What is tec diving?

[MauiScubaSteve]

I am a recreational dive instructor/guide. The most common Specialty cert for recreational divers is Nitrox (EANx). The vast majority of these Nitrox divers do not go on to become technical divers.

We dive a lot of caverns/lava tubes/swimthroughs here in Hawaii. The vast majority of divers in these overhead environments in Hawaii are just recreational divers following their recreational guide/instructors. The vast majority of these occasional overhead divers do not go on to become technical divers.

Nearly every rebreather dive I have done (21) there was no deco obligation, yet some would consider them to be technical dives. In my Intro to Cave course, we penetrated ~800' inside on 2 different dives with no deco obligation, and I only had a large single tank (Y-valve?), yet those are considered technical dives.

Rescue/recovery dives (muck dives) are often in shallow water with single tanks, no deco and no overhead restriction, but with 6" vis they are considered technical by many.

All I'm saying is it is hard to describe technical diving in one or two sentences and for the vast majority, tech diving is not the natural progression.

 

[Bismark]

If, by dropping names, your goal is to impress people you might not want one of those names to be Mark Ellyatt. It might have the opposite effect for some people.

quote]


I can hardly wait to hear his comments...............

 

[tomboyy]

I think Dive-aholic gave the most commonly accepted definition: Technical diving is diving under a virtual or real overhead. That means cave diving, wreck penetration, or incurring sufficient decompression obligation that a direct ascent to the surface is no longer an option.

Because of the risks incurred in putting yourself in a position where you CAN'T surface if you have a problem, most technical diving is done with some kind of redundant system, which most commonly means double tanks connected by some kind of manifold. Double tanks are generally used by bolting them to a rigid plate with a harness attached to it, rather than a soft, fabric BC. In addition, people who dive in overhead environments usually have a long hose attached to one of their regulators, so that they can exit through a narrow space while sharing gas. I assume this is the setup the guys in your LDS showed you.

Never assume

 

[S. starfish]

I hear the term thrown around a lot and while BC shopping my LDS DI showed me his BC and commented it was set up for "tec" diving.

So by now you've probably noticed that there is no official definition of technical diving. Suffice to say, technical diving is a level of diving in which the risk associated with the dive increases dramatically and in which gas planning and logistics as well as dive planning become more crucial and generally more complicated. That's about as general a definition as I can come up with, you can fill in the details with information from other posts.

The best analogy that I can come up with is that the difference between recreational and technical diving is kind of like the difference between hopping in your car and cruising around the suburbs and doing a long, off road trek through the mountains or desert or whatever. The basic principles are the same but the latter requires significantly more skill, knowledge and planning as well as different equipment.

It is important to note that just because some piece of equipment says TECH or TEK or something of the like doesn't meant that it is. Also, just because some employee of your LDS says that something is well suited for technical diving doesn't mean that is. Not that they're trying to trick you to get you buy something useless so you'll have to replace it, it just that when it comes to technical diving a lot of the dive community can't tell the difference between a sneeze and a wet fart, they only think they can.

 

[Blackwood]

Never assume

Without assumption, nothing would ever get done.

 

[almitywife]

.......It is important to note that just because some piece of equipment says TECH or TEK or something of the like doesn't meant that it is. ......

i once had a discussion with Larry from ScubaToys about this... at the end of the debate he said "but if you call it technical, you sell more of them"



cheers

 

[S. starfish]

i once had a discussion with Larry from ScubaToys about this... at the end of the debate he said "but if you call it technical, you sell more of them"



cheers

I don't doubt that for a minute.

 

[Bismark]

So by now you've probably noticed that there is no official definition of technical diving. Suffice to say, technical diving is a level of diving in which the risk associated with the dive increases dramatically and in which gas planning and logistics as well as dive planning become more crucial and generally more complicated. That's about as general a definition as I can come up with, you can fill in the details with information from other posts.

The best analogy that I can come up with is that the difference between recreational and technical diving is kind of like the difference between hopping in your car and cruising around the suburbs and doing a long, off road trek through the mountains or desert or whatever. The basic principles are the same but the latter requires significantly more skill, knowledge and planning as well as different equipment.

It is important to note that just because some piece of equipment says TECH or TEK or something of the like doesn't meant that it is. Also, just because some employee of your LDS says that something is well suited for technical diving doesn't mean that is. Not that they're trying to trick you to get you buy something useless so you'll have to replace it, it just that when it comes to technical diving a lot of the dive community can't tell the difference between a sneeze and a wet fart, they only think they can.

Especially not if it is called "tek" because that means they can't spell iether...

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Especially not if it is called "tek" because that means they can't spell iether...

That's either. Sorry. I couldn't resist.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

(nitrogen loading and fatigue is accepted by all to being reduced when using Nitrox

Actually, that is not accepted by all. I'm not sure which agency you took your Nitrox course with, but most clearly state in their books that there is no evidence to the fatigue point. It is, in fact a placebo that for some reason most divers on Scubaboard seem to believe, despite being taught the opposite. If you want to believe it, that is your choice.