Question Equipment for Full Cave Course in Mexico

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

I took my training from Protec Tulum also. Great people there and a first class shop. Tulum area caves are know to be more friendly to sidemount vs back mount. You can certainly take your courses in back mount , but if you have the ability to dive sidemount that would be a better long term choice. That would also solve the light question. I dive a Light Monkey 32 variable in the sidemount version. The battery mounts under my butt, giving me a light in my hand that I can also clip to my helmet when i want to be hands free. Enjoy your courses and keep us posted as you go.

 

[rddvet]

I took my training from Protec Tulum also. Great people there and a first class shop. Tulum area caves are know to be more friendly to sidemount vs back mount. You can certainly take your courses in back mount , but if you have the ability to dive sidemount that would be a better long term choice.

Not to be argumentative, but this is somewhat misinformation and something that gets pushed around alot that annoys alot of the mexican cave instructors. Sure there are sm passages in alot of the caves, but you can dive pretty much any of the systems from tulum to PA in backmount easily. Once you get down to the Muyil area where catepillar and whatnot are, its definitely more sidemounty. I remeber 12 or 13 years ago on my first trip to mexico I thought I would be best in sm since that's what gets said so often. Totally inaccurate. You can spend years diving that area in backmount without ever having or feeling the need for sm. I have almost as many cave dives in mexico as I do florida, and there's only been a few times where if I were in bm I would have to call the dive. But those are also caves well known to be sidemounty in spots and we were exploring those spots (in sm).
There's just alot of blanket statements made about mexico without context which is the issue.
I remember my first trip I thought I had to be in sidemount, thought I'd be the only f'ing weirdo in a drysuit(like I've experienced in Bonaire and got looked at like I'm the elephant man), and that all of the police and gas pumpers are scumbags that want to rip you off at any turn. There's only one truth in that statement that holds up and it's that quite a few (not all) of the gas dudes are just looking to rip you off.

 

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

Not to be argumentative, but this is somewhat misinformation and something that gets pushed around alot that annoys alot of the mexican cave instructors. Sure there are sm passages in alot of the caves, but you can dive pretty much any of the systems from tulum to PA in backmount easily. Once you get down to the Muyil area where catepillar and whatnot are, its definitely more sidemounty. I remeber 12 or 13 years ago on my first trip to mexico I thought I would be best in sm since that's what gets said so often. Totally inaccurate. You can spend years diving that area in backmount without ever having or feeling the need for sm. I have almost as many cave dives in mexico as I do florida, and there's only been a few times where if I were in bm I would have to call the dive. But those are also caves well known to be sidemounty in spots and we were exploring those spots (in sm).
There's just alot of blanket statements made about mexico without context which is the issue.
I remember my first trip I thought I had to be in sidemount, thought I'd be the only f'ing weirdo in a drysuit(like I've experienced in Bonaire and got looked at like I'm the elephant man), and that all of the police and gas pumpers are scumbags that want to rip you off at any turn. There's only one truth in that statement that holds up and it's that quite a few (not all) of the gas dudes are just looking to rip you off.

A lot of anger in your response.

 

[rddvet]

A lot of anger in your response.

Are you being serious? It was a countepoint based on experience. If you're saying that bothered you, I'd love to know why.
I was responding to your comment that gets thrown around alot and has been for years. It's not entirely accurate information, so I was interjecting a slightly opposing view that brought more context.
I know the guys at protec very well and have for years, and nothing in my response had anything to do with them. By "gas guys" I was talking about the dudes that pump your petrol, not the tank fillers at protec if that is what you were referring to.
Please let me know what was offensive or angry in my comment. I wasn't even annoyed. I was just fed so much misinformation years ago about mexico here and from other cave divers that when I see a comment like yours that infers sm is better for the area I like to give broader context. I have dove both sm and bm in mexico. I have seen some cool stuff only accessible by sm. But I also could have done all of my diving in mexico in bm without any issue.

 

[Wibble]

...quite a few (not all) of the gas dudes are just looking to rip you off.

(I didn't think it was petrol pump attendants you were referring to). "Gas" to a lot of the world means the third state of matter, not an abbreviation for gasoline.)

 

[BoltSnap]

1) wetsuit or drysuit? I exclusively dive dry at home, but wet on holiday. Perfectly happy with both, but imagine being either way too hot dry or possibly cold during some of the longer dives

Neotek 4/3 - Hollis

The Neotek 4/3 wetsuit is designed for warm-water technical dives—where exposure protection is still critical—but conditions are mild. This revised model follows the same pattern and design as our revolutionary 8/7/6 semidry and it features a horizontal front zipper and attached hood for...

www.hollis.com

 

[BoltSnap]

(I didn't think it was petrol pump attendants you were referring to). "Gas" to a lot of the world means the third state of matter, not an abbreviation for gasoline.)

I understood exactly what he meant no problem. Petrol mean petroleum to many of us

 

[rddvet]

(I didn't think it was petrol pump attendants you were referring to). "Gas" to a lot of the world means the third state of matter, not an abbreviation for gasoline.)

Sorry. Hopefully that's all that bothered Norwegian. I didn't think twice about it since I hear so many issues about the "gas guys" at the petrol/gas stations. Didn't mean to be confusing.

 

[halocline]

I agree that almost all of the classic cave dives in MX are fine for backmount; I spent years diving down there in BM before I switched to SM. But.....now that I'm diving in SM I wouldn't go back. It's just easier for the entry/exits, (I'm not a spring chicken anymore) most of the dive buddies I've met down there dive SM. I think it fits the general geology a little better, all the bedding planes for example. So if someone were starting from scratch, I'd say learn SM right off, but since the OP is an experienced BM diver, it makes more sense to train in that configuration.

 

[rddvet]

I agree that almost all of the classic cave dives in MX are fine for backmount; I spent years diving down there in BM before I switched to SM. But.....now that I'm diving in SM I wouldn't go back. It's just easier for the entry/exits, (I'm not a spring chicken anymore) most of the dive buddies I've met down there dive SM. I think it fits the general geology a little better, all the bedding planes for example. So if someone were starting from scratch, I'd say learn SM right off, but since the OP is an experienced BM diver, it makes more sense to train in that configuration.

Funny enough I'm the opposite. I used to love sm. I moved to a bm ccr (because I believe it's a better progression than starting on a sm unit) and therefore have reignited my love for oc bm. I like that it's easier to just kit up and go. No fiddling in the water, no adjusting tanks as pressure changes. I still like sm. It's just hard to get me to go back. I like just being in the water once I'm there. Now when I dive sm the back and forth to the water, especially with stages in the heat gets old. As I've aged I've actaully taken my health more seriously and am in better shape than 10 years ago. That's not typical for most people as they age, so I'm sure it changes my viewpoint.

But I am in full agreement that if the op is in bm, don't switch at this point.
I've also been seeing a trend to more people moving back to bm than ever before. I think partly it's because sm isn't as "cool" as it was 10 years ago when it really started becoming popular. I like both, but have become a best tool for job kinda guy.