I recently completed an IANTD Recreational Trimix class ... and to be honest, the only similarities between that class and GUE Rec Triox are in the title.
The IANTD class is all about the gas ... mostly about calculating "best mix" and learning how to use a deco planning software (we used Z planner) to plan your dives.
I found the skills requirements fairly easy ... things like gas consumption calculations, lost mask drills, OOA drills, shooting a bag and ascending the line, holding a mid-water stop for a specified time period, planning a dive with stops and keeping the profile within the constraints of the plan ... all reasonably basic stuff for someone thinking to get into using helium mixes.
The book is fairly well-written ... it's called "Tech Lite" or some such, by Bill Main. It's got some good information in it, but if I were writing it I'd make it a bit less "clinical" in places and remember that my audience is divers and not medical students.
The test is mostly about dive planning ... figuring out things like END levels, best mixes, and no-deco times.
Overall I found the class to be worthwhile ... I wanted some exposure to both IANTD and this particular instructor and wasn't disappointed on either account.
But when I get the opportunity I'll still take the GUE Rec Triox class because it's far more rigorous when it comes to diving skills and stress management ... although from what my friends who have been through the class have told me about the class, the "triox" part is almost an afterthought.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
