hi i am new and have a few questions

[DevonDiver]

Fins
Must be a solid blade, to enable greater directional control. You will primarily be using non-silting fin kicks, such as modified flutter or frog kick. You will need to be able to 'reverse' using fins alone and complete on the spot 360 'helicopter' turns. Examples of good tech/wreck fins are: Scubapro Jetfin, OMS Splitstream or Forcefin Pro. Get spring-straps for the fins.

Computer
The only thing you should have on your hose is the SPG itself. Your computer should be wrist mounted, as this provides better awareness/viewing, more streamlined and less entanglement hazard than a bulky computer console. For your initial recreational diving, you only need a basic air/nitrox computer - so a Suunto Vyper Air, D4 or Zoop are fine. When you eventually get onto a tech course, you will be using the computer in gauge mode anyway - as the courses are mostly taught with custom tables produced from pc software. For tech diving, you will need a computer that can switch, during the dive, between 3 different gas mixes. Later on, you will need a computer that will also computate algorythms for TRIMIX (gas that includes Helium). Don't invest in a specific, high-end, tech computer at this stage. By the time you are qualified to use it, it will probably be outdated by progressively newer and better generations of technology!

Mask
This needs to be low volume. Other than that.. it is personal preference based on the fit. Get a velcro mask strap to replace the rubber one that comes with the mask.

Wetsuit
This is chosen based on fit. The thickness is dictated by ambient water temperature and how much you feel the cold. Tech diving demands a thicker suit.. as you can be hanging for decompression for a long time without much mobility. Whatever you buy now will probably be well work by the time you start tech training anyway, so it's not so critical.

BCD
You need to get a Backplate and Wing (BP&W), as this is what you will eventually be wearing for tech and wreck diving. When that time comes, you will only have to buy a new bladder/wing for the doubles - keeping the same backplate and harness. Until then, you can use a single tank bladder/wing. The benefits are that it won't cost much to upgrade later... and you will get familiar with BP&W diving, before the eventual shift to doubles. Of course, a lot of BP&W divers will insist that these systems make the best all-round single tank diving option anyway!

Regulator
I am not massively familiar with the Titan regs. The issue to look for is whether they allow streamlined hose routing (i.e. the hoses don't stick out). This is especially true if you would intend to use them as part of a doubles configuration later. You don't want hoses sticking out where they will entangle on lines or get caught on other obstructions inside wrecks. The location and number of IP (intermediate pressure) ports dictates this, along with the shape of the 1st stage. Personally, my recommendation would be for either Scubapro or Apeks regulators - they are very popular within the tech/wreck communities for a number of reasons.


If you made it clear to your dive centre what your future diving intentions were - then I think they did a staggeringly bad job of advising you about your gear selection. Some dive centres will do this out of ignorance (not all dive shop staff are well versed in tech/wreck diving) or because they simply want to sell certain stock and don't care if it isn't what you need.

Another tip (not asked for I know!) is that you investigate one of the many pre-tech preparation courses that are available. The GUE 'Fundamentals' course is very highly regarded in this respect. UTD do a simular training course. Alternatively, you could investigate an 'Intro to Tech' course, or a 'Tech Familiarisation' course - most tech instructors offer these and you can complete them before you would otherwise have gained the training/experience prerequisites to enroll on a full technical diving course. Just Google to see what is available in your area...

 

[disrupta]

thankyou all so much for your comments i am sensing the back plate bcd is a must not much i can do about the split fins but im sure i'll get good use out of them

im still not sure what to say to the dive store owner she is very nice and i feel bad since she has already ordered the jacket bcd but i have told her a million times i am only interested in wreck diving and deep diving i have done over 20 dives and most of them have been below 40m inside a wreck so that is what i enjoy and want to continue doing so i am confused as to why she didnt offer a bp/w as it is obviously the logical choice

 

[FireInMyBones]

...i have done over 20 dives and most of them have been below 40m inside a wreck so that is what i enjoy and want to continue doing...

Just curious, do you have your advanced card? I will not herold on the potential issues, but offer warning. Please be careful. Diving does have its risks. We want you to be safe in your diving career, especially early on.

As great as it is to be on dives with more experienced buddies, make sure that you are not following them outside the scope of your training and comfort.

 

[disrupta]

i have my advanced card now but not when i did those dives (i dove the ss coolidge in vanuatu down to depths of 30m-65m 2 weeks after doing my OW) it i completely understand how dangerous it was which is why i am now focusing on training and getting more experience on shallower dives

 

[diver 85]

Get a BP/W(off the internet) & probably save yourself several hundreds of dollars down the road---PLUS you'll LOVE it in the meantime....I'd give Tobin a call @ DSS or Edd @ Cave Adventurers, they can/will treat you right...

This is something you can 'drylab' IMO....

 

[TSandM]

You know, the biggest reason for the change to a backplate is to carry double tanks. If you are diving a single tank, and have a well-fitted BC that permits the use of trim weights to balance your rig fore and aft, you can do a lot of wreck diving just fine. But the split fins are a bad deal, and in MY opinion, ought to be replaced sooner rather than later. Wrecks are full of silt, and splits are extremely bad for minimizing silt, because it's quite difficult to place the water flow behind them in a precise fashion. Blowing the viz inside a wreck is one of the easiest ways to get into a great deal of trouble very quickly.

The Titan regulators are good regulators, and will serve you extremely well for single tank diving, but the hose routing with them is not at all good for doubles.

My husband, bless his heart, does all his tech and cave diving with a Cobra. He points out proudly (and, I have to admit, correctly) that the smooth, curved surface of the Cobra make it far more difficult for it to get caught up in line.

I would join the chorus that, as is unfortunately usual, your (probably purely recreationally oriented) local dive shop did a really bad job of advising you on equipment suitable to your interests, but I'd guess a very good one in advising you into gear they would make a profit on . . .

 

[DevonDiver]

Just curious, do you have your advanced card?

It's stated in the OP's first post..

.... i didnt dive much this year but have recently done an advanced adventurer course with ssi....

SSI Advanced Adventurer equates to the PADI AOW course. Recommended max depth is 30m. Deep course recommended max is 40m.

In line with most agencies recommendations, recreational divers shouldn't penetrate an overhead environment more than 30m linear distance (depth + penetration) from the surface.

 

[DevonDiver]

i have done over 20 dives and most of them have been below 40m inside a wreck

I don't want to divert the thread off-topic, or sound patronizing, but I would like to point out that your stated experience is extremely minimal for you to be carrying out wreck penetrations below 40m. I apologise in advance if I am making presumptions... I just base this advice on what you have stated as your training and diving experience in this thread.

That's a pretty advanced diving activity...and it needs a lot of skill, experience and knowledge to minimize the considerable risks involved. Just because you're getting back to the surface after these dives, doesn't mean you were diving safely. Many novice divers don't appreciate certain risks - the old adage "you don't know what you don't know" can often apply.

The scuba agencies (all of them) make strong recommendations about depth limits and penetration into overhead enviroments. Those recommendations are for very good reasons. Are you aware that you are exceeding those recommendations?

Just because it 'feels the same' at 40m doesn't mean it is. A small incident at that depth, leading to elevated SAC can see your tank emptied in less than a minute. A freeflow or lead can train the tank in less than 30 secs. Narcosis is present... but you won't probably be crippled by it until the excrement hits the fan... by which time it is too late. A small delay in ascent...can start a chain situation where each minute of delay adds exponentially to your emergency decompression. At the same time, each minute of that delay reduces the air you have available to complete that decompression.

Having completed over 4000 dives, with tech instructor certifications, I would still take 40m+ wreck penetration extremely seriously. It's taken me a lot of time, training and dives to get to a point where I fully understand the dangers of a dive like this...and have the preparation, knowledge, equipment and procedures to deal with those dangers...

Just some thinking points...10 simple questions for deep wreck diving:

1) What is your contingency for rapid gas loss at depth (whilst penetrated)?
2) What gas redundancy do you have?
3) What pre-penetration risk assessment do you perform? Criteria?
4) What buddy procedures do you use?
5) What reel/line procedures do you use?
6) What is your 'rock bottom' gas management? On what cylinder?
7) What decompression procedures do you use? Which algorythm/software?
8) What are your average and accelerated SAC rates? How do they fit into your air plan and gas management?
9) What rule/method do you use to dictate your turn-point?
10) What specific wreck penetration skills, drill and procedures do you practice?

I can guarantee one thing. When you do finally get to a stage where you are completeing technical decompression and wreck training... and you finally learn the dangers involved...and what you should be doing.... you will look back at these dives and wonder what the hell crazy risks you were taking!

Just don't have an accident ok? On the dives you describe, the tolerances for even a small glitch are very low..and will rapidly spiral into life/health threatening incidents. You are the master of your own fate, but please be realistic about your capabilties and make sure you are fully educated about the real risks that you would choose to take.

If you ever find yourself with the opportunity to visit the Philippines, lets go dive some battleships together...

Lecture over... taking my wreck/tech instructor hat off again now..

 

[The Chairman]

The one thing that most miss printing (save the lovely Lynn) is fit and comfort. You want to do tech? Great. Don't sacrifice fit and comfort as a new diver to be an instant "tech-wannabe" now. In fact, I would suggest that you completely wear out a BC before you actually go tech.

Let's face it, if you buy a BP and wing... you're still gonna need another wing when you go doubles, or a whole new system if you go side mount. There are a ton of options out there now, and more will be available if/when you finally go tech. So better to get a traditional BC (though I would recommend a back inflate like a Zeagle Express Tech), any set of regs and any PDC, AS LONG AS they fit you and you feel comfortable with them.

IOW, don't let yourself be pushed into tech too quickly. Enjoy your current level of diving and garner lots of dives and experience. Be assured, if you wear techie gear, people are going to expect you to dive like a techie and understand techie concepts. That would a case of guilt by association.

 

[tbone1004]

I somewhat agree with Pete, but that's why I love the Transpac. You can dive it like a jacket BC and a new doubles wing is much cheaper than buying a whole new harness. That way you can start getting used to the SS D-rings on your shoulders, and the empty front area. If you get the transpac, it'll easily allow you to do doubles, and the switch to sidemount is easy with the Nomad conversion.

I think the biggest thing for me at least against what you were recommended is the computer. An AI computer from day one without a SPG is not good especially for the price of those computers. I use a Cressi Archimede II and it is a really great computer for a whole lot of stuff. Sure it's not air integrated, but it's also under $300 USD from Leisurepro... Can't complain about that. I know PADI is doing away with the tables, which bothers me, but having an AI is a real hindrance to learning because it calculates your remaining bottom time for you which is crap. Especially wanting to go into tech eventually, you NEED to know how to calculate your SAC and in turn get your bottom time based off of your sac and planned depth. The AI computers do all of this for you. Not so often you see tech guys with AI PC's and certainly not ones that are integrated into a console. All of a sudden it floods or your battery dies and you have no idea how much air you have left.

I don't know what BC they're selling you, but if it's the Aqualung Balance you'll be much better off than a jacket. It's backinflate, has metal D-rings on the shoulders, and will make a pretty good travel BC for you * I took a transpac and full travel gear as a carryon though, so each his own*
Big problem with those jackets is since they are marketed at the rec community, they generally are the same price or sometimes more than a good BP/W, so if you get the Transpac you're getting the best of both worlds, and it's a win win for everyone involved.