Needed for Cavern??

[UCFKnightDiver]

Well, working in a dive shop, I know about um.... 100 people that like the cavern area but are terrified of cave. So... Um.... that's why. They like surface light. They are scared of complete darkness. I've seen some people completely comfortable for a weekend or a week in a few caverns around here. Take that last turn that shuts off the sunlight and they freak.

Cave Diving isn't for everyone, but Cavern diving is for some.

What happens when that Cavern becomes a cave though, because of a silt out, or a storm above etc?

 

[The Chairman]

Get the gear that is the most comfortable and makes best sense to you.....

Righteous! I stopped diving my Bungeed wings of Death when I went for cavern due to peer pressure. Wrong reason to do anything diving.

When I took cavern, I was comfortable with the following:

2 H Valves
BP&Wing
Two first & second regs with long hose configuration.
Jets and low volume mask
2 spools
1 reel.
Primary light
2 backup lights.
4 cave arrows

 

[PfcAJ]

I wouldn't use "comfort" as a gauge for anything in diving.

Use what makes complete sense (unlike partial sense, which is common), not what feels right.

 

[fire_diver]

Well, working in a dive shop, I know about um.... 100 people that like the cavern area but are terrified of cave. So... Um.... that's why. They like surface light. They are scared of complete darkness. I've seen some people completely comfortable for a weekend or a week in a few caverns around here. Take that last turn that shuts off the sunlight and they freak.

Cave Diving isn't for everyone, but Cavern diving is for some.

These are the people who have no business being in a cavern. There are too many variables and things that can go wrong to be in there without the training and proper equipment and proper mindset.

 

[Sas]

I wouldn't use "comfort" as a gauge for anything in diving.

Use what makes complete sense (unlike partial sense, which is common), not what feels right.

Agreed.

What is most comfortable to me is a single tank and wetsuit (the thinner the more comfortable).

But I wouldn't use that setup in a cave...

 

[tracydr]

If someone is freaky about darkness I can't imagine that it would be a good idea to dive caverns. Just like people who panic on night dives should probably not dive nights,caverns or caves. Diving a cavern when you're afraid to dive in the dark would be like night diving, knowing if it gets too dark you'll panic.
Seems dangerous to do something that increases the likelihood of panic by doing training to dive in an evironment that you're afraid of. How many OW divers die every year due to panic and inability to solve a simple problem such as ditching weight belt or using buddy's octo?

 

[The Chairman]

You are focusing on the "comfortable" and missing the "makes sense to you". It has to be both.

 

[aquaregia]

Alot of the cavern divers I know are diving H-Valves. They still got redundancy somewhat.

How is this less redundancy than manifolded doubles? All I can come up with is the tank neck oring, which doesn't seem like a common failure point. Am I wrong, or is there something else I didn't consider.

 

[The Chairman]

Most (not all) doubles have an isolation valve between the two tanks. They are far more redundant.

How is this less redundancy than manifolded doubles? All I can come up with is the tank neck oring, which doesn't seem like a common failure point. Am I wrong, or is there something else I didn't consider.

 

[PfcAJ]

You are focusing on the "comfortable" and missing the "makes sense to you". It has to be both.

I can go through a lot of examples that were "comfortable" and "made sense" to divers that ran into trouble underwater. In fact, there is a discussion about one of them in the Accidents and Incidents forum.