Technical Diving Equipment & Gear Rental
We offer top-tier equipment rentals for deep, cave, wreck, and rebreather diving, featuring sidemount, twinset setups, and advanced decompression gear to meet the demands of technical divers.
Advanced Dive Expeditions & Exploration
Our dive expeditions venture to remote and challenging locations, such as deep wrecks, caves, and technical reefs, providing unique opportunities to explore uncharted underwater environments.
Technical Diver Training & Certification
Dive Subculture offers training in technical diving, covering trimix and decompression techniques, designed to help divers achieve advanced certifications and expand their skills.
About Dive Subculture Technical Dive Center
Dive Subculture Technical Dive Center offers advanced technical diving training and exploration in Khao Lak (Thailand), Malapascua (Philippines), and Yangon (Myanmar). They emphasize not just skill development, but also mental resilience, teamwork, and physical conditioning. The center designs unique travel experiences to some of the world’s best underwater locations, allowing divers to practice in real-world environments. Inclusivity is central to their philosophy, welcoming divers of all backgrounds, certifications, and levels. Their mission is to foster a community of divers dedicated to learning, pushing boundaries, and exploring the depths together.
Reasons to Dive with Dive Subculture Technical
Expert Instruction
Our certified instructors prioritise your safety and provide personalised training tailored to your skill level, ensuring the highest quality instruction and adherence to safety protocols.
Diverse Courses
We offer a wide range of courses for all levels, from beginner to advanced technical diving, including sidemount, wreck, and cave diving, to help you achieve your diving goals.
Stunning Locations
Dive in destinations like Khao Lak (Thailand), Malapascua (Philippines), and Yangon (Myanmar), where you can explore marine life and underwater landscapes.
Supportive Community
Join a passionate diving community that fosters camaraderie and ongoing education, providing you with resources and support both underwater and above.
About Our Courses
Where We Dive
Join the Dark Side
Unleash the Depths: Dive Beyond Limits
Frequently Asked Questions
Technical diving refers to diving that goes beyond the boundaries of recreational diving, which includes mandatory decompression stops, exploring overhead environments like caves or wrecks, and diving deeper than 40 meters to extend bottom time. It often involves using gas mixes other than air, such as Nitrox, Helitrox, and Trimix, along with various diving techniques like sidemount,twinsets, and rebreathers. This advanced form of scuba diving demands greater knowledge, specialized equipment, and additional training.
You don’t need extensive scuba diving experience to begin technical training; in fact, technical diver training can enhance your comfort, confidence, and skills as a diver. However, it’s important to have a solid foundation in fundamental diving skills before starting a course, including breathing, buoyancy, trim (body position in water), and propulsion (finning techniques). Our instructors are available to help you improve and refine these skills throughout your training.
Course structures are designed with a gradual learning curve, increasing in depth and complexity as you become more comfortable with new equipment, techniques, and procedures. Minimum prerequisites for each course are provided, but keep in mind that everyone learns at different rates, so it’s essential to evaluate your own diving comfort level when considering this question.
If you’re still uncertain about your readiness, we offer excellent introductory courses like the TDI Sidemount Diver or Intro to Tech, which can give you a taste of the world of technical diving.
As with any sport, advancing in technical diving means you’ll want to invest in your own equipment to enhance your comfort and confidence underwater. Most gear should be tailored to your body shape for proper fit, requiring some customization for each diver and discipline. However, the variety of options on the market can be overwhelming for new technical divers, with many items not suitable for technical purposes.
The best guidance on equipment choices will come from your instructor, either before you arrive or during the course. We offer a full range of technical equipment for rent during your training, allowing you to “try before you buy,” and we’ll teach you how to configure these elements for future purchases. See the equipment rental section for more details.
While we don’t expect beginners to have all the necessary equipment, we do anticipate that you, as a diver, will possess some of the basic items outlined below:
– Notebook: You’ll be introduced to a lot of new information during your courses, and taking notes will help you reference it later.
– Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB): You should have at least one DSMB with sufficient lift capacity (12 kg recommended). It should be self-sealing, ideally red for primary use, and capable of inflation from a one-way valve. A second emergency DSMB, preferably yellow, is recommended but can be provided by us for a rental fee.
– Reel(s): Bring one reel that is long enough for the maximum depth of your course (e.g., 45m for Decompression Procedures). A backup reel of similar length is advisable.
– Wetsuit: A long wetsuit in the range of 3mm to 5mm is recommended. The water temperature around the Gilis varies seasonally between 25-29 degrees Celsius, and you may experience thermoclines or extended deco times that can make you feel colder than during a typical recreational dive.
– Fins: Choose fins that provide suitable thrust for moving more weight through the water and are stiff enough to support various propulsion techniques. We suggest ‘jet fin’ style open-heel fins with booties.
– Cutting device: A knife or line cutter is acceptable.
– Primary and backup mask: You will need two masks for your courses and should feel comfortable wearing your backup throughout the dive.
– Wrist slate and pencil attachment: This is invaluable for calculating Surface Air Consumption (SAC) rates and complex underwater communication.
– Tech pocket shorts: These are optional but highly useful for carrying your backup mask and other items; they will last you a long time if you can obtain a pair.
– Dive computers: You should have already invested in a dive computer. While it may not be suitable for planning and executing technical dives, it can serve as a backup during your course. Investing in a computer designed for technical diving is a wise first step, and we understand this can be a significant investment, so we offer rentals for students. We stock Shearwater dive computers, which we highly recommend to our students.
We typically suggest that students arrive a few days before starting the course to finish their independent study. However, if you’re pressed for time or prefer not to study during your stay, we strongly recommend TDI’s e-learning options.
E-learning allows you to complete your study prior to your arrival, register your details on the website, and take the exams online, which means less time spent in the classroom and more time underwater. Rest assured, your instructor will still cover all the theory with you during the course.
We recommend that most students interested in technical diving start with the combined TDI Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures courses. Together, these courses form the foundation of your technical training, covering advanced theory, dive planning, and the essential techniques needed to embark on your technical diving journey. They also emphasize developing a solid base of fundamental diving skills, including breathing, buoyancy, trim, propulsion, and situational awareness.
If you are relatively new to diving but want to explore what technical diving entails within your current depth limits in a no-decompression environment, we highly recommend the TDI Sidemount Diver or Intro to Tech courses.
Introducing Diver Alert Network (DAN)
Its primary mission is to enhance dive safety by offering 24/7 support for divers experiencing emergencies, such as decompression sickness, and providing vital information on dive medicine and safety protocols.
Through its extensive network and resources, DAN has become a trusted ally for divers worldwide, ensuring that they are prepared and supported both in and out of the water. Dive Subculture Technical Dive Center highly recommends the purchase of DAN insurance to ensure divers are protected in case of unforeseen accidents or medical emergencies during their underwater adventures.