Question How to progress

[Mario007]

I'm an AOW + nitrox, I dive on average twice a week. I logged about 60 dives so far in less than a year. Mainly deep dive with a light deco, all from shore, I'm in Malta i dive all the year around. Last winter I managed quite well with a wetsuit and an undergarment.
I would like to do AN/DP when I reach 100 dives, but for that I need a set of double tanks, and I don't know if better a twin set or side mount configuration (both configuration 8.5 Lt x 2 due the access to the entry point)Also I'm not sure if better to get trained in drysuit first. So what's the most logical path to take?

 

[ginti]

Overall, if you are sure you want to increase your skills, I would:

1. Evaluate your basic skills with a tec instructor; if they are outstanding, skip to point 3; otherwise, go to point 2 (basic skills = trim, buoyancy, finning techniques, sharing gas drills, SMB deployment, mask switching, team communication if you want to follow a team approach)
2. Intro to tech style course, even with a wetsuit in singles if you have never used drysuit/doubles/side-mount before (not sure if it is possible with all agencies).
3. Rescue course.

The above steps are "almost" a necessity before tech/cave courses (it's really a bad idea to start tech training without very good basic skills). At this point, identify how you want to proceed:

• What do you like more? (Wrecks/Caves/Fishes/You just wanna try as many things as possible/etc.)
• Rec or tec?
• Overhead or open water?
• Do you need a dry suit or not?
• How deep do you have to go to reach your goals?
• Do you have any knee/back problems?

Then, you can think about your future path. However, before taking tech/cave courses, I strongly suggest you master all the equipment you'll use. In general, I think it is a good practice to add no more than one piece of equipment at a time. For example, if you determine you need side-mount and drysuit, first learn drysuit, then side-mount (or vice-versa), but don't try to learn them together, it could result in overloading (clearly, it also depends on how talented you are, these are very generic statements...).

My two cents, hope it helps