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Thanks to everyone who has chimed in so far. Given the overall lack of SM instructors locally, I'm relaxing that requirement and thinking about taking the classes from Mel Clark. My instructor at Protec Tulum knows her, so that helps a bit with communication and expectations. She also teaches...

Thanks for clarifying on Fundies with SM. I know GUE has been more accepting of SM as of late, and whoever told me that must have been taking it too far...

Correct,Tech pass is required for advanced training, regrettably. However, I have heard that Fundies can be taken in sidemount now, but I haven't gotten that directly from GUE, so don't quote me on that one.

Thanks, I will look him up. Sadly I won't be doing any diving in Canada (or anywhere) until the present pandemic clears up.

In February I went to Protec and completed both Sidemount and Intro to Cave, but before I return next January for Full Cave I would like to get through AN/DP. Does anyone here have recommendations for a solid instructor here in Washington State who knows sidemount and can teach at a tech level...

Thanks for the insight, and yes, I'd ecstatic if I squeezed in that much diving before the batteries gave out :) The lumen falloff during longer dives is a bit more worrisome though, because I do plan to go back for advanced nitrox and stage training, so there would possibly be a point where...

Hi everyone, During my Into to Cave course my Big Blue 4800 canister light bit the big one... As it is discontinued, Big Blue cannot repair it (they are giving me a new TL8000P, so not complaining), but for cave diving I really want another canister light. My ideal canister light would be...

Hi Folks, One of my dive buddies wants to transition to cold water diving, but doesn't want to commit to a drysuit until she's sure it's worth it. In wet neoprene she can only manage one dive a day, so I'm looking a close sites to cut down travel overhead. Yale Reservoir (Yale Park) and...

Thanks, that's a fair answer.

I've gone back and forth on whether to take fundies. I've read Beyond the Daylight Zone and borrowed heavily from it (canister light, 7ft hose, no dangling gear), but clearly if we could learn everything from manuals we wouldn't have instructors, so I can't claim to be anything beyond GUE...

All classes have been via PADI thus far (all that my local shop offers), but SM and Cave will be conducted under TDI/PSAI (my choice), so I expect training will be conducted much more rigorously. With PADI I have Rescue, Nitrox, and Self-Reliant, which in my mind equates to what should have...

I end up with heavy feet if I do that with a longer tank, so I average the difference instead (not necessary with 117's). A trim weight helps, but not enough unless I use more than a couple of pounds. And since I end up in some weird contortions while shooting photos I keep my drysuit...

It's definitely good to have options, and my present kit supports twinsets, so I could see going there at some point, especially if the boat captain dislikes SM. I rented 133's last weekend and kept whacking my head in a single configuration, which turned me off on the height, but I guess that...

First off, congratulations on the new family member! Second, diving with you would be great, but I want to clarify that I am taking my SM and Cave course with Protec this January, so I'm not quite tec certified yet :) I do presently dive BP/W with a single and pony, and manage my drysuit...

Agree about helium at Sund--meant that I go by frequently and so could pick up for other dives :) I'm familiar with Flag Pole and Pulali, but not Rosie's Ravine, I'll have to look it up. And yes, the AL80s are for rec dives or stage bottles. I toyed with ordering 133's, but at 5' 9" I'm a bit...

I'm already working on my cylinder collection, with two AL80's lined up in addition to the 117's (and yes, I realize I will end up with many, many more). I didn't realize that Hoodsport and Dive did helium, which is good to know as I drive by often heading to Sund Rock. In the end, I expect I...

Hmmm...I'm pretty set on using ProTec for training, but I'm heading up the Horseshoe bay next month to dive, so I'll be sure to talk to the folks a Sea Dragon about who dives SM there; maybe I'll find some new buddies :)

I'm down near Vancouver, so almost to Oregon. And yes, without helium I'm stuck at the shallow end of deep diving :( Even with Extended Range being a viable class, I don't relish the notion of being that narced at 180fsw. Provided I can get my hands on some helium, what constituted 'a...

Thanks, I just placed an order for HP117's with my local shop, so I will have some steels to play with. There aren't too many SM instructors up here that I've found, but I'm getting to know a couple of tec divers who use the Stealth, so hopefully they will be willing to let me tag along on a...

It's mostly a matter of preference, I think. In my case I am also right-handed, have my computer on my right wrist, and just keep the light on my right hand the entire dive (exception being when I need to access my right pocket, then the light gets clipped off while still burning.)