Normoxic trimix

[Packhorse]

Im looking at doing a normoxic course in the next 6-12 months.

I have done TDI advan nitrox and deco procedures about 2 years and have been diving twins before that. I learnt very little on those courses that I didnt learn from research and personal training before hand. So the big question is......

What will I learn on a normoxic trimix course?

Ok tables are different but they are still tables.
The equipment is the same.
The skills are pretty much the same.

Flame away. Help me see the light.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Just another tool to use if needed, and stepping stone to full trimix certification.
(Get some technical wreck training as well, and then tell us about diving the Mikhail Lermontov wreck in 37m off Cape Jackson). . .

 

[AndyNZ]

I'd throw the question straight back at you, Packhorse!

What do you want to learn? Decide that, then find the instructor who can teach it to you.

 

[Packhorse]

Just another tool to use if needed, and stepping stone to full trimix certification.
(Get some technical wreck training as well, and then tell us about diving the Mikhail Lermontov wreck in 37m off Cape Jackson). . .

I can tell you about that now.
Great dive, Leningrad lounge is **** scary but one of my top rated dives to date. As is the engine room. I cant wait to get back! Not sure I would bother using Trimix on it though. Especially at NZ prices. Gases would cost 2 times more than all the other costs put together.

I'd throw the question straight back at you, Packhorse!

What do you want to learn? Decide that, then find the instructor who can teach it to you.

Thats easy Andy.
I want to continue doing the dives I am doing now (<55meters) and slightly deeper with out getting narked out off my head.
Looking at it from the outside I dont see any real differences in diving normoxic trimix than what I am doing now.
But for quoted prices of $4K for training I must be missing something right? So what is it? Is it just honing of pre existing skills ( I can accept many of my skills can be improved) Are there so many new skills that I need to learn? If so what are they?

Come on Andy, you too are wanting to do Trimix. What skills do you think you need to learn before you do it?

 

[AndyNZ]

Thats easy Andy.
I want to continue doing the dives I am doing now (<55meters) and slightly deeper with out getting narked out off my head.

Being pedantic (you know me well enough to know that I am!), that's not what you want to learn..... that's what you want to acheive. Your probably in a position to just buy some helium, blend your own mixes, cut your tables from Vplanner and do the dive.

The question is why don't you do that? What is it that you think you are lacking in order to do this safely? That's what you want/need to learn.

 

[jtivat]

Can you do a valve drill 1' above the muck and not silt it up? Can you do a valve drill with no mask? Can you identify your deco tanks in a zero Vis situation? Can you hold a stop at 20' on O2 mid water with no reference and handle your O2 reg free flowing? Can you do all these thing while being tack loaded with other problems? Can you pick up and drop bottles on the go without affecting your buoyancy? These are just a few of the things we did in class some already could some needed practice. Have you thought about what to do when one of your deco regs does not work? The list is long and the instructor will make a big difference. My Normoxic instructor was so so, but full mix instructor was awesome. 4k is pricey you could fly to the US take the class and still save money.

 

[TSandM]

I think the biggest thing I've gotten from the training I've taken was being forced into situations where I had to think and solve problems, and then afterwards get feedback on how I did and where the holes in my decision-making were. Anybody can practice and perfect their skills (well, most anybody -- I can't) and anybody can learn deco theory well enough to run tables. But a good instructor will make you function under stress and think under stress, and you'll learn a lot about what happens to your skills and your awareness when things are going sour, and how well your mind works.

If you didn't get that kind of thing from your prior training, I'm sorry. I know not all technical instructors bring that to the table.

 

[Peter Guy]

Can you identify your deco tanks in a zero Vis situation?

I'll bite. What would be a scenario where you'd need to identify your deco tanks in a zero viz situation? Wouldn't you be doing your deco in the open water while ascending?

 

[boulderjohn]

I have done TDI advan nitrox and deco procedures about 2 years and have been diving twins before that. I learnt very little on those courses that I didnt learn from research and personal training before hand. So the big question is......

If there is anything I learned from taking TDI Advanced Nitrox and Deco Procedures, it is that what you learn in the course varies dramatically from instructor to instructor. The actual academic content of those courses is not much at all. The real learning comes from what you are asked to do while diving. You have to be able to handle emergencies that would otherwise interfere with your ability to do decompression stops, and your instructor should have given you some emergencies to handle. TDI allows its instructors a lot of latitude in determining what those emergencies should be, provided that they meet their basic standards. In my case, I estimate that my instructor surpassed those basic standards by a multiple of 5-6 times. It is very possible that your classes and mine looked like entirely different animals.

If you are thinking of continuing with formal instruction, then I suggest you shop around and find out what your training options are, what you will learn through each option, and what benefit you will receive from having achieved whatever certifications you receive as a result.

 

[battles2a5]

As others have mentioned, you are going to learn more of the same, but with more complexity; more wrenches thrown into the skills, more complex planning (gas, lost gas, CNS, etc.), additional bottle(s), etc. etc. In the end, the instructor is what makes this class. I know guys that didn't do a whole lot, I know others that had their head handed to them and are much better divers for it. I think 4k is very steep, more than I would ever be willing to pay. You would be better off buying yourself a place ticket and doing a training vacation at the destination of your choice.