Training to be Elite: Top 10 Technical Diving Courses
July 29, 2025
Technical diving pushes the boundaries of recreational diving, requiring specialized training, advanced equipment, and meticulous planning to explore more challenging underwater environments. But where do you start? SSI offers a comprehensive suite of technical diving courses, designed to equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge. Below, we explore some of the best SSI XR technical diving courses, whether you are just beginning your journey into technical diving or looking to refine and expand your expertise.
Choosing the Right Technical Diving Courses
The technical diving courses below cover everything from deep diving with trimix to wreck, mine, and cave diving, helping you find the right course to match your goals. If you are unsure which course to choose, consider beginning with an introductory course like Extended Range Nitrox Diving or consulting an SSI Extended Range Instructor at a diver center near you to find the best fit for your experience level.
1. Extended Range Foundations
The Extended Range Foundations course is designed as the base of a solid technical diver, as it sets the platform for everything else going forward. The program focuses on enhancing diving skills in a controlled workshop environment, allowing divers to refine their buoyancy, trim, finning techniques, stability, and teamwork.
This course is ideal for building confidence, improving underwater control and learning to stay still. This ensures divers learn the most from their future technical diving programs. All in-water sessions take place in a pool or confined water setting at depths of less than 12 meters, ensuring a focused and effective learning experience.
2. Extended Range / Extended Range Trimix
The Extended Range course, offered as an air or Trimix program, serves as the entry-level course for all other open-circuit technical diving courses, providing essential training for planning and executing decompression dives to a maximum depth of 45 meters.
In this advanced program, divers develop the skills to use Air or Nitrox / trimix breathing gases and hyperoxic nitrox mixtures of up to 100% oxygen for decompression, effectively manage extended bottom times, and confidently handle technical diving equipment as a team in challenging environments.
3. Extended Range Sidemount
If you want to maneuver more easily, reduce the weight carried out of the water, improve redundancy, and comfortably manage multiple tanks, sidemount diving is an excellent choice. The Extended Range Sidemount course trains divers to configure and use a sidemount system efficiently, enhancing their comfort and ability.
This course is a configuration-only program focusing on both the sidemount configuration and the use of decompression stage cylinders while wearing sidemount. Key skills are equipment configuration, tank management, trim, buoyancy, and emergency procedures, making it ideal for those who prefer the versatility and streamlined profile of sidemount diving in technical environments.
4. Technical Extended Range Trimix
The Technical Extended Range Trimix diving course is designed for experienced technical divers aiming to extend their dive depth and duration. This program certifies divers to conduct unlimited-length decompression dives to a maximum depth of 60 meters using trimix breathing gases.
This course covers advanced gas planning, redundancy management, and problem-solving techniques in complex environments. It is ideal for divers looking to safely explore greater depths while refining their skills in handling multiple gases, extended decompression, and challenging dive conditions.
5. Hypoxic Trimix
For those looking to push the limits of deep diving, the Hypoxic Trimix diving course certifies divers to explore depths of up to 100 meters using hypoxic trimix breathing gases. This elite-level program focuses on advanced dive planning, precise gas management, and extensive decompression strategies, while also training divers to safely manage multiple-stage cylinders.
It is the ultimate course for experienced technical divers seeking to expand their depth capabilities and master the challenges of extreme deep diving.
6. Technical Wreck Diving
The Technical Wreck Diving course is designed for experienced divers looking to master the skills required for complex wreck penetration dives. This intensive program focuses on high-level buoyancy control, precision finning techniques, complex navigation, and critical emergency procedures, including lost line, lost light, and lost diver scenarios.
With a strong emphasis on dive planning, effective communication, and hazard management, this course prepares divers to safely explore deep wrecks. Up to a maximum depth of 100 meters (If already certified to that depth), Technical Wreck Diving enables divers to push the limits of deep wreck exploration while maintaining strict safety protocols.
Before enrolling, divers should first complete Extended Range Wreck Diving, which provides a solid foundation in safe wreck diving techniques.
7. Cave Diving
For divers drawn to the thrill of overhead environments, SSI’s cave diving courses provide the skills needed to explore breathtaking underwater caves safely. Starting in the light zone with Extended Range Cavern Diving, progressing into the dark with Cave Diving, and learning the advanced techniques to make complex navigation in Full Cave Diving, divers master being in the overhead.
In these technical diving courses, divers will learn guideline laying and handling, emergency procedures, and the experience of being a long way from home - while adapting to the psychological demands of confined spaces.
With a focus on precision buoyancy, redundancy planning, and teamwork, these overhead diving courses equip divers to safely push the limits of cave exploration.
8. Mine Diving
Exploring submerged mines offers an eerie yet fascinating view into the industrial past and a unique challenge for technical divers. SSI’s mine diving courses provide the necessary expertise to navigate these unique environments safely.
Starting with Extended Range Mine Diving, then Mine Diving, and culminating in Full Mine Diving, divers learn advanced line navigation, gas management, and emergency procedures while dealing with low / no visibility. These technical diving courses are perfect for those looking to push their skills further in some of the world’s most unusual dive locations.
9. Semi-Closed Rebreather Diving
The SCR Diving course is the perfect introduction to semi-closed rebreather (SCR) diving, offering extended dive times, improved gas efficiency, and quieter operation compared to open-circuit systems with the Mares Horizon.
This course certifies divers to conduct no-decompression dives to 30 meters, teaching essential skills such as SCR-specific equipment configuration, gas management, and bailout procedures. With reduced gas consumption and a more natural breathing experience, SCR diving allows for longer, more immersive underwater exploration.
For those looking to take their SCR diving further, SCR Extended Range expands the depth limit to 40 meters, incorporating limited decompression and refining gas management techniques. This course is ideal for divers who want to maximize bottom time while enjoying the benefits of a streamlined, easy-to-use rebreather system.
10. Closed-Circuit Rebreather Diving
For divers looking to extend their bottom times, dive deeper for longer, and experience the world of bubble-free diving, the CCR Extended Range program is the perfect starting point. Training to either 40m with air or 45m with trimix, divers learn all the basics of the operation of their rebreather. The base skill set that will last their entire CCR career is taught in this entry-level program and only refined in subsequent courses.
For those looking to push the boundaries of rebreather diving, the CCR Technical Extended Range course certifies divers to conduct decompression dives to 60 meters using trimix breathing gases.
This course enhances core rebreather skills, emphasizing advanced gas management, bailout planning, and problem-solving strategies. Divers learn to execute longer decompression dives with precision, refining their ability to manage complex dive environments safely.
For those striving for the ultimate challenge in CCR diving, the CCR Hypoxic Trimix course represents the highest level of SSI’s rebreather training. This program qualifies divers to explore depths of 100 meters, utilizing hypoxic trimix to safely manage extreme depths while minimizing narcosis.
Training focuses on multi-stage decompression, precision dive planning, and emergency procedures, ensuring divers can handle the demands of deep technical diving with confidence and expertise.
SSI offers CCR training on a number of the most popular closed circuit rebreathers – JJ-CCR, rEvo, Scuba Force SF2, Poseidon MKVI and Se7en, AP Diving, Hollis Prism 2,
With more coming soon, including Divesoft Liberty, IQSUB XCCR, FXCCR and Flex 2.0, and Halcyon Symbios.
Becoming an Elite Technical Diver
Embarking on these technical diving courses requires a solid foundation in recreational diving and a commitment to rigorous training. Each course allows you to progressively expand your capabilities and explore new underwater environments safely.
Whether you are aiming to extend your depth limits, explore intricate overhead systems, or delve into the world of rebreathers, SSI’s range of technical diving courses provides structured pathways to achieve your diving aspirations.
Ready to take your technical diving to the next level?
Explore the full range of SSI technical diving courses and find the perfect training program for you. Explore SSI Extended Range Courses.