Intro to Tech Diving

[Tigerpaw]

I have just completed my 100th dive!!!

I also have numerous certs and I'm at the point where I'm curious about tech diving enough that I am thinking about taking an Intro to Tech class. I know that I DON'T want to be a cave diver nor use Trimex. In addition to sidemount, what would be some good tech courses to take that don't require a rebreather?

Also, long story short, I have a coupon for a Padi course and I'm thinking about taking their Intro to Tech followed up by taking the TDI course. Looking for your comments on this as well. Thanks.

 

[loosenit2]

In technical diving, much more than recreational diving, the instructor is much more important than the agency. TDI has many fine instructors teaching under their banner and their academic program is very good. You can also get a very good foundation taking GUE fundamentals or UTD Essentials, but those agencies are much more prescriptive in their approaches. Since you are in Texas you may look up RAID as well, they are a Texas based agency with a good reputation. PADI is really fairly new to the technical diving community and as such is much less developed.

I would look to local instructors first though. A good local instructor will have built a technical diving community that they will introduce you to. Finding like minded divers who you can dive with frequently is just as important as a good instructor.

I would recommend trying local first and using an intro to tech course as an opportunity to ”interview“ instructors and see if their teaching style and approach works for you and they have a following of folks that you would enjoy diving with. A good technical instructor will do much more than just teach you a course, the good ones will become long term mentors and friends, mine did.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

If you are in the Houston area I know a good tech instructor for you.

 

[Wibble]

This thread has recently discussed the move to technical diving

Wreck (external) vs Deep Specialty with/following AOW

What are your eventual goals? Deep is...a good one to have and essential if you plan on pushing your diving past the tropical vacation diver model. My goals are effectively the opposite of the tropical vacation diver. I actually got into diving with the intent to do deep cold and full...

scubaboard.com

 

[Tigerpaw]

Thank you so much! I have also inquired about GUE Fundamentals as well.

 

[sheeper]

I have just completed my 100th dive!!!

I also have numerous certs and I'm at the point where I'm curious about tech diving enough that I am thinking about taking an Intro to Tech class. I know that I DON'T want to be a cave diver nor use Trimex. In addition to sidemount, what would be some good tech courses to take that don't require a rebreather?

Also, long story short, I have a coupon for a Padi course and I'm thinking about taking their Intro to Tech followed up by taking the TDI course. Looking for your comments on this as well. Thanks.

Intro to Tech should cover the tech mindset, gear configs, and (the most important part part) basic tech skills, problem solving, and emergency skills. Tech diving covers a LOT of different things. It is much more than caves, or wrecks, or deep dives. One of the best tech dives i did was a 3 hour rebreather dive on 60 foot reefs! Tech diving is about exceeding recreational limits.
Intro should help you refine some skills and give you a taste of some new tech skills. It is important to find the right instructor. I have seen too many so-called tech instructors that have little real tech diving experience. Personally (as a multi-agency instructor), i prefer TDI as that agency has pioneered and defined technical diving.

 

[A4DOG]

I just enrolled in the " Intro to Tech" TDI course a week or so ago. I just want to learn and be a safer diver and buddy. I have over 200 dives some in cold west coast and upper east coast conditions. Murky conditions and night diving. The favorite is warm water resort diving. Been to 100 feet many times. As experienced Adv. Open Water, I thought I knew! LOL ! I didn't know squat! The point that is grabbing me is the lack of redundant air supply or emergency planning most of us recreation divers don't even think about. The more I learn, the less faith I have in the recreational diver buddy's octopus coming to my timely aid in a complete failure of my system. Tech course will teach you the "Numbers". SAC, RMV, planned dive time, etc.. All great things to learn. Plus even after this TEC cert. I will be rec diving with redundancy. I highly reccommend Intro to TEC as a next step into anything beyond basic recreational 60' diving!

 

[Wibble]

I just enrolled in the " Intro to Tech" TDI course a week or so ago.

I just want to learn and be a safer diver and buddy.

Excellent reason for doing the Intro to Tech. More knowledge and better skills is a fine reason for doing the courses.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Good choice.
A dive planned just beyond NDL (hence with proper equipment, planning, logistics and training for deco stops) is definitely safer than a "recreational" dive conducted with lesser equipment, coarse planning and no deco training by a diver who "rides the NDL".
In the first case, if something delays the ascent by a few minutes, nothing harmful happens: simply the deco already planned will be a bit longer.
In the second case, if something causes to exceed the NDL, the diver is in a serious trouble. He is not equipped or trained for doing properly the now-required deco stops, and probably will make some errors risking a (moderate) DCS.
"Light deco" diving is definitely safer than "riding the NDL" at the same max depth.