Discover Tec - is it worth it?

[SangP]

It sounds like a worth while experience. For those who have relativily few dives, this should shock you into realizing the amount and weight of the hardware that is involved. Just knowing what little info and skills presented in the allotted time is the tip of the iceburg,,,, it should make one think , this is not kansas anymore. The intro to a bp/w itself should be a treat in itself even if you dont persue the tech world. The presentations should will have those taking it doing a lot of post reaserch that can only make them better in the water, whether they stay rec or persue the tech path. it seams like a win win , expecially if you choose as result not to continue which makes the 99$ a cheep lesson in its self. An event like this, though promoting some and detering others, really has no down side.

I totally agree, the first time I wore a doubles bm I though I was back in the army with a field pack and gear.

$99 for usage and the experience isn't that big a deal however, you could also just go dive with some tech divers and see how they operate and if they are really nice you could even borrow their gear and experience first hand what a bp/w and tech rig is like.

The only downside could be that the shock of the weight with a bm doubles could dissuade the op from every using a bp/w again. A bp/w with a single tank is a great compact setup but also a great platform for tech and multi tank dives.

Good luck.

---------- Post added November 28th, 2012 at 08:51 AM ----------

yaeg, the idc/ie was fun but I'm really tempted to say it was too easy (i'm starting to wonder how/why you can possibly get certified as an instructor with less than 200 dives, but...) which is part of why I'm looking at getting some tech training. 1) as a reminder than I don't know everything (not even close) 2) so my skill-set is beyond what I'm qualified to teach. Aside from that, I want to get into wreck diving beyond what is taught in the padi wreck specialty at some point.

I'm also looking into options with GUE (and UTD) as has been suggested.

If you are really interested in wreck diving and most of the wrecks I know of are pretty deep you'll surely need to go the tech route due to the amount of gas needed, type of gas and of course the depth. Doubles and stage would certainly be needed with nitrox, adv nitrox, deep diving, tech and trimix diving courses.

The gear would most likely be a full tech bp/w or sidemout multi tank setup. However, if you are interested in going into a wreck, overhead (wreck or cave) training is strongly advised as it's one of the most dangerous type of diving around. You can go read up on all the miss calls of so called experienced divers having to be rescued from caves and the dangers of wreck diving in the tec diving section.

If you already have your mind set on doing some deep wreck dives, be prepared for some really heavy gear, expensive courses, expensive trimix and of course all the dangers and crazy adventures involved lol!

 

[waterpirate]

I think as was said, intro to tec and an/dp or tec 1 is never going to be the same. I view intro to tech as a way to go get your questions about " stuff" answered with no reprisals from the dispenser of the info. It should be a formal way for you to get some info and be able to make decisions about moving forward, or not. It is simply the starting line to tech presented more formally than the other route. The other route involves meeting people, taking them out for beer after dives, and getting your info that way. YMMV
Eric
I chose the second option, and enjoyed every pint.

 

[FinnMom]

If whatever tech training you undertake will be be your 1st experience with doubles, I suggest you learn and practise the shutdown ahead of time because it takes some muscle training. The 1st time I tried a shutdown my shoulder hurt like the devil for several days thereafter. The next couple times it still fairly sore for day or so & after that it was a non-issue.

Since having to try it for the first time and then keep practising would have been extremely painful for me, I suspect it might be at least unpleasant for a fair % of students. Besides: it gets a whole lot easier, faster and less consuming of your attention when you've spent some time on the skill.

 

[Peter Guy]

Re FinnMom's suggesting to practice valve shutdowns prior to training. Me, I'd advise against it unless you are being supervised by someone who really does know what she is doing. You really don't want to find that you've shut off both posts.

My suggestion is to just go dive a set of doubles for a while to get used to them. Just treat them as a big single tank -- don't worry about drills -- just worry about getting used to the difference between doubles and a single.

YMMV