OP
Best Cave Diving Cert? Also... Sidemount vs Backmount Doubles?
- Thread starter CavernFrog
- Start date
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OP
CavernFrog
Contributor
Can I do Fundies Rec in wetsuit and single tank and then upgrade to Tech / doubles / drysuit later? Or would I have to retake the entire thing?
Also, why is a drysuit required for caves? I understand 2 tanks but not the drysuit requirement.
Also, why is a drysuit required for caves? I understand 2 tanks but not the drysuit requirement.
100% Agree on this. Having done fundies early in my diving career in drysuit and with doubles, I can still recommend this path. Can't comment on sidemont thing as I haven't really considered that myself.
I didn't mean to delay taking fundies at all. Practicing after the course will be much more useful than practicing by yourself before it. So just enroll to the course, buy drysuit and dive it as much as you can before the course.
Fundies is mostly buoyancy control and trim. Drysuit makes a tremendous difference in both, thus if diving dry is the goal, go dry as early as possible.
RandomGuy1
Contributor
Some times I feel like the only person in the world who didn't think Fundies was that difficult of a course. Mind you I took it in a single tank / wetsuit and got a rec pass which is what I was shooting for. I did this at ~50 dives and it has made me a better diver overall. I decided not to continue down the GUE path due to cost / lack of available instructors / other GUE divers in my area, but I wouldn't dissuade anyone from taking the course if that is what they want. Personally in your situation, I would find a good instructor who dives where / how you want to dive and work with them. If that means sidemount, find a good sidemount instructor. Evaluate them in the water and see how they perform if at all possible.I still have yet to see someone as graceful or stable in the water as my fundies instructor though.
Oh, and don't take advice from some random guy on the internet. You never know if they know what they are talking about or not.
Oh, and don't take advice from some random guy on the internet. You never know if they know what they are talking about or not.
WetRocks
Contributor
Drysuit aren't required but you're going to want one. Just like I told you you would want to go further than the cavern zone, you're going to want a drysuit.
Reasons: North FL springs are 68-72F. In your cave training you will be in the water for 4 hrs a day minimum. As you progress in your cave diving, 2+ hrs dives will become typical. Trust me, most people appreciate the additional thermal protection a drysuit provides.
There's also the redundant lift benefit...here in FL we typically dive steel tanks. Double steel tanks with only 1 source of lift puts you in a precarious situation (ie, not a good idea )
Speaking of, have you read the Blueprint for Survival yet? Needs to be at the top of your reading list.
It’s not. However as 35 minute dives in 70 degree water start turning into 2 hour dives in 70 degree water....you are going to want a drysuit...and a good hood. Even if you never intend to do long dives...diving in water that temperature all the time seems to suck the heat right out of your bones...and it takes forever to warm back up....at least for the majority of folks.
OP
CavernFrog
Contributor
I was thinking of switching to steel tanks as I was looking at sidemount BCDs which typically don't have integrated weights.
You make a good point that the suit also has air bladders in addition to the back wing of the sidemount BCD.
I did read Blueprint for Survival. Wonderful and harrowing. I also have been watching videos of people's last dives, etc... Many ways for things to go wrong and kill you down there.
There's a fundies tech upgrade you can take after, which is a half day long evaluation.
PfcAJ
Contributor
Read up on the concept of a “balanced rig”.
Heavy steels with a wetsuit can create a situation where you’re grossly overweighted and reliant on the wing. With a drysuit, you’ll be less overweight but also have the ability to immediately press a button and regain positive buoyancy if your wing fails.
It appears you are a new diver with less than 25 dives. You have a lot of stuff to learn, and skills to develop, before you are ready to go into a cave. So I'd suggest a slight variation (which is the path I took). This breaks things into smaller, more-easily mastered steps:
1. Take Fundies single/wetsuit for a rec pass.
2. Learn to dive drysuit and doubles (I did GUE primers for these, well worth the $)
3. Go for Fundies Tec pass
4. Take GUE Cave 1 in back mount doubles
5. If wanting to transition to sidemount - Talk to the GUE instructors at Zero Gravity In Tulum, Mexico. They developed the Halcyon sidemount set up and regularly teach side mount. I have no idea if they teach an equivalent to Cave 1 in sidemount configuration.
For reference, I'm GUE T2+, CCR, and Cave 1 trained.
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