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I did not expect this project to actually proceed. I fully thought my fellow cave instructors and guides were being alarmist and reactionary. Think about that: I thought people were being reactionary. (For those of you who don't know me... I'm pretty bloody reactionary.) "A train? Through...

Agree with a great deal of what you say. This is the one thing... Yeah, sidemount is cool and all. And I'm not to get all preachy about one system over the other because they're both fun. But you could dive a lifetime here on backmount and barely ever see the same cave twice. Many have...

Another vote to please avoid being tantalized by the idea of “zero to hero”. Longer thoughts on this quagmire here if you are so inclined to read: https://www.xoc-ha.com/post/zero-to-hero Other than that, some good info by posters above. One thing I’d add is that Speleotech has been closed...

That's not what an IP gauge does. An IP gauge tests the tuned output of the first stage. To test cracking pressure of a second stage what you want is a magnehelic. Dual Pro Stand, 5-0-5 Magnehelic, IP Gauge, Four SpinOn Adapters For work of breathing of the second stage you'll want an ANSTI...

If you are so inclined, you might consider meditating on the irony of this sentence.

“I’ve never seen a failure: ergo failures don’t exist.” Yep. Logic seems airtight.

There are some o-rings I buy by the literal hundreds. Well... to be fair... just the 003 for HP spools. The LP hose o-rings I only buy by the dozens.

Yes. Yes. For non-primary regs that are supposed to be turned off and forgotten about and not really supposed to be breathed through. Breath through a high performance reg at 100ft/30M. Then breath through a complete POS at 100ft/30M. Now put one of those shutoffs on your high performance...

Ah, I see, so no malicious editing nor censorship. In that case... The left post that can't be accessed by anyone at all during the dive in case of first-stage failure (and certainly not the diver wearing this... stuff) The "manifolded" second stage which, as mentioned by several, is botched...

So I pointed out that this setup is patently absurd. And arguably dangerous. While I lack the decades of experience of the person who invented this batty nonsense... I do have decades of experience. And, I'd safely venture, many more dives and bottom time despite my comparatively shorter age...

Every time I've tried to do that in the past the formatting goes absolutely haywire and I have to re-enter all the line and paragraph breaks.

https://www.xoc-ha.com/post/master-of-one-s-domain

Make sure you've got the right battery type selected after the change as it restarts. If you use an alkaline battery, but the computer sets itself to lithium it will behave exactly as you describe.

It's worthwhile to note that of all the poor decisions and demonstrable lack of control that contributed to this tragedy (to the lengths of causing it), every single thing that happened taken independently is done by DMs, instructors, shops, and agencies around the world. This was a...

Skills to be learned as a cave diver: Buoyancy & Stability Clear winner: Mexico. There's little-to-no flow, so you don't need to kick. Constantly kicking can hide buoyancy and stability issues, whereas holding completely still in placcid water exposes all. Flow Clear winner: Florida. There's...

Unfortunately, sometimes the answer is, "No one." https://www.xoc-ha.com/post/follow-up-the-quest

Pro Tip (which may or may not be in the video, I dunno, I haven't watched it): Before removing your old webbing use a silver or gold sharpie to mark each turn. Where it goes through slots, where all the d-rings or triglides are, etc. Then lay your old webbing out on the ground next to the new...

It’s a bit of an overstatement that every cenote is 30 feet, but not too far off. That said: 32% is the norm here. 55% as a gas is super weird. If it was just a giant piece of tape (masking or not) and all it said was “55” I’m gonna +1 the theory it was an MOD sticker for 21/35 or...

And this is why I am so grateful that Gareth Lock is out there pushing some really useful and progressive ideas. Once upon a time it was all well and good to say, "It was human error," or "It was a medical incident," or "They should have known better." But we're beyond that now. We have the...

I rarely teach just a cavern course. As Tom noted, the course is increasingly being relegated to more of a "recreational" level safety course than proper, extensive overhead training. Even when people have asked about Cavern I tend to suggest that they aim at Intro (and then teach the Cavern...