How big is the Technical Diving Market?

[louxwe]

So I was interested in the Technical Diving Market size and was curious how big this market is? Does anyone know how many certified technical divers there are in the US and total world, how much they spend annually on gear, trips, travel, most populat destinations. I am not interested in what would be considered commerical divers, more technical diving for fun/adventure/challenge etc. Does anyone know where I can find numbers like that?

Thanks,

 

[Cave Diver]

You might try directing this question over at TDS (thedecostop.com)

As for myself, I try not to think how much I've spent on tech gear, training, etc.

But it's a bunch. I quit counting around 20k

 

[texdiveguy]

If you do find out, please let us know.

 

[PerroneFord]

Yes, would be interesting. While I would guess the technical diving market would be quite small, most are AVID divers and seem to dive far more regularly than other divers. In terms of money spent, they spend out of all proportion to their market size.

A recreational diver will balk at a $100 light. A technical diver will think they got a bargain at a light costing 10 times as much.

A recreational diver may own a tank or two. A technical diver can't see how they could get by without at least 5.

A recreational diver will have a set of regulators. A technical diver will have a set for each tank, and spares.

A recreational diver will buy a $250 wetsuit. A technical diver will spend $2500 on a drysuit. And then buy a used one for a backup.

It's a totally different mindset.

 

[Gilldiver]

A lot will depend on the diffinition of Technical diving. It used to be called cave diving or wreck diving. Then the marketiers came up with Tek, or Tech, or Technical, etc..... and the world changed. Wrecks that used to be training dives started to become Tech dives so that more $$$ could be charged.

Most dive shops are what I call Caribian pumpers. Do your classroom up here and the open water dives down there. At one time I knew of dive shops that made a profit on classes, trips, mask, fins, and snorkels only. Anyone else that took special treatment or more time was a bother.

But on the whole, most "diver" get their first cert and will have stopped diving within 3 to 5 years. The more serious divers may last into the 7-10 year range. I don't think of anyone as a long time diver till they break 10 years. I have seen too many go from open water through instructor, do trimix and rebreathers and be out of the sport in less then 5 to 7 years.

All you have to look at is the classified adds where "tech" gear is being sold everyday on boards like this.

As for your original question, if by tech we mean gasses other then air and doing deco dives as standard practice, world wide I would put it at less then 100,000 with the majority in the US and Europe. Take Nitrox out and you will be less then 50,000. Limit it to caves and deep penitration of wrecks and you could be less then 25,000 active at any one time. Lots more will have the certs but are they doing the dives?

 

[Jimmer]

Perrone is right on the mindset, tech divers might be a smaller market, but will spend WAY more money in that market. The head instructor for one of the largest dive shops in Southern Ontario told me last week that tech is absolutely where the money is for his shop, even tho there are fewer of them than recreational divers.

 

[texdiveguy]

As for your original question, if by tech we mean gasses other then air and doing deco dives as standard practice, world wide I would put it at less then 100,000 with the majority in the US and Europe. Take Nitrox out and you will be less then 50,000. Limit it to caves and deep penitration of wrecks and you could be less then 25,000 active at any one time. Lots more will have the certs but are they doing the dives?

So were are you getting these numbers from, or are they just generalizations for the purpose of discussion?

 

[Rick Inman]

If you do find out, please let us know.

But don't tell my wife.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Ask yourself two questions.

How many dive shops in your area sell helium?

How much of it do they sell?

Even within a major metropolitan area located directly on the ocean, Seattle/Tacoma, when I left the PNW there were only two reliable, consistent (retail) sources of helium mixes (that I was able to discover, and believe me we looked): Fifth Dimension and Hood Sport & Dive in Hoodsport.

Things may have changed in the past couple years or so. But very few divers (like Gilldiver noted) are consistently doing 200'-300' dives in the PNW that require helium mixes, relative to the total number of divers and dive shops in and around the Puget Sound region.

While the answer to your question is "way small", probably less than 1% of the total number of divers in the United States (not sure of other countries), I suspect that ultimately the answer will depend on how you define "technical diving". For example, just owning the equipment doesn't cut it IMHO - you need to be actually doing the dives. Just one perspective...

(That said, those guys DO spend money way out of proportion to their numbers. Like CD said, its easy to drop $10K-$15K on open circuit equipment, and rebreathers can cost that alone...)

FWIW

 

[texdiveguy]

Ask yourself two questions.

How many dive shops in your area sell helium?

How much of it do they sell?

Even within a major metropolitan area located directly on the ocean, Seattle/Tacoma, when I left the PNW there were only two reliable, consistent (retail) sources of helium mixes (that I was able to discover, and believe me we looked): Fifth Dimension and Hood Sport & Dive in Hoodsport.

Things may have changed in the past couple years or so. But very few divers (like Gilldiver noted) are consistently doing 200'-300' dives in the PNW that require helium mixes, relative to the total number of divers and dive shops in and around the Puget Sound region.

(That said, those guys DO spend money way out of proportion to their numbers. Like CD said, its easy to drop $10K-$15K on open circuit equipment, and rebreathers cost that alone...)

FWIW

Your observations are probably right-on in your area.

Though I am not sure that the degree of dive shops selling or having available for sale He is an overly accurate way of judging the number of 'technical' divers in a given area, as many of those tech divers are not even He certified. When it comes to the number of card carrying He divers this number I would think is comparativly low. Lots of divers with entry level technical courses (Adv. Nitrox and Deco Proc.) and a good number divers with Into and Full Cave compared to basic and advanced 'mix' gas divers....as you pointed out its not every outing your dive profile/s will req. the use of 'mix'. These are just my observations...