Just some understandings

[Fishkiller]

I would hope that the members of this new TECH section would be able to help my grey matter grow in the area of Tech diving.

I have the understanding that Technical Diving is that that goes beyond the Recreational level of diving. Recreation diving can be described as diving in an enviroment that will allow direct ascent to the surface from any depth down to 130 feet.
So TECH diving would be that which would be diving in enviroments that don't allow direct ascent to the surface in overhead enviroments like caves, wrecks or depths below 130 feet.

So a good question to start with would be as a recreational diver what is involved with becoming a TECH diver? things like education special certifications etc.

 

[svs3]

1) intellegence - there's alot of info and opinions you will need to sort out and volumes of knowledge you will need to learn and understand

2) thick skin - as you can tell there is no shortage egos and opinions in tech diving. While there may indeed be no such thing as a stupid question if you ask one on one of the many tech diver forums you will find on shortage of divers willing to point out the stupidness of your question (and that's putting it mildly).

But, IMHO, the best thing you can get as aspiring tech diver is an apprenticeship (sp?) with an accomplished tech diver.

Peace,
Sam

 

[roakey]

Fishkiller, your statement about “helping the gray matter grow” is EXACTLY the first step to take. To be a good technical diver you have to be a good, independent thinker. You simply start reading as much as you can get your hands on, decompression, gear configuration, etc. from all the sites like IANTD, TDI, and GUE for example. Figure out what makes the most sense to you (my opinion is GUE, though there’s stuff to be learned from all). Ignore the language you’ll find in many technical posts and look for the information (unfortunately, sometimes there is no information, just a bunch of name-calling).

Above all, keep in mind that good technical diving is about the REDUCTION of risk, not taking risks. If your technical buddies are a bunch of cowboys, find new buddies.

Formally, I’d start with a Nitrox class. But instead of using the tables supplied, always figure out EAD, O2 exposure, etc. using the calculations. You’ll need to know the calculations later as your technical diving advances, and starting the repetition now will help cement the formulas into your long-term memory. Also start occasionally diving using the tables, rather than a dive computer to get comfortable planning your dives to a gnat’s posterior and adhering to that plan.

Subscribe to some of the technical mailing lists, but as I said be ready to wade through lots of insulting language; technical diving has no shortage of egos, which is the antithesis of what I preach, which is that technical diving should be an egoless team effort.

The Oxygen Hacker’s Companion is an excellent book to have on shelf for reference.

Longer term, cultivate a relationship with a shop that does Nitrox. If you ever advance to the point where you’re mixing your own, you’ll want a shop that’ll top off with full knowledge of what you’re doing rather than sneaking around.

Lastly, and most importantly, be ready for some expenses. Don’t waste money, but don’t cut corners either. If you know that you want to trilam dry suit eventually, ignore that great deal on the crushed neoprene one, it’ll simply be a waste of money in the long run. Buy things ONCE, and except for stuff you already own, NEVER think in terms of upgrading. Get what you need right out of the gate, it’s the cheapest way to “go technical.”

Kinda scattergun answers to your question, but I’m sure there’ll be a great discussion forthcoming!

Roak

 

[daylight]

Roakey,

I am in complete agreement with your comments. I have been in the data gathering mode for the last 1 1/2 years and am now proceeding into training.

Your recommendations all make sense especially the one pertaining to the "Oxygen Hackers Companion". I have found it to be an excellent resource.

Thanks again for sharing your commemts.

Larry

 

[Friggincold]

Is the first question you should ask yourself? What is the mission you wish to accomplish?Along with the information Roaky gave one of the best things I think you can do to prepare for tech training is get out and dive. I don't mean monthly I mean weekly saturday and sunday 2 or more dives each day. They don't need to be deep. Get as comfortable in the water as you can because when you start tech training you'll be humbled pretty quick by some of the skills that you will be asked to master.( a quick example of one skill is a helicopter turn 360 degree turn using no hands and maintaining the same depth) Cave diving material is also a good source of information although most is somewhat dated. GUE's book DIR Fundatmentals for starters is probably the most up to date information out there right now. Training course names vary between agencies so pick an agency. Most progress something like this nitrox, technical nitrox(extended range), trimix(level1&2). Avoid any mention of deep air training.. The training is long and hard but with effort you'll be able to see things few ever will. FC :cold:

 

[Diverl]

I have also been looking into technical diving and one of the resources I found was the GUE "Getting clear on the basics: The fundamentals of Technical Diving". All of the basics are covered. I found it easy to read and well written. It was well worth the $14.00.

I agree with the others in finding a technical diver to buddy with. They can probably teach you more about technical diving that you will learn from any book, and can help you master many of the physical and mental skills that you will need. When you are ready you will already have a technical diving buddy.

 

[100days-a-year]

FishKiller,Be aware this is an expensive game.I'd get all the info from the difft agencies about what equipment would be mandatory for the training phase.That alone will stop some folks(the ones who just want a card)
I'd then research just exactly what I could do with the certification and determine just exactly what it was I wanted to do.There are tremendous resources at Jim Cobbs Tri-mix site.Be aware also that 'Tech" divers are as advertised earlier prone to a lot of OCD behaviors(obsessiveness,controlling,shcismatism,vitriolic and bombastic diatribes about moot points)these are just a few .There are some really nice guys too.They tend sometimes to be quiet or even stand-offish.Take the time to cultivate some of these as friends.Just like an OW cert,there is a lot more learned from anothers experience than out of a book.I have learned more from one day at the shop or hanging out at a dive site with a more experienced diver than in weeks of class.There are a lot of cyber-divers out there(rare here ,thank goodness)who can quote every text but have idea how ridiculous they really sound.Avoid these guys.Good luck....

 

[Lost Yooper]

When I got into it, I asked myself three questions:

Who is the ultimate in the tech community?

Why?

Can I adopt their methods and philosophy for the diving I wish to do?


The trick to learning tech diving is figuring out who to learn from and being able to sift through the BS and pick out the valuable information. The are many out there who are willing to take the time and teach you a ton on open and public forums so long as you are willing to listen and not argue too much (question -- yes, argue -- no). I've come to respect and truly understand some of these people, and I continue to learn from them -- virtually on a daily basis for free.

There's a lot of misinformation and poor advice out there that can have it's fair share consequences. Hopefully you won't learn the hard way -- most do in some way or another.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[Fishkiller]

Would Technical Diving be considered a natural progression of Recreational Diving?

 

[Iguana Don]

"Would Technical Diving be considered a natural progression of Recreational Diving?"

NO, not at all, less than 1% of all certified divers get into "Technical Diving" Some don't want to, some don't belong.
It is not a natural progression.

The term "Technical Diving" is often misunderstood. A good friend (Walter) made me aware of this. There is wreck, cave, rebreather, nitrox, trimix, deep, decompression etc. These are all forms of "Technical Diving"

Pick one to start with, get REAL GOOD at it before even thinking about doing another one.

Everybody here has given execellent recomedations and have given some very good advice.

Hope we all have helped.

Take out a 2nd mortgage on your house!

ID