What is tech diving???

[MSilvia]

Why ?

Because, for example, it's easier to say, "Does your shop offer any technical diver training?" than it is to say, "Does your shop offer training for cave diving, wreck penetration, DPV piloting, rebreathers, staged decompression, gas blending, trimix, heliox, nitrox mixes >EAN40, and that sort of stuff?"

As another example, if someone said, "I want to become a more knowledgable and skilled diver, but I don't want to become an instructor and I've pretty much maxed out the non-pro training opportunities at my local shop." I might ask them if they've considered getting into any sort of technical diving.

Sometimes (not always) it's useful to have a catchall term for "diving beyond recreational limits", and "technical diving" rolls off the tongue pretty easily. If the gist is all you need to communicate, a litany of specific advanced diving methods isn't necessary. Obviously, "Hey Bob, let's go technical diving this weekend!" isn't very meaningful, because it doesn't communicate what it is you have in mind.

 

[MSilvia]

i will try and see how far i can get with a slow steady pace and hopefully i will be able to become a tech diver one day... if not i sure will have fun trying..
-Gonzo...

Good attitude!

 

[diver 85]

move to Florida-it'll be alot easier......

 

[Mattleycrue76]

Gonzo

Like yourself I became fascinated with the possibility of technical diving very soon after my open water cert. The important thing to remember is that when on a technical dive you will have to deal with a great number of things that will require your attention (bandwith). So you should become proficient in basic skills like buoyancy to the point where they are second nature before adding more taskload.

Most agencies offer some version of Intro to Tech which is a class set in shallow water that will show you where the bar is set for technical diving. You can take this class fairly soon into your diving career and get an idea of
a) whether this type of diving is for you and
b) where the bar is. If you don't meet the standards yet you know what you need to
work towards.
And either way it should prove useful to your set of diving skills

Here is my most important piece of advice:

Do not buy gear yet. Do some research and you will find that for the same amount you'll spend on OW gear you can purchase gear that is just as good for basic open water but will also serve you well later on if you decide to go the "tech" route. Generally speaking if you take a PADI OW class and buy the gear they teach you to be standard and then you want to go into tech diving you'll find yourself rebuying alot of gear.

 

[muddiver]

Walter has a point, the term Technical Diving is really just a subset of Recreational Diving, but it is a term used to encompus all the diving beyond the standard Basic/Open Water SCUBA limits. What is funny, and I think I know where Walter is coming from, is that a lot of the techniques and equipment that are labled Tech, are used in the other clearly defined diving dicsiplines (i.e. Commercial Diving, Military Diving, Scientific Diving, Public Safety Diving).

 

[MSilvia]

Sure, he has a point, and I think it's both valid and unimportant. It's a term in common usage, and I don't see it going away anytime soon. Arguing against it, IMHO, is a waste of breath. You might as well argue that flammable and inflammable shouldn't mean the same thing, for all the good it'll do.

Personally, I use the term technical diving to describe any diving (for non-professional purposes) beyond what is traditionally taught by recreational agencies... that is, any dive planned to be deeper than 130', planned to overstay NDLs and incur a deco obligation, using open circuit gasses other than EAN<40, using a closed-circuit system, entering overhead environments where immediate exit to the surface is not possible, etc. The distinction is not always clear, as with ice diving, but I'm comfortable with using an imperfect term.

 

[Gombessa]

Sure, he has a point, and I think it's both valid and unimportant.

I agree. Though it may be both overinclusive and underinclusive at the fringes, I think "technical" diving is still pretty clear, and serves its intended purpose to distinguish more advanced forms of sport diving than what 99% of people know and engage in.

Nitpicking at it just doesn't seem like a fight worth having.

 

[scubadada]

Hi Gonzo G22,

Take a step back, take a deep breath, finish your OW certification and then get in some dives. Later, take inventory and consider additional training such as AOW and Rescue and, most importanty, get in some more dives. Tech diving may or may not be right for you, take the time, smell the roses, make an informed decision when the time is right. You have a long diving career before you, enjoy it.

Good diving, Craig

 

[Atomic_Diver]

 

[mdb]

Nitpicking at it just doesn't seem like a fight worth having.

It is not worth the back and forth. The "TECH DIVERS" seem to love the term.

Diving is diving, some go deep, dive on interesting wrecks, do caves and other overhead dives, play in the kelp, dive off "live"boats, drift dive, and on and on.

Dive within your comfort level and training.