SSI XR Foundations — Technical Diving
XR Foundations is the SSI Extended Range entry course: a pool-based skill circuit covering buoyancy, trim, propulsion, gas management, and team procedures to a technical diving standard. Available in single backmount and sidemount configurations. $749 per diver. By assessment only. Contact Tom’s to begin the assessment conversation.
Availability: Contact us for booking information
Recreational Diving Ends Here. Technical Diving Begins Here.
XR Foundations is the entry point into SSI’s Extended Range program. It is not an advanced recreational course. It is the first step into a different category of diving entirely: one that demands a different standard of buoyancy, trim, gas planning, and team awareness than recreational certification requires.
This course is pool-based and skill-intensive. You will be assessed before enrollment. If you are not ready, we will tell you honestly and map out what to work on first. If you are, we will build the technical foundation your diving has been pointing toward. $749 per diver. Contact Tom’s to begin the assessment conversation.
XR Foundations at a Glance
| Certification | SSI Extended Range Foundations (XR Foundations) |
| Price | $749 per diver |
| Format | Pool-based skill circuit plus open water application dives |
| Configuration | Available in single backmount and sidemount configurations. Configuration is assessed individually. |
| Pool | Tom’s 91°F heated indoor pool · 5909 Burnet Rd, Austin TX |
| Prerequisites | Open Water Diver + Enriched Air Nitrox recommended. Diver Stress & Rescue or equivalent strongly recommended. Readiness assessed by Tom’s instructor before enrollment. |
| Enrollment | By assessment only. Call or email to start the conversation. |
| Gated pathway | Enrollment requires an assessment conversation with a Tom’s Precision / XR instructor. This is not a test with a pass or fail: it is an honest conversation about readiness. |
The Assessment Is a Conversation, Not a Test.
Call Tom’s to talk through where you are and whether XR Foundations is the right next step. If there is work to do first, we will map it out. If you are ready, we will tell you.
Call (512) 451-3425 →What Readiness Looks Like for XR Foundations
XR Foundations is not for brand new certified divers. Readiness means your recreational diving fundamentals are already reliable before technical training begins. Specifically:
Passive buoyancy, not active correction.
You can maintain depth without constant fin kicks or BCD adjustments. Your breathing drives buoyancy and trim, not your hands. This needs to be second nature before technical work begins.
Horizontal, efficient, controlled.
You dive in a horizontal position and can hold it. Your kicks are efficient and do not disturb the environment. You can back-kick and stop reliably. You understand the difference between different propulsion techniques.
You know your gas at all times.
You monitor your gas continuously and plan around known consumption rates. Turn pressures, reserves, and S-curves are not abstract concepts: you apply them automatically on every dive.
Diver Stress & Rescue or equivalent.
Technical diving environments have less margin for error than recreational diving. Rescue skills are not optional preparation: they are the foundation technical training builds on. Dive Ready courses are strongly recommended.
What XR Foundations Builds
The XR Foundations skill circuit is pool-based and methodical. Our 91°F pool removes the variable of cold-water stress so the focus stays entirely on technique. Every skill is trained to a standard, not a completion checkbox.
Technical diving standards
Precise horizontal trim, helicopter turns, back-kicks, and frog kicks trained to technical diving standards. Propulsion that is appropriate to the environment and does not compromise visibility or team positioning.
Fine control at depth
Mid-water hover skills trained beyond recreational standards. Controlled ascents and descents, precise depth maintenance, and the ability to stop and hold position in any orientation.
Technical gas protocols
Introduction to technical gas management concepts: turn pressures, minimum gas calculations, recognizing and responding to gas supply emergencies in a two-person team environment.
Buddy coordination
Formation diving, communication protocols, team awareness, and the shared responsibility model that technical diving requires. Technical diving is a team sport: XR Foundations trains accordingly.
Streamlining and redundancy
How technical gear is configured and why. D-ring placement, stage bottle positioning (if applicable), long-hose routing, and the reasoning behind each configuration decision.
Managing failures calmly
Out-of-air procedures, alternate air source use, buoyancy device failures, and other contingencies handled with a calm, methodical response. Technical diving demands decision-making under stress.
How XR Foundations Runs
XR Foundations runs across multiple sessions. The structure depends on the configuration selected (single backmount or sidemount) and the diver’s starting point. Tom’s instructors will outline a realistic schedule during the assessment conversation.
Pool sessions: The skill circuit is conducted in Tom’s 91°F heated pool. Sessions focus on specific technique clusters, not all skills in one dive. Skills are repeated until they are reliable, not just demonstrated once.
Open water application: Once pool skills are established, they are applied in open water conditions at a local dive site (typically Lake Travis or equivalent). The shift from controlled pool conditions to open water is part of the training, not just a graduation dive.
Configuration options: XR Foundations is available in single backmount (back-inflation BCD with one primary cylinder) and sidemount (cylinders mounted to the sides). Most students begin with single backmount. Sidemount is available for those with existing sidemount experience or specific goals. Tom’s will advise during the assessment.
Where XR Foundations Leads
XR Foundations is Step 1 in the Precision / XR pathway. It builds the platform every subsequent technical course builds on.
XR Foundations
Technical buoyancy, trim, gas management, team procedures, and equipment configuration. The foundation of all extended range diving.
Extended Range & Decompression
Decompression theory, staged decompression procedures, extended range depth limits, and multi-gas diving. Requires XR Foundations.
Advanced Technical Certifications
Cave diving, rebreather, deep technical diving, and other advanced pathways available to divers with strong XR foundations.
See the Precision / XR pathway for the full picture of where this training leads.
Technical diving training requires a shop that takes it seriously. Tom’s has been part of the Austin diving community since 1982, and the Precision / XR program reflects the same philosophy that runs through everything we do: preparation over speed, capability over certification, and honest instruction over telling students what they want to hear.
Focus on technique, not temperature management.
Our on-site pool runs at 91°F year-round. The skill circuit for XR Foundations requires focus. Cold water makes students fight discomfort instead of learning. Our pool removes that variable entirely.
We will tell you if you are not ready.
The assessment is not a formality. We genuinely evaluate readiness. Divers who are not ready get an honest roadmap rather than enrollment in a course they will struggle to complete.
Globally recognized technical certification.
SSI Extended Range certifications are recognized at technical dive sites and operations worldwide. Tom’s is Austin’s only SSI center, and the Precision / XR program is a full SSI Extended Range pathway.
Four decades of investment in diver development.
Tom’s opened in 1982. The Precision / XR program is not a new offering added to a course catalog: it is part of a shop with a 40-year commitment to building capable divers.
We follow DAN dive safety protocols.
Tom’s follows Divers Alert Network (DAN) safety standards and recommends DAN dive accident insurance for every certified diver. Safety is not a checkbox on our website. It is the foundation of how Tom’s has operated since 1982.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no fixed dive count requirement. What matters is the quality of your buoyancy, trim, and gas awareness in real dive conditions. Some divers are ready after 50 logged dives. Others with 200 dives are not. The assessment evaluates this honestly, not by a number.
XR Foundations requires a back-inflation BCD or sidemount harness, primary and backup dive lights, a dive computer, a surface marker buoy with reel, and a slate or wrist notebook. A long-hose regulator configuration is standard for backmount. Tom’s will advise on specific configuration requirements during the assessment conversation.
It is strongly recommended. Enriched Air Nitrox is used in many extended range diving configurations and is a prerequisite for some higher XR certifications. If you are not yet Nitrox certified, Tom’s offers the Enriched Air Nitrox course and this is a good time to complete it.
Multiple sessions over several weeks is typical. The exact timeline depends on the diver’s starting point and the configuration chosen. Tom’s instructors will outline a realistic schedule during the assessment conversation.
Strongly recommended, not technically required. Technical diving environments have less margin for error than recreational diving. The rescue skills in Diver Stress & Rescue are directly applicable and reflect the kind of diver XR training builds toward.