Tech diving, equipment, awareness and too much too soon

[austin.takahashi]

Very helpful post from someone who knows what he's talking about. Diving requires not only money to buy the equipment, but the desire and knowledge to use it safely and effectively. Thanks for this!

[Rick404402]

Great post! I have been cavern certified for almost two years and plan on starting my Intro To Cave this August. I am glad I waited because almost every dive I do is in overhead (cavern zone) and I train and I train and I train. I practive running reels, out of gas emergencies, touch contact and the list goes on. I could have taken the cavern and intro class together but I felt I would benefit much more by being patient and practicing. My instructor (who has taught every class to me except OW) is patient and has no intention of EVER issuing a cert without earning it. If you plan of going further be patient and train train and then train some more. The other incentive for doing this is that it has allowed me more time to get all the proper gear I need and be comfortable in it. Stay within you level of training.

[jgl51]

AN other idea is for instructors / dive schools to offer classes to practice skills to get you to a higher level and not right away for a new certificate. It is not always easy to practice first your buddy may not be interested, second you may not what and how to train and thirdly there is no one to comment on your performance and suggest ways to improve.
It is interesting that in the 21st century I have yet to find ebooks or videos covering such "continuing education". Something available for other activities, for example aviation.

[est3202]

Thank you, for your time and your opinion, I am 58 and seen kids 15 do better then me, but you know, I would rather know what I am doing then try to breeze though my AOW again, so I brought my own dive gear and am going to the pool, until I feel confident. Thanks Again.

[richkeller]

I believe the simple answer is more hours in the water. The more time you spend in the water the better you will be with or without more advanced courses. Too many times I have talked to divers who have taken one course after another and end up with an advanced rating with very few hours in the water and it shows. Part of the problem is the dive shops themselves, every new course comes with a list of new equipment you need to buy first. Keep in mind the instructors make far more money as commissioned sales people then teachers. For example look at any dive shops list of courses and rates and you will see the cheapest courses have the longest list of items you need to buy first. Put in the hours and you will come to a point when you KNOW you are ready to advance.

[GDI]

First of all I would like to thank all the divers who have taken the time to read this thread- Thank-you.

While I have not been busy on the board here in the last few years I have been busy diving and instructing given my current obligations to military service. It is a pleasure to know that sometimes what you write is read and actually observed. On a recent instructional dive weekend I had the opportunity to meet a fellow diver, himself having just gone through a advanced nitrox and deco procedures class. He over heard me talking with my student commenting on how I needed to get a new pair of 5mm cold water gloves and the aspects of re-adjusting to their limits of dexterity. He enjoyed watching how I put my student through his paces of cylinder manipulation, trim and buoyancy control, blinded no mask drills and valve drills. What impressed him was at my expected level of expertise as a tech instructor, I could still admit to having to make adjustments because of equipment and my opinion of the importance of ensuring you as a diver are comfortable with your equipment and able to function regardless of the environment one is diving in, be that cold or warm waters. That day the water temperature was a balmy 4 C so the new gloves were most certainly needed as was my adjusting to their thickness.

It was a pleasure to me to discover this diver had read this thread and could see that I lived by the words I preached proving that the principles of practice, awareness, equipment and too much to soon can be a menu for disaster when it comes to tech diving if not followed.

So inclosing again thank you to all who have read and heeded to the points of this thread. It does not matter your experience level you must always be willing to learn and re-learn, what is old can be new again. Safe diving

[TSandM]

Rick, it was and is a great thread.

Good to see you here; wish you were here more often.

[Dtaine]

So inclosing again thank you to all who have read and heeded to the points of this thread. It does not matter your experience level you must always be willing to learn and re-learn, what is old can be new again. Safe diving

Wise words & great thread. I've been away for a while and just came back and read this again.

[Hragin]

I thought the original post was great, and the many comments indicated a common perception. I remember getting my OW cert and thinking it was like getting my drivers license. I knew I "could" drive, legally, but I had a lot of driving to do to become a real driver. The task loading comment hit home for me. About a year after getting AOW, I took a wreck course while on vacation in the Keys. I know I did all the required stuff, but I felt it was little more than a few dives on a sunken ship. It did not challenge my skills. a year later I re-took the course with my LDS, where the instructors have a serious technical leaning. This time I was rigged with Lift bag and reels, pony bottle, cam lights, etc. The increased level of equipment added to the tasks had a significant impact on my basic skills. I succeeded in handling the tasks, but know that once again, this was only the beginning and that now I need to go and practice with all this equipment. As someone said earlier, it's about diving safely within your skills. You are only protecting yourself.

[cbrich]

I would have to say this is the best thread I have read on Scubaboard. After reading GDI's comments I would like to redo my Trimix course over again (of course with GDI if possible), because I feel like I was pushed through the course I took.