Overhead DPV

SSI Full Cave Diving teaches you complex underwater navigation skills as you learn how to manage a traverse, jump, tee, and gap within a cave system. Performing advanced cave dives is as technical as it gets and will take you to exciting dive locations worldwide. Prepare to dive the deepest caves in the world by learning lost line, lost light, gas sharing, and lost diver procedures. Utilizing either an XR Sidemount, Twinset, or Rebreather Total Diving System, the Full Cave Diving program is SSI’s highest-level overhead environment certification, providing all the tools you need to explore the world’s underwater caves.

An Overhead DPV (Diver Propulsion Vehicle) course teaches divers how to safely and effectively use scooters in cave or other overhead environments, where speed, distance, and complexity increase significantly.The focus is on control, precision, and team integration rather than just propulsion. You’ll learn how to manage buoyancy, trim, and awareness while under tow; maintain stable positioning relative to the guideline; and handle common failure scenarios such as entanglement, runaway scooters, or loss of propulsion.A major emphasis is on decision-making and gas/time management, as DPVs extend range but reduce margins if not used properly. You’ll also develop team protocols, including communication, formation, towing, and lost-diver procedures specific to scooter diving.By the end of the course, divers should be able to use a DPV to enhance—not compromise—safety, awareness, and problem-solving in overhead environments.

A Cave Multi-Stage course develops the skills needed to plan and conduct cave dives using multiple stage or decompression cylinders, extending both range and duration beyond standard single-stage limits.The focus is on gas management, discipline, and task control in more complex dives. You’ll learn how to correctly stage, label, place, and retrieve cylinders while maintaining continuous guideline awareness and team positioning. Managing multiple gases introduces additional cognitive load, so a key element is maintaining situational awareness and avoiding task fixation.There is a strong emphasis on planning and decision-making, including rock-bottom calculations, turn pressures across multiple cylinders, and contingency strategies if something doesn’t go to plan. You’ll also practise failures such as lost or depleted stages, ensuring you can adapt without losing control of the dive.Teamwork becomes even more critical, with clear protocols for communication, positioning, and shared problem solving when divers may be carrying different gases or loads.By the end of the course, divers should be able to safely integrate multiple cylinders into cave dives—extending capability while preserving simplicity, awareness, and margin.

XR Foundations, Overhead or Technical Instructor Training in Twinset, Sidemount or CCR

The SSI Extended Range Trimix training program is the core program that all other open-circuit programs build on. This program is the start of your exciting journey to become an accomplished tech diver. Using either a sidemount or twinset configuration, this program prepares you to plan and conduct trimix decompression dives to a maximum depth of 45 meters. You will learn the techniques and procedures for using trimix breathing gases and nitrox mixtures of up to 100% oxygen for decompression. You will earn the SSI Extended Range Trimix diver certification after completing this program and gain new tech diver knowledge.