SSI Extended Range is a technical diving course within the Scuba Schools International Extended Range program that allows divers to go beyond recreational depth limits and conduct planned decompression dives. The course builds on the core skills developed in programs such as Extended Range Foundations and Extended Range Configurations.
During the program, divers learn advanced dive planning, gas management, team procedures, and decompression strategies while using twinset or sidemount configurations together with stage or decompression cylinders. The course focuses on precise buoyancy control, team communication, and the safe execution of staged decompression dives.
SSI Extended Range can be completed using either air or trimix, giving divers the flexibility to choose the gas strategy that best suits their diving goals. The trimix option introduces helium-based breathing gases to reduce nitrogen narcosis and improve diver clarity at greater depths and increases safety by a huge amount.
By the end of the course, divers are trained to safely plan and conduct decompression dives with multiple cylinders while following standardized technical diving procedures. SSI Extended Range is a key step for divers progressing further into advanced technical diving and deeper trimix programs.
Extended Range facts:
- Duration min. 5 days
- Equipment configuration session
- 45 m depth
- 25 minutes of accelerated decompression
- Twinset or Sidemount
Skills:
- Foundational Skills
- Gas Switching
- Valve shutdowns
- Equipment failures
- Running a decompression plan
Student prerequisites:
- Deep Diver Certification
- Nitrox Certification
- 50 logged dives
- recommended Extended Range Configurations
Credit:
- 2 dives for Technical Extended Range