Question Equipment for Full Cave Course in Mexico

[Tracy]

I spend about 4-6 weeks per year cave diving in Mexico. I love it down there. I have a few dives in a drysuit and you could say I am pretty comfortable in one. I started off down there in a drysuit, no issues and I was comfortable but I switched it up one trip when my suit was leaking and I didn't have time to fix it prior to the trip. I went down with a 5mm, and I was pretty comfortable. Towards the end of a two week trip doing three hour dives everyday, I was getting chilled. I picked up a 6-7-8 mil semi dry neotek and that is all I dive down there now. It is so nice and easy diving a wetsuit, I enjoy it on the rare occasions I get to do it.
I typically backmount down there, but it depends on who I am diving with and where we are going. I will switch up from trip to trip.
I prefer a full canister down there, but not because of battery issues, My lx20s are just fine for 3 hour dives every day. What I found is it gets heavy holding the light and battery up for three hours. I wind up swimming with my right arm bracing my left arm up. I switched back to my canister as the lighthead is basically weightless.
Enjoy your trip. Who is teaching your course at Protec?

 

[Wibble]

I picked up a 6-7-8 mil semi dry neotek and that is all I dive down there now. It is so nice and easy diving a wetsuit, I enjoy it on the rare occasions I get to do it.

OT, apologies.

Is that semi-dry appropriate for diving in Florida caves too?

 

[ofg-1]

Large bottle of Imodium AD.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Large bottle of Imodium AD.

For sure (though the tablet form is easier to bring). I generally avoid the taco lunch between dives. One time during a surface interval the local landowner approached us with cochinita pibil tacos, and we eagerly bought a few. Fortunately, it didn't hit me until we had finished the next dive and were on our way back to our lodging.

 

[Marie13]

I spend about 4-6 weeks per year cave diving in Mexico. I love it down there. I have a few dives in a drysuit and you could say I am pretty comfortable in one. I started off down there in a drysuit, no issues and I was comfortable but I switched it up one trip when my suit was leaking and I didn't have time to fix it prior to the trip. I went down with a 5mm, and I was pretty comfortable. Towards the end of a two week trip doing three hour dives everyday, I was getting chilled. I picked up a 6-7-8 mil semi dry neotek and that is all I dive down there now. It is so nice and easy diving a wetsuit, I enjoy it on the rare occasions I get to do it.
I typically backmount down there, but it depends on who I am diving with and where we are going. I will switch up from trip to trip.
I prefer a full canister down there, but not because of battery issues, My lx20s are just fine for 3 hour dives every day. What I found is it gets heavy holding the light and battery up for three hours. I wind up swimming with my right arm bracing my left arm up. I switched back to my canister as the lighthead is basically weightless.
Enjoy your trip. Who is teaching your course at Protec?

Well, another benefit of SM is you can just rest your elbow of your tank to help prop the light up. I did that during cavern/intro when I was using an LX20. Small hands and big handheld weren’t a good combo for me. The small light head on a can light is much more comfortable.

 

[macado]

OT, apologies.

Is that semi-dry appropriate for diving in Florida caves too?

That goes back to individual tolerances for sure. For Intro / Cave 1 level training dives it may be sufficient for some people.

Florida (Cave Country area) caves are 72f (~22c) and Marianna (Merritts mill pond) caves are 68f (~20c). I won't dive Florida caves in a wetsuit at all. 3+ hours in a drysuit in Florida I start to get cold and have considered switching to my thicker undergarments or bringing my heated vest.

In Mexico where the caves are 78f (~26c), I can do 2.5-3 hours+ just fine in a good 7mm wetsuit. Beyond 3 hours I would consider diving dry. I currently have both my drysuit and wetsuit in Mexico; I havent taken my drysuit out of the bag yet

Keep in that, depending on the Florida cave (a lot are 100ft/~30m) some of that is deco where you are not really swimming or moving around whereas in Mexico you could do 3-4+ hours and simply walk out of the water. Having said all that, I know people that dive Florida caves in wetsuits 7mm or semi-drys. I just wont do it, I would come out of the water blue

TL;DR - It depends.

 

[Tracy]

OT, apologies.

Is that semi-dry appropriate for diving in Florida caves too?

Not for me. I dive a drysuit in Florida. Many people dive that suit in Florida, but I get cold very easily and I hate being cold.

 

[Mike Klieb]

Those of you that took training at Protec, which instructor did you use and why ? Also when I take my SM course should I take it there in combination with the cavern course? Or take SM here in Houston and then go there and take intro there? I have been diving with Protec (well a guide associated with them) for the last few years in the Cenotes but all of that diving has been BM. Its good to hear that they have great instructors any recommendations would be extremely helpfull.

 

[Tracy]

Those of you that took training at Protec, which instructor did you use and why ? Also when I take my SM course should I take it there in combination with the cavern course? Or take SM here in Houston and then go there and take intro there? I have been diving with Protec (well a guide associated with them) for the last few years in the Cenotes but all of that diving has been BM. Its good to hear that they have great instructors any recommendations would be extremely helpfull.

If you are set on using Pro-tec, Skanda would be my choice. Phenomenal instructor and all around great guy.

 

[grantctobin]

If you are set on using Pro-tec, Skanda would be my choice. Phenomenal instructor and all around great guy.

Seconded, Kim as well