pre-cave

Just wondering what kind of courses/diving someone should do before caveing? I imange there'd be some mixed gas and deco training. What kind of diving should I be doing the meanwhile? Although I don't cave count me in the 'extremely intrested/ patiently waiting' crowd.... it's gonna be at least a couple of long years.

Check out a cavern course from the NSS-CDS.

Cavern class is the training you need before you cave dive, unless you plan on doing a GUE cave 1 class which is like cavern and intro level cave diving together.

PADI, NSS-CDS, and NACD all offer cavern classes. What area are you in and maybe someone on here can help you find an instructor. More than likely you will need to travel to Florida to do the training.

NITROX cert is in opinion recommended for cavern diving. You have a depth limit of 70' for cavern and 130 linear feet from the surface. You wouldn't begin to do stage or deco cave dives until you get to apprentice and full cave or GUE Cave 2.

Hope this info is useful to you and answers your question.

type of diving to do? "a lot" of diving. The main thing that will help you when you actually start cave diving is good bouancy and other basic skills. A lot of folks start their cavern training about the exact same time they start diving in a drysuit and diving doubles for the first time. It would help a lot to already be comfy in a drysuit and doubles before you get into the overhead.

It would also be helpful to have your configuration comfortable, and so I would recommend reading "Doing it Right, the Fundamentals of Better Diving" by Jarrod Jablonski, to start getting your configuration in shape.

I did have my configuration comfortable, and I was used to small doubles, but I didn't get comfy with my drysuit til I started cavern. This meant that I had to get used to the new skills, like reel running, handling my light, etc, while struggling to keep off the ceiling and floor! This is a double handicap. So, I spent a lot of time in the rockpit in the winter with my drysuit. Took about 20 dives to get OK with that, cause I wanted to eliminate that source of stress quickly, and not in a cavern, Thank you.

So, get your configuration appropriate, get your drysuit if you don't already have it, and get at least a small set of doubles to start getting used to. I recommend finding an old set of 72's like the ones I sold yesterday for $150. Not appropriate for overheads because they didn't have an isolation manifold, but good enough for quarry practice. Plus I made $50 on the deal, cause I bought them 2 years ago for $100.

Also, start exercising regularly, like riding an exercycle everyday like I do, (well, almost every day), so fitness isn't an issue as much.

The standard NSS-CDS type course that you'll get from most non-GUE instructors includes deco theory and O2 deco, and in cave country many instructors consider Full Cave a prerequisite for trimix rather than the other way around.

A nitrox card probably wouldn't be a bad idea but everyone uses it down there so they are all pretty casual about it and no one ever asked me for a card.

One thing to keep in mind if you go with the NSS-CDS course is that if you arrange it in advance, a lot of instructors will treat as the beginning of serious cave instruction rather than a bastard rec course, and start you right away in doubles an full cave configuration, the way GUE does, which makes a lot more sense that doing it in rec gear.

One thing that helps if you are going to be doing this is to try and get your configuration straightened out, and get some time on doubles, before you start the cave course.

Originally posted by DNAXdiver
card.

One thing to keep in mind if you go with the NSS-CDS course is that if you arrange it in advance, a lot of instructors will treat as the beginning of serious cave instruction rather than a bastard rec course, and start you right away in doubles an full cave configuration, the way GUE does, which makes a lot more sense that doing it in rec gear.

One thing that helps if you are going to be doing this is to try and get your configuration straightened out, and get some time on doubles, before you start the cave course.

Click to expand...

This is right and is important. It makes absolutely no sense to me to insist on a student wearing a single tank for the first part of their training, then increasing the stress later by "allowing" the wearing of doubles. Rec gear has no place in a cave.

Thanks guys!


Campana - " type of diving to do? "a lot" of diving. "

Does two diving days, 4+ dives, a week count as a lot? Yes, diving addict & offical quarry bum of the north east. I have the drysuit, and very comfortable with it. Gear, I got my first set (which I'm still using) used expecting to get 2-3 years out of it... well I moved to cold water and dive too damn much. I'm thinking steel BP, pony. I'm a little surprised heard drysuit at the top of 'todo' list, ... cave country, FL, drysuit? Why?

For the carvern courses, NSS-CDS, NACD, PADI (did I forget anyone?), what's the differnces between the actually courses? Both in terms of how far you're trained, typical students that finish the course (looking for: don't bother with X agency, the student's I've seen come out don't know what they're doing), and a brief outline of course. And any prerequistes for the courses.

I'll put DIR fundamentals next on my read list, right now my pleasure read is the textbook for Rescue diver.

If your diving that much I think you should go to FL and take the cavern class. They will show you where you need to improve and get your gear rigged. Forget buying a pony bottle they have no place in caves. Don't buy anything till you have spoken with your cavern instructor. But it sounds like the only thing you might need are bp/wings and doubles and maybe a cannister light. The cavern class only requires an open water rating. No use diving if you have bad habits and making bad habits harder to break. Go for the cavern class. Long cave dives in 72 degree water require a dry suit. One agency you forgot GUE, I would take an NSS-CDS, NACD, or GUE course. there has been a list of instructors posted on other threads. Start researching those instructors. You can be caving sooner than you think. Don't put off the training it will save you in the long run.
Ken