Need some help!!!

[BlaineAtk]

Hey guys,
Just to give you some background information on me, I am Open Water / Nitrox certified, I am planning on taking my Advanced Open Water and I want to continue my diving into Tec / Cavern. I have been diving for a few years and have around 50 - 75 dives under my belt. Many of my dives are 90 ft. up to 130 ft. The question I am asking is when I start to take my advanced classes, what should I take first, Tech or Cavern. I was wondering if one would build on the other and vice versa. Would learning to dive doubles and the depth training I would get in a tech class help me before I start trying to do the cavern class. Any ideas or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Also, I am NAUI certified and I have heard talk of "Advanced Nitrox" is this beneficial and if so what does it teach?
Thanks guys!

 

[DevonDiver]

I think you need to research and decide your goals. Tech & cave is a very big area... what is it that interests you? Then you can decide agency... then choose an instructor.

You need to get more dives and experience...especially nitrox and deep dives. Those can be prerequisties for many agencies.

Get yourself a BP&W. Get comfortable with that, then progress to diving doubles. Get a pony... sling it. All good preparation

 

[BlaineAtk]

I already dive a Dive Rite Backplate system and have been diving one since I have been certified. i have an older friend who is a certified caver who I usually dive with when he wants to do regular dives or go spearfishing!! The majority of my dives, which I know are not a ton, have been deep dives on nitrox. By deep I am referring to 80 to 130 range. My goals are not to go out and dive to 500 ft or anything like that but I am very interested in getting into cavern / cave. My buddy told me many caverns and caves can extend to depths greater than the 130 and also into decompression times. I ask him questions all the time, he is much older than I am, in his 50's and has been certified full cave and some degree of tech. I am really just looking for second opinions and routes to which I could take. I try to dive every time I come home. I just want to expand my diving to greater depths and also minor cave / cavern exploration.

 

[BabyDuck]

if i'm planning it for you, i'd do advanced open water, a good intro to tech class, then cavern. the good part is you live in a tech-heavy area close to great caves, so you won't have to travel much.

advanced nitrox & deco procedures should, in my opinion, be done between cavern/intro and apprentice/full cave. know what? not everyone agrees with that. you're asking a lot of opinionated people their opinions, so don't be surprised if a sh!tstorm ensues.

 

[BlaineAtk]

Haha, yea but hey, thats what i am here for is your opinions. you guys have already went through the training and can look back on it and give me a good idea. I really appreciate it! what all does advanced nitrox cover?

 

[BlaineAtk]

Sorry for that being so broad of a question. Also, how do I locate a "good" intro to tech instructor? I would imagine there are things I should look for? Basically, I am not looking for the cheapest class, I would rather spend a few more dollars and get good instruction and tips.

 

[Spazzy]

I reckon a rescue course and maybe some DAN training would be a good next step.

And maybe skip the advanced course and go GUE fundies.

And personally I did a bit of deco and trimix in the ocean before starting cave and that worked for me. But the other way around would be interesting too.

 

[tstormdiver]

Sorry for that being so broad of a question. Also, how do I locate a "good" intro to tech instructor? I would imagine there are things I should look for? Basically, I am not looking for the cheapest class, I would rather spend a few more dollars and get good instruction and tips.

Start asking around about instructors in your area. As BabyDuck said, you are in prime territory to find many cave/ tech instructors. Even ask your diving friend, he's in the tech field, so he should know of a few instructors. As you ask around, listen for names that pop up more than once or twice. Generally the better instructors have a favorable reputation & people will readily recommend them. I got very lucky with my instructor, he happens to be close to where I live. He's very demanding, very tough, but you know your stuff when he is finished with you.

 

[Colliam7]

The question I am asking is when I start to take my advanced classes, what should I take first, Tech or Cavern. I was wondering if one would build on the other and vice versa. Would learning to dive doubles and the depth training I would get in a tech class help me before I start trying to do the cavern class.

As mentioned, this type of question usually prompts a variety of (possibly differing) opinions, all of which have merit. And, although you also ask some specific questions about the NAUI sequence, I can comment on your 'Tech or Cavern' question only from a PADI course perspective. In that system, I believe the tech sequence provides a more substantive body of training, that is a good foundation for virtually future diving, than cavern. It isn't a matter of diving doubles, or going to greater depths, or even using mixed gases. I don't think those activities made much difference in the cavern course, at least not for me. Rather, the tech sequence (at least with the right instructor) emphasizes equipment optimization (e.g. streamlined equipment rigging), dive planning, diving precision (e.g. in buoyancy control, adherence to a dive plan), and attitude. Cavern was a good course as well, but I think the tech sequence contributes more to overall precision in diving, whether it be single tank recreational diving or double tank decompression diving. I don't know that the sequence matters a great deal because the two course pursuits are different. Cavern may be an 'easier' course, in terms of the requirements, to schedule. Tech simply provides a broader body of instruction and experience.

I would echo a comment that several have made - that you are also likely to get more benefit from the tech course sequence, or from either course for that matter, if you have a good body of diving experience under your weight belt before you start. That is not to say that someone cannot successfully complete cavern or tech with only the minimum prerequisite number of dives. But, I think that a diver gets more out of each if they have a reasonable body of prior experience (although I could not possibly translate that 'reasonable body' into a set number of dives, or depths, or variety of dive conditions). In my own case, I started diving doubles before I took tech (yes, some might suggest that was 'risky'). I already had 60+ drysuit dives logged before I took tech. And, I still found the demands of the training (the required precision of buoyancy control, the ability to multi-task, or deal with task loading) to be challenging. I can only imagine what it would have been like if I strapped on doubles for the first time when I started the tech sequence, or put on a drysuit for the first time immediately prior to my first tech course dive.

The good news - there is not one and only one RIGHT way, or right sequence. And, certainly, my opinion stated above is just that - my individual opinion, based on my individual eperience.

 

[FireInMyBones]

Advanced then Rescue, then I would take a GUE or UTD Fundies/ Essentials class. Even if you never choose to go the DIR way, it will open up a few new ideas and options. I would save Cavern for after your intro/ fundies.