I knew during my open water course that I wanted to do technical diving. The advice I got was: go diving, get experience, you are not experienced enough to think about tech.
I did, I bought recreational equipment en dove, dove, dove more, dove. And after 10 months I had 200 dives and decided it was time to start tech. The same answers from others came: go diving, get experience, you are only diving 10 months and you are not experienced enough. But I read standards and with tdi you could do the 100m full trimix course with only 100 dives. And I had already 200 and was divemaster.
So I decided to buy a twinset and bp+wing and could sell my recreational gear which was only 10 months old. Just because I got wrong advices.
And I got at this time stillj wrong advices, the 200 dives where way enough to start tech according to standards, people only look at the time between open water and you want to start tech, not about the amount of experience you have (in that 200 dives it was solodiving, wreckdiving, strong currents, nightdiving, etc).
So I started using my tech equipment and signed up for an advanced recreational trimix course. And from there I went to full cave after 18 months diving (dive 390 was the quilifying dive), and full trimix after 24 months diving (dive 521 was my quilifyingdive and first 100m dive). And still people complaigned about having too less experience.
So what I want to say is that if cave is your goal, don't hide it because people think you are not experienced enough. But if you don't have own gear now, buy gear you can use for cave diving later in your career.
I have seen an open water student (not mines, I was no instructor at that time) that bought his own drysuit and twinset because his goal was normoxic trimix in 2 years. So he bought his own gear and then started diving. (but he lost interest before the 60m was done).
And try to find same minded buddies. Then they can tell you about the cave diving and they can practise with you already.
Then maybe you want to do an intro to tech course, but maybe it is not needed. But remember, it takes more dives before you can really start cavediving. But it does not mean it must take a long time. I have taken someone in an intro to cave course with the minimum of required dives of 50. And ok, the diver did not pass directly, but a few months later yes. This diver contacted me for a 'want to learn each other dive' with only 25 dives and not experience in a drysuit. When I said yes, the diver would buy a drysuit directly and do the other 25 required dives asap. So this is what happened. And a month later the diver had the 50 dives, and I had a spot in a course. The idea was all the time, if it is too much, there was no angry from the student. So if I decided she could not go further, there was no discussion. It ended in doing all the dives in the course, but no cert directly. That came later.
In my case I had to sell my wrong equipment soon after buying it, the other example of doing open water in tech gear ended in hanging up the fins before the 60m course was done. Both is possible, but you can only use every euro once, it is better to think about what you need in future before buying things you don't need anymore in future. Even if there is a risk you will loose interest before the goal is reached.
But to rent the equipment only for a course and don't have experience with it further will end in a disaster and disappointment. Not only for you, also for the instructor and other students. It is impossible to learn all the basics of the gear in just a course. If you own your own at home and want to rent for a course abroad, that is different of course. So I would advice, if your goal are mines in Finland, buy your own tech gear and drysuit and use it at home and get known to your equipment. Then maybe a cave course in France in the Lot or Jura region and then look about going to Finland for the mines. There are also mines in Germany as well. Sadly Saint meme les Carrieres is closed now.
