Frustration moving into/towards tech

[Angelo Farina]

I just hope to having been contributing properly, suggesting that diving doubles (of reasonably small size) for rec diving is actually very easy. This was the standard setup before large (15 liters or above) singles were available.
Many people in the past century did learn in doubles since OW, like me.
They do not require any particular skill in comparison with a standard single of same capacity and with double valves...
So I do not see any need of a specific class: just rent your light, compact doubles and enjoy the dive...

 

[Brett Hatch]

I spoke with Chris today and I think I like the way we discussed setting up training. Gonna talk to my buddy and hopefully setup some things moving forward. Thanks for the suggestion

Hi,

Glad to hear that you found a useful pointer to a local instructor, as I mentioned on page 1 I'm aiming do much the same (although 3 timezones away, so unlikely to go with the same instructor). Did your buddy, Chris, and yourself decide to pursue this within the structure of some agency's version of doubles primer / ITT, or more like freeform 1-on-1 tutoring? Either way I'd be happy to hear how it goes.

Best of luck.

 

[jlcnuke]

To the OP - what diving do you want to do? I almost never see that question asked and to me it's the absolute most important determination of what direction to go.

Technical diving should be seen thru a fisheye lense instead of a half inch pipe that's ten foot long. Today you might be dreaming of that 12 hour cave dive but let's be realistic, not every little kid makes it to the NBA. Sometimes we do so much reading of this and that that we come to the conclusion that this is the direction we need to go but we skip talking with some folks that have tons of experience. There can be a wealth of information here, most of it is opinionated garbage though and it take a lot of reading between the lines. There's two people that have replied to this thread that are fantastic at helping steer you in a direction that help you in finding the answers you're looking for - be open and honest with them and they'll give you a honest answer.

I personally prefer the TDI method of Tech teaching, the instructors are given greater leeway in working with students but realistically, the farther you go into a hole, the more black and white things become. PADI will not get you into a cave, there's a chance you may have to go backwards to go forwards if that's where you want to be.

iii

Both my buddy and I want to progress into longer dives at depth, and deeper dives, to experience wrecks such as the Oriskany and numerous others that are either not accessible within recreational limits, or better suited to technical diving to maximize enjoyment/time on them.

I personally love cenotes and if for no other dives, would like to go full cave at some point, though my normal dive buddy doesn't have that ambition right now.

Hi,

Glad to hear that you found a useful pointer to a local instructor, as I mentioned on page 1 I'm aiming do much the same (although 3 timezones away, so unlikely to go with the same instructor). Did your buddy, Chris, and yourself decide to pursue this within the structure of some agency's version of doubles primer / ITT, or more like freeform 1-on-1 tutoring? Either way I'd be happy to hear how it goes.

Best of luck.

I was hoping to go with Chris, but my buddy is concerned about cost and looking for a more economical method. From my conversations with Chris and some others it seems that finding an instructor that can structure ITT to accomplish the goals we're looking for won't be overly difficult (relatively anyway), but it may require travel to make that happen. As he's the one turning down the plan for moving forward that I like, I'm making my buddy see about searching for the training we're looking for at this point.

 

[Brett Hatch]

Fair enough. Whenever you do get something set up, I hope you'll update the thread with a post about your experience.

 

[jlcnuke]

Fair enough. Whenever you do get something set up, I hope you'll update the thread with a post about your experience.

I'll probably start a new thread when I do some more classes as this one kinda went sideways... but yeah, I'll post an update with how things go.

 

[ChuckP]

Both my buddy and I want to progress into longer dives at depth, and deeper dives, to experience wrecks such as the Oriskany and numerous others that are either not accessible within recreational limits, or better suited to technical diving to maximize enjoyment/time on them.

As you get closer to the top of the pyramid, the price definetly goes up and choices become fewer. I live in Cozumel and there's probably at least 300 PADI OW instructors on this island and just a handful of them can teach tech. I lived in Michigan and could have done AN/DP there but it would have taken two years to get the dives completed - advanced gas blender would of never been completed....

Doubles or Side Mount? Personally, side mount is great from shore, gets more difficult from a boat but doable and I don't mind it to the 150' range but when adding the second deco bottle, it gets too clustery for me. It's great because you can just rent cylinders, I don't mess with the left and right valves - it's pretty flexible but again, it can be a cluster learning it and you really need an instructor that is well versed in the setup you choose.

Doubles - that IMO is the flat out easiest way for more gas. There's tons of pictures out there for proper hose routing and it's a basic do it this way setup. It's something that can be dove with virtually little training. I don't think you should be doing valve drills by yourself or with a buddy but the core "diving" skills, trim and buoyancy can be easily achieved if your core skills are good in a single tank. I never took an ITT class, my instructor didn't require it because the core skills were there - I went straight to AN/DP and Advanced Wreck all bundled together - that was a long class with a high instructor to student count, I don't want to knock or discredit the instructors that require it beforehand. The downside to doubles is the tanks, you own them or search high and low to rent them.

Unless you live in an area with quality instructors that are capable of completing the dives and doing it the way you are going to dive, it's not uncommon to travel for advanced classes. The agency becomes less important at this level too as long as they provide a path to your dreams or at least the stepping stones - the instructor is more important.

 

[J-Vo]

iii

I was hoping to go with Chris, but my buddy is concerned about cost and looking for a more economical method.

I would be careful with budget technical instructors. There is usually a reason they are cheap. In the long run the cost of instruction is not even going to be blip on what you will spend on additional gear.

 

[Jack Hammer]

It's really best to dive doubles at first with someone experienced with them and the setup. Also good to have somewhere you can walk out of the water, if needed. Not super common but you really dont want to "turtle" and be stuck on the bottom on your back the first time out. The closer one is to where Tec dives are made the more likely a local shop will have rentals available. Or make friends with local tec divers, most of us have a lot of extra gear laying around.

 

[Manatee Diver]

PADI will not get you into a cave, there's a chance you may have to go backwards to go forwards if that's where you want to be.

There is a cave diver PADI distinctive specialty. Very hard to find because PADI has only authorized a few instructors to issue it, @Capt Jim Wyatt is one of them.

I kind of want one, but my instructor isn't one of the ones authorized.

 

[shoredivr]

iii

I was hoping to go with Chris, but my buddy is concerned about cost and looking for a more economical method. From my conversations with Chris and some others it seems that finding an instructor that can structure ITT to accomplish the goals we're looking for won't be overly difficult (relatively anyway), but it may require travel to make that happen. As he's the one turning down the plan for moving forward that I like, I'm making my buddy see about searching for the training we're looking for at this point.

I’ve taken a course from Chris. He is a good choice and worth every penny. Your buddy has a false sense of economy. If you are wanting to eventually go tech, you want an excellent foundation and you would get that from him. Especially since your buddy has shoulder issues. (It may be that sidemount is the way to go for the buddy, as valve shutdowns are quite simple in sidemount).

Tech diving is expensive. Get good instruction on this introductory course, and you won’t need to retake something at a later date to develop skills you didn’t learn properly from the “budget” course.