level and preferred timeframe, with depth, knowledge, and skill progression designed to ensure that you feel fully comfortable and confident, prior to advancing further and course completion and certification.
While we recommend a minimum of 4 x Days, and 6 x Dives to complete this course, during your training, we are also able to accommodate, and encourage, the inclusion of additional days and dives, if these are required, to develop the level of competence and confidence to ensure that upon certification, you feel that you are an excellent, experienced, and safe PADI Tec 45 Diver.
**Please ask, either via email or on one of the messenger apps on this page, if you require any additional information, have any special requests, and / or would like to schedule an exploratory conversation with our in-house PADI TecRec Instructor.
Day 1:
07:00-12:00 – Orientation + Academics & Theory
12:00-13:00 – Lunch Break
13:00-16:00 – Equipment & PADI Tec 45 Diver Practical Applications
16:00-18:00 – Academics & Theory
Day 2:
07:00-11:30 – Additional Academics, Equipment & Theory Session – Q&A + Application
11:30-12:30 – Lunch Break
12:30-17:30 – 2 x PADI Training Dives
Day 3:
07:00-11:30 – Additional Academics, Equipment & Theory Session – Q&A + Application
11:30-12:30 – Lunch Break
12:30-17:30 – 2 x Additional Black Turtle Dive Training Dives
Day 4:
07:00-11:30 – 2 x Decompression Dives
11:30-12:30 – Dive Logs, eLearning Quick Review & Certification
Congratulations! You are now a certified PADI Tec 45 Diver!
PADI Tec 45 Diver Course Cost: 25,000 THB
**Please note that you will enjoy a 10% Discount on the cost of this course as a continuing-education student, if you have already completed a course / s with Black Turtle Dive.
**Additional Discounts / Promotions available if you are enrolled in / after completion of a Pro-Level course with us, including Divemaster, IDC, MSDT, IDC Staff Instructor & Master Instructor – Please contact us for additional information regarding these Discounts / Promotions.
PADI Tec 45 Diver Course Information
Day 1 – Academics, Equipment & Theory
We will start your PADI Tec 45 Diver course at 07:00 with an Orientation that will include completion of required Medical & PADI Paperwork, as well as a brief introduction to the Schedule over the following days of the course.
The PADI Tec 45 Diver course consists of a minimum of 6 x Dives, at a variety of both shallow skills focused, as well as deep, potential decompression diving sites located around Koh Tao.
There is also a PADI Tec 45 Diver eLearning curriculum to complete, including Knowledge Reviews, Tec 45 Diver Exam, and eLearning Quick Review, that your PADI TecRec Instructor will guide and mentor you through, including a thorough review on course completion.
The remainder of the day will consist of PADI TecRec Instructor led interactive experiences, presentations, and sessions concerning and covering the important aspects and concepts of Academics, Equipment & Theory that apply to Technical Diving.
Academics, Equipment & Theory
- Decompression Algorithms, Models & Theory + Dive Tables
- General Gas Laws – Boyles Law, Daltons Law & Henrys Law etc.
- Multi-Gas Dive Computers, Technical Dive Planning + Dive Planning Software
- Multi-Cylinder Technical Diving Equipment + Decompression / Stage Cylinder Rigging & Use
- Backup / Redundant Equipment Requirements & Use, including Gas Reserves, Computers, Masks, Reels, SMBs, Slates etc.
- PADI Tec 45 Diver Practical Applications – Dry and on-land practice and mastery of critical and important skills required for Technical Diving, including but not limited to: Ascent & Descent Checks, Managing & Running Decompression Schedules, Gas Switches, Contingency & Emergency Planning & Preparation, S-Drills etc.
Technical Diving on Koh Tao – Discover & Explore
There are only 4 x PADI Tec 45 Diver Training Dives required according to PADI Standards to become a PADI Tec 45 Diver on Koh Tao.
However, in keeping with our attitude and ethos towards Training Standards at Black Turtle Dive, we feel that a minimum of 6 x Dives is required.
This enables students to feel that they have appropriate mastery of, and control over, the potentially challenging and complex buoyancy, dive planning and execution, and equipment techniques required to be a proficient PADI Tec 45 Diver, consequently that is what, as a minimum, will be included with your PADI Tec 45 Diver course.
PADI Tec 45 Diver – Training Dive 1
During this dive you will gain further experience of, and exposure to, multiple mission and safety critical technical diving skills and techniques, which will provide the foundational basis of your ongoing in-water development over the duration of this course.
These include: assembly and donning of all required equipment, including deco cylinder, advanced finning and propulsion techniques, out-of-air emergencies as both donor and receiver, simulated decompression on high oxygen gas / pure oxygen including NO TOX gas switches, gas shutdown drills, staging and recovering deco cylinders plus managing multiple deco cylinders as a simulated support diver, technical diving rescue scenarios and techniques, as well as deployment and use of backup / redundant equipment in simulated emergency / failure situations.
Throughout this course and dive, these drills and skills will be completed in accordance with Black Turtle Dives Neutral Buoyancy Philosophy, ensuring that on course completion, you are certified as the most competent and confident Technical Diver that you can be.
PADI Tec 45 Diver – Training Dive 2
During this dive you will begin building on the comprehensive foundation provided by Dive 1, adding and managing additional skills and scenarios, in combination with various depth, gas, and time awareness tasks, designed to assess and test your abilities in managing these critical aspects of a technical dive.
These include recording appropriate data to allow for the calculation of accurate SAC rates, to be used for dive planning throughout the remainder of the course.
You will also be introduced to gaining comfort and confidence with unexpected and unplanned potential issues during technical dives, including blind out-of-air drills and simulated, unstoppable, free flows of either bottom gas or deco gas, including in-water skills and solutions for all these problems.
In addition, you will revisit and refine fundamental buoyancy control and finning skills and techniques, applying them to more advanced technical diving scenarios and skills, such as staging and recovering deco cylinders, managing gas switches, and maintaining decompression stops.
PADI Tec 45 Diver – Training Dive 3
This dive will allow you to apply and experience the mission and safety critical skills essential to technical diving that were introduced and practiced on previous dives, to enable you to both enjoyably and safely execute a planned decompression dive within PADI Tec 45 Diver limits.
Considering the above, you will be required to: descend as a team, complete appropriate descent checks, demonstrate gas and time limit awareness by communicating as a team, ascend using primarily buoyancy control and complete the planned simulated / required decompression of at least 3 x stops and 20 x minutes total decompression as a team.
Throughout the dive, you will respond appropriately to any simulated problems or emergencies individually or as part of a team.
PADI Tec 45 Diver – Training Dive 4
This is your final training dive of the course and time to explore and enjoy. You will be expected to plan and execute a decompression dive within PADI Tec 45 Diver limits, accounting for all aspects of a technical dive plan.
This dive will be conducted with 2 x cylinders of bottom gas, plus 1 x decompression / stage cylinder containing up to 100% O2. Decompression is required to be at least 3 x stops and a minimum of 15 x minutes of decompression.
You will also be expected and required to demonstrate the exemplary mission, safety, and team focused technical diving skills that you have developed during this course and your previous technical diving training.
This includes: dive planning, pre-dive checks, descent checks, gas and time limit awareness, ascending and managing decompression schedules, including NO TOX gas switches and effective team collaboration and communication throughout.
Congratulations! You are now a certified PADI Tec 45 Diver!
PADI Tec 45 Diver & Tec 50 Diver – Course Combo Packages
You can enhance and enrich your PADI Tec 45 Diver course with the PADI Tec 50 Diver course.
Special discounts and promotions, as well as flexible Internship style programs apply to this option, affording and allowing you unlimited flexibility and tailored tuition to enable you to reach your intended aspirations and goals.
**Please contact us directly to arrange an exploratory conversation with our in-house PADI TecRec Instructor for additional information on, and / or to explore and understand these options in greater detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I learn during the PADI Tec 45 Diver course on Koh Tao?
During the PADI Tec 45 Diver course, you will continue to expand on the essential fundamentals for technical diving provided by your PADI Tec 40 Diver course.
This includes the effective management and risk mitigation of decompression planning software to allow you to plan and execute unlimited decompression dives within the PADI Tec 45 Diver limits.
The accessibility and availability of up to and including 100% O2 as a decompression gas during this course will also enable you to maximise the efficiency, and minimise the risk, of your decompression schedules, affording you enjoyable, exciting and safe technical dives.
We will also work together with you throughout the course to provide a solid grounding and stable baseline understanding of all the key areas and aspects of Technical Diving, including Academics & Theory, Equipment, as well as in-water Skills.
This allows you to either enjoyably and safely continue to dive within PADI Tec 45 Diver limits or provide the knowledge and skills to further your Technical Diving training to higher levels.
PADI Tec 45 Diver is a full technical diving course using double cylinders, side-mount or back-mount, plus a deco cylinder. PADI Tec 45 Diver is a prerequisite to Tec 50 Diver. There is an option for divers to earn a Tec 45 Trimix Diver certification.
How long does the PADI Tec 45 Diver course take on Koh Tao?
The PADI Tec 45 Diver course takes 4 days to complete on Koh Tao.
You will meet your PADI TecRec Instructor in the morning of Day 1, and this first day will be spent entirely and exclusively on Academics, Equipment & Theory, related specifically to Technical Diving.
On Day 2 AM, you will have the opportunity to explore Academics, Equipment & Theory further, including a Q&A session, if required, with your PADI TecRec Instructor, before heading out PM for Training Dives 1 & 2 on one of our boats.
This will also form the basis of the schedule on Day 3 too, also allowing us to tailor any tuition requested or required to enable you to achieve the standards required for certification as a PADI Tec 45 Diver.
The following morning on Day 4, you will go out on our AM boat to one or more suitably deep, potential decompression diving, sites around Koh Tao and conclude the course with the mandated 2 x Decompression Dives.
What is the cost of the PADI Tec 45 Diver course on Koh Tao?
The cost of the PADI Tec 45 Diver course is: 25,000 THB.
Included in this price are all course costs, including PADI Materials, complete and full Technical Diving equipment rental (including Dive Computer/s + Backup / Redundant Equipment), instructor fees, boat trips and basic TAT (Tourism Authority Thailand) accident insurance.
**Please note that comprehensive and full dive accident insurance is not only recommended, but required, for all PADI TecRec Technical Diving courses at Black Turtle Dive.
However, we are partnered with and able to recommend several reputable insurance companies offering flexible packages from daily, to weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. Please contact us for further details.
Food and accommodation are not included. However, you can contact us to find out about accommodation options. We have AC rooms available at discounted rates when taking a diving course with us.
Continuing-education and / or ex-students will enjoy a 10% discount on the course price.
How many dives is the PADI Tec 45 Diver course on Koh Tao?
According to PADI Standards, the PADI Tec 45 Diver course consists of 4 x Training Dives, with the final 2 x Dives of the course your 2 x Decompression Dives.
However, at Black Turtle Dive, and in keeping with our attitude and ethos towards Safety & Training Standards, we feel that a minimum of 6 x Dives is a more effective, manageable and relaxed way to conduct a course.
This allows students to successfully transition from Recreational Diving to Technical Diving with minimal pressure or stress, and consequently that is what, as a minimum, will be included with your PADI Tec 45 Diver course.
The PADI Tec 45 Diver course dives will be broken down into 2 x Training Dives on Day 2, plus 2 x Additional Training Dives on Day 3, before the final 2 x Decompression Dives on Day 4.
How deep is the PADI Tec 45 Diver course on Koh Tao?
The maximum depth of the PADI Tec 45 Diver certification is 45 metres / 150 feet, with your decompression schedule unlimited in its duration, and your single decompression gas up to and including 100% O2.
With this certification, you can dive independently with another PADI Tec 45 Diver certified dive buddy, within these parameters, all around the world. For those interested in continuing their Technical Diving journey, there is also the option to continue to PADI Tec 50 Diver, with course combinations / package deals and discounts available.
**Please contact us for further information regarding continuing-education courses and combinations / package deals and discounts.
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