Advice For Getting Into Tech Diving

[Bigeclipse]

All,
Let me start by saying I love diving! Since day one I have loved all aspects. Recently I have really been getting into wreck diving. I find old wrecks so much more exciting than reef diving (although I still do love the reefs). Anyways, I have always envisioned myself going into technical diving. Do I think I am ready? I do feel I could be fully capable to get into technical diving but I know I do have some hurdles to climb before getting there. So far I am PADI trained OW, AOW, Deep Diver and Nitrox certified. I have about 60 dives under my belt, about half of which were in deeper (75-120ft) fresh water cold (40F-55F) dives with mediocre visibility which I believe does strengthen my skill set a bit more than a diver in nice tropical waters. I have been diving hogarthian style singles rig with a dry suit for about 1.5 years now. According to PADI criteria, I simply need to make 3 more deep nitrox dives to have their criteria met for Tech 40. However, I do not intend on doing those 3 dives and then simply jumping into the course. I still need to start diving doubles and getting comfortable with them...etc. I believe I will end up doing my Tech 40 class sometime next year which will give me a full summer of diving with doubles while getting some more nitrox deeper dives under my belt. Is there any other considerations I should have? I am in upstate NY. Any areas I should consider looking for an instructor? I have found a couple in the NJ area. I would prefer to stay with PADI as that is what I know but it is certainly not a deal breaker to go outside of PADI. Thanks.

 

[stuartv]

I started TDI Intro to Tech + Advanced Nitrox + Decompression Procedures (basically, 3 courses combined) last August. I had about the same number of dives as you have now. I had no prior experience diving with doubles. Thanks to people's schedules and the arrival of winter shutting down local training sites, I haven't finished the course yet. I am slated for my final checkout dives in 24 days. Yaay!!

Part of the course was teaching me how to dive doubles. There are skills and procedures that are specific to diving doubles that I am glad to have gotten formal instruction in before I went out and started diving with doubles.

So, ultimately, the answer is probably to find the instructor you want to use and ask them how to proceed. From what some people have posted on here, they say they wouldn't accept a student for tech training that isn't already comfortable diving in doubles. Obviously, others, like my current instructor, feel differently. My instructor's philosophy has been to take me from pure single tank open water diver all the way to competent tech diver, mentoring me himself the whole way - and taking as long as it takes. I like that better than the idea of being expected to figure out some parts of tech diving (like diving doubles) on my own before I start formal tech training.

I would not just make the assumption that you should start diving doubles and do that for a summer before you start with formal training. Maybe you should. Maybe you shouldn't. The instructor you are going to train with should probably be the final authority on that.

Personally, I am glad to have gotten formal training on diving doubles before I started actually doing it.

 

[boulderjohn]

So, ultimately, the answer is probably to find the instructor you want to use and ask them how to proceed. From what some people have posted on here, they say they wouldn't accept a student for tech training that isn't already comfortable diving in doubles. Obviously, others, like my current instructor, feel differently.

Good advice.

Like someone who is driving a car on a long trip, a good instructor knows where you need to end up, so when the instructor sees where you are now, he or she can plan the best route to the destination. If you were to come to me with the qualifications you describe, I would happily take you on board. Ideally, I would be with you for at least one of the dives you still need for qualification so I can give you good advice. Each student is different, and each student is handled differently.

Pick an instructor carefully. That instructor should be an active tech diver, not someone who qualified some time ago and only does it when a student shows up. That instructor should have an instructional approach that fits you--some people really like the hard core drill sergeant approach, while other prefer the more patient, "don't worry, you'll get it in time" attitude. You should have some proximity to that instructor--it should not be too hard to get together. It would be great if you could have easy proximity to a training site, even a pool, to work on skills. Some of them, especially valve shutdowns, can take a long time to master.

Good luck!

 

[Bigeclipse]

I started TDI Intro to Tech + Advanced Nitrox + Decompression Procedures (basically, 3 courses combined) last August. I had about the same number of dives as you have now. I had no prior experience diving with doubles. Thanks to people's schedules and the arrival of winter shutting down local training sites, I haven't finished the course yet. I am slated for my final checkout dives in 24 days. Yaay!!

Part of the course was teaching me how to dive doubles. There are skills and procedures that are specific to diving doubles that I am glad to have gotten formal instruction in before I went out and started diving with doubles.

So, ultimately, the answer is probably to find the instructor you want to use and ask them how to proceed. From what some people have posted on here, they say they wouldn't accept a student for tech training that isn't already comfortable diving in doubles. Obviously, others, like my current instructor, feel differently. My instructor's philosophy has been to take me from pure single tank open water diver all the way to competent tech diver, mentoring me himself the whole way - and taking as long as it takes. I like that better than the idea of being expected to figure out some parts of tech diving (like diving doubles) on my own before I start formal tech training.

I would not just make the assumption that you should start diving doubles and do that for a summer before you start with formal training. Maybe you should. Maybe you shouldn't. The instructor you are going to train with should probably be the final authority on that.

Personally, I am glad to have gotten formal training on diving doubles before I started actually doing it.

Fortunately my PADI instructor dives doubles and is tech certified but he is not a tech instructor himself. He said he would be happy to get me into diving doubles, starting in the pool etc. so I do have someone with experience in that arena. thanks for the info!

 

[Colliam7]

I have been diving hogarthian style singles rig with a dry suit for about 1.5 years now. According to PADI criteria, I simply need to make 3 more deep nitrox dives to have their criteria met for Tech 40. However, I do not intend on doing those 3 dives and then simply jumping into the course. I still need to start diving doubles and getting comfortable with them...etc. I believe I will end up doing my Tech 40 class sometime next year which will give me a full summer of diving with doubles while getting some more nitrox deeper dives under my belt.

It appears that you are working wisely to gain some good experience to prepare you for success in tec training.

Before I pursued technical dive training, I wanted to be sure I was comfortable with the equipment that I would be using. This specifically included a) a backplate / wing rig, b) drysuit diving, and c) doubles diving. I also wanted to be comfortable with depth, and with gases other than air.

My Enriched Air Diver certification dive (2/2) was #29. My first drysuit dive was #31. My first BP/W (and long hose) dive was # 50. I realized that diving a single cylinder in a drysuit was requiring a LOT of weight, and that my comfortably fitting, but VERY floaty / positively buoyant Zeagle Ranger was not the optimal rig for managing my weight requirements. So, I switched to a SS BP/W. My Deep Diver certification dive (4/4) was #79. My first doubles dive was #194. My first technical training dive was #200. So, by the time I started tec training, I was very comfortable with my drysuit and with my BP/W, and I had at least a modicum of experience with doubles – IOW my first doubles dive was not also my first tec training dive. And, I had Deep and Nitrox certifications.

From your description, it appears that you already have some good drysuit and BP/W experience, and you are going to accrue some doubles experience before starting. In the minds of some, that may be a 2-edged sword. One concern I hear from time to time is that you don't want to develop bad habits before starting your training, that then have to be corrected in the course. I look at it from the opposite perspective. I know that, if I had started diving a drysuit, and a BP/W, and double cylinders at the same time I started tec training, I probably would have never finished the training! That would have been task overload.

Is there any other considerations I should have?

1) If you have not already, you may wish to consider getting a pony bottle,and start using it on essentially every dive to gain experience with its effects on trim (minimal), and to get used to gas switching. I started using a 40cf pony bottle on dive #86, and practiced gas switching numerous times before starting tec. In hindsight, I wish i had also practiced with a slung AL80 as well. But, the main thing I benefited from was becoming comfortable carrying a slung bottle, and using it; 2) I also practiced calculating my SAC, beginning with dive #60. That will do a couple of things. It will give you a rough idea of what your gas consumption is, and may give you a picture of how it changes over time as you approach the start of tec training in a year.

I did solicit information and help, with regard to setting up my doubles, from the owner of the shop where I did my OW, AOW, Deep, Nitrox, etc. He was a technical diver and, by that time, was also a friend / dive buddy. He turned out to be my tec instructor. But, I didn’t go to him because he was going to be my instructor, rather because he was really the only technical / doubles diver I knew at the time.

I am in upstate NY. Any areas I should consider looking for an instructor? I have found a couple in the NJ area. I would prefer to stay with PADI as that is what I know but it is certainly not a deal breaker to go outside of PADI. Thanks.

I cannot address specific instructors in your area. I can say that I am a bit biased - my original tec training was PADI (then it was Tech Level 1 and Tech Deep), and my current tec teaching is PADI (Tec 40 / 45 / 50), and I think the program is excellent. But, I also think that my instructor made a lot of difference in the outcome of my training, and I suspect he would have contributed to a similar outcome within the program of another agency.

 

[Bigeclipse]

It appears that you are working wisely to gain some good experience to prepare you for success in tec training.

Before I pursued technical dive training, I wanted to be sure I was comfortable with the equipment that I would be using. This specifically included a) a backplate / wing rig, b) drysuit diving, and c) doubles diving. I also wanted to be comfortable with depth, and with gases other than air.

My Enriched Air Diver certification dive (2/2) was #29. My first drysuit dive was #31. My first BP/W (and long hose) dive was # 50. I realized that diving a single cylinder in a drysuit was requiring a LOT of weight, and that my comfortably fitting, but VERY floaty / positively buoyant Zeagle Ranger was not the optimal rig for managing my weight requirements. So, I switched to a SS BP/W. My Deep Diver certification dive (4/4) was #79. My first doubles dive was #194. My first technical training dive was #200. So, by the time I started tec training, I was very comfortable with my drysuit and with my BP/W, and I had at least a modicum of experience with doubles – IOW my first doubles dive was not also my first tec training dive. And, I had Deep and Nitrox certifications.

From your description, it appears that you already have some good drysuit and BP/W experience, and you are going to accrue some doubles experience before starting. In the minds of some, that may be a 2-edged sword. One concern I hear from time to time is that you don't want to develop bad habits before starting your training, that then have to be corrected in the course. I look at it from the opposite perspective. I know that, if I had started diving a drysuit, and a BP/W, and double cylinders at the same time I started tec training, I probably would have never finished the training! That would have been task overload. 1) If you have not already, you may wish to consider getting a pony bottle,and start using it on essentially every dive to gain experience with its effects on trim (minimal), and to get used to gas switching. I started using a 40cf pony bottle on dive #86, and practiced gas switching numerous times before starting tec. In hindsight, I wish i had also practiced with a slung AL80 as well. But, the main thing I benefited from was becoming comfortable carrying a slung bottle, and using it; 2) I also practiced calculating my SAC, beginning with dive #60. That will do a couple of things. It will give you a rough idea of what your gas consumption is, and may give you a picture of how it changes over time as you approach the start of tec training in a year.

I did solicit information and help, with regard to setting up my doubles, from the owner of the shop where I did my OW, AOW, Deep, Nitrox, etc. He was a technical diver and, by that time, was also a friend / dive buddy. He turned out to be my tec instructor. But, I didn’t go to him because he was going to be my instructor, rather because he was really the only technical / doubles diver I knew at the time. I cannot address specific instructors in your area. I can say that I am a bit biased - my original tec training was PADI (then it was Tech Level 1 and Tech Deep), and my current tec teaching is PADI (Tec 40 / 45 / 50), and I think the program is excellent. But, I also think that my instructor made a lot of difference in the outcome of my training, and I suspect he would have contributed to a similar outcome within the program of another agency.

Thanks for all the advice. Sounds like you ended up having quite a few more dives than I did before getting into tech so I may have a ways to go. I do feel comfortable using my longhose setup and drysuit, but who knows how long it will take me to get comfortable in a doubles setup. I want to do it right and of course I want to be safe.

 

[bumcikaz]

Get a second job, going tech will get expensive..

 

[H2Ocaver]

Good advice from everyone so far, the only thing I would add is to decide if you are headed toward trimix. If so, then don't take an Advanced Nitrox course. Instead, take some form of Recreational trimix (IANTD A.R.T. is one) get started on the basics of three gasses to plan for and use. This is just a suggestion, I have seen a few people who wish they went that route instead of Adv Nx.-Eric

 

[KevinNM]

The key foundation elements that tech instructors I have worked with stress is the ability to maintain buoyancy and trim while working on a somewhat complex other task. Drysuits, doubles and bottles make it more complex, so if you can't do it without them you are unlikely to be able to do it with them.

 

[eelnoraa]

how about first take an Intro to Tech, UTD tech essential, GUE fundamental type of class. They prepare you be successful in a tech class. They aren't cheap, but it is heck lot cheaper than a tech class which you may or may not be ready for.

Yeah, tech diving will be expansive. Drysuit(s), lights, regulators, tanks... And the ongoing cost, gas you breath on each dive will cost well beyond $100. The cost of a good class will seem like peanuts and well worth the money.