Finally got in the water again and looking for advice. (Update from Previous Post)

[Jim Lapenta]

Helitrox replaces DP. It should take the same amount of dives as AN/DP, you just have helium in your tanks for the deep dives. I contacted TDI and asked about it.

By standards it can. I've never taught to the standards. Always exceeded them.
This is why at the time I made the decision to stop teaching deep and deco courses my AN class was 5 dives followed by 5 dives for DP later on. Both require time in the water to nail the skills and give people time to absorb the material.
Came to see that for some students, cramming both into a week was a bit much.
So I split them into two four-day sessions. If I had decided to teach Helitrox it would have been another 4 dives. My IT agreed that 9-10 dives were a better setup for AN/DP.
I actually had a couple of people try to talk me into just doing the minimum required. I told them to go elsewhere. They were not people I wanted to train or dive with having that kind of attitude.

 

[lostsheep]

4 extra dives for helitrox?

Serious question, what is it about normoxic Trimix that requires 4 more dives?

 

[Manatee Diver]

By standards it can. I've never taught to the standards. Always exceeded them.
This is why at the time I made the decision to stop teaching deep and deco courses my AN class was 5 dives followed by 5 dives for DP later on. Both require time in the water to nail the skills and give people time to absorb the material.
Came to see that for some students, cramming both into a week was a bit much.
So I split them into two four-day sessions. If I had decided to teach Helitrox it would have been another 4 dives. My IT agreed that 9-10 dives were a better setup for AN/DP.
I actually had a couple of people try to talk me into just doing the minimum required. I told them to go elsewhere. They were not people I wanted to train or dive with having that kind of attitude.

While I don't disagree allowing for additional time to absorb the material, the in water standards for DP and Helitrox are identical. Other than the extra half to a day of theory, and perhaps holding them to a higher standard in water, you should be able to swap out the two which is the intent of the course (at least according to the author of the standards).

Under your program I would rather save my money and do the full trimix course.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

While I don't disagree allowing for additional time to absorb the material, the in water standards for DP and Helitrox are identical. Other than the extra half to a day of theory, and perhaps holding them to a higher standard in water, you should be able to swap out the two which is the intent of the course (at least according to the author of the standards).

Under your program I would rather save my money and do the full trimix course.

Which is why I'd tell you to go to another instructor. I teach the way I do and my students know the requirements up front. If they don't want to train the way I teach, I don't want them as students. This goes for everything from open water on. Again, because of this I never bothered to get my helitrox instructor rating. I didn't expect to see a decent return on the time and effort I'd put in given my location, resources, and demand. My helitrox cert is through NAUI and it was 6 dives with the instructor I used. It wasn't cheap but I wasn't looking for a bargain. I was looking for quality training under rigid conditions.

 

[stretchthepenn]

Do many people take AN/DP in sidemount?

If you take AN/DP in sidemount, you probably want to take Technical Sidemount first. You can just add some waist D-rings and sling deco tanks backmount-style, but I've tried that and wouldn't recommend it. That method is far from elegant and, frankly, feels super-weird.

I will say, though, that Technical SM will likely challenge you. Prepping, slinging, and deploying deco cylinders in SM is far more complex than using two cylinders, and wearing a drysuit adds another layer of complexity.

 

[jtsfour]

If you take AN/DP in sidemount, you probably want to take Technical Sidemount first. You can just add some waist D-rings and sling deco tanks backmount-style, but I've tried that and wouldn't recommend it. That method is far from elegant and, frankly, feels super-weird.

I will say, though, that Technical SM will likely challenge you. Prepping, slinging, and deploying deco cylinders in SM is far more complex than using two cylinders, and wearing a drysuit adds another layer of complexity.

What does technical sidemount cover? Isn’t how to sling and trim deco bottles typically part of AN/DP?

 

[Marie13]

What does technical sidemount cover? Isn’t how to sling and trim deco bottles typically part of AN/DP?

Deco bottles SM are significantly more involved than just slinging one with a set of BM doubles. Trust me on this.

 

[jtsfour]

Deco bottles SM are significantly more involved than just slinging one with a set of BM doubles. Trust me on this.

Thanks for the heads up.

What does most of the difficulty come from? I am assuming it is from having asymmetrical weighting causing a list to the side.

 

[Marie13]

Thanks for the heads up.

What does most of the difficulty come from? I am assuming it is from having asymmetrical weighting causing a list to the side.

That’s part of it. But it’s mostly trying to stuff your deco bottle in there while moving your primary tank out of the way. I had my first attempts Saturday. Cluster! Having short arms doesn’t help! The methods of rigging a deco for BM won’t really work SM if you don’t want your deco bottle hanging low. You want it against your body as much as possible. I had mine rigged with a standard Dive Rite stage kit. No joy. I’m ripping everything apart and redoing it from scratch.

 

[Manatee Diver]

What does most of the difficulty come from? I am assuming it is from having asymmetrical weighting causing a list to the side.

The amount of room available. For me fitting more than one bottle to a side is hard as even for the first bottle you are squeezing a bottle. I store one bottle per side and juggle them as I use them.