Questions about going tech

[WaterDawg]

Hello divers,

Im sorry if this has been discused here lately (I searched, I promise!) but I got a Q. How many dives should one have before even thinking of going tech?? I know that # arent everything, as I've seen people w/ 1,000 dives using their hands , but an estimate would be nice.

Also what is the recomended course of action?
Prerequisites?

 

[jbd]

200 dives and I'm just now getting into the concept of do technical diving. Actually the only thing that I want to do is limited decompression dives and possibly some short wreck penetration. Most of what interests me is 150 feet or shallower and all I'm looking for is more time underwater to see what I want to see.

My own prereq's have been to have solid basic diving skills first. I feel that I have that at this point so now I am reading and asking questions about decompression theory and practies. Once I feel I understand the concepts and theories involved then I will start learning the specific techniques and practices involved.

I've been working on this for about a year now and it may take me another year or two before I actually do any technical diving.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Most agencies have experience prereqs that must be met before taking tech training. Beyont that it's up to you. As jbd said you need to be solid shallow before getting into more.

There are courses likt the IANTD advanced nitros that introduce tech concepts, skills, equipment and decompression theory while remaining mostly within recreational limits (130 ft and limited deco). A new class that's an option might be the GUE rec triox class.

 

[aue-mike]

I would strongly recommend trying to find an experienced tech diver with whom you can mentor under. You will learn a great deal more, and they will probably be a lot more candid than some instructors.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[MechDiver]

Although no one has mentioned it, tech diving is also quite expensive. You may have the best skills in the world, but when reality strikes the wallet, it may not matter. Not to be a party poop.

MD

 

[Wendy]

What are you considering tech diving?

Diving doubles? Deco? Staged dives? Cavern? Cave? Mixed Gas?

 

[MikeFerrara]

aue-mike once bubbled...
I would strongly recommend trying to find an experienced tech diver with whom you can mentor under. You will learn a great deal more, and they will probably be a lot more candid than some instructors.
Cheers,
Mike

I think this is good advice but it's often hard to do especially in some locations. I didn't find any one I'd consider a mentor until I had the cards and started rubbing elbows with some people. You won't run into many (if any) experienced technical divers hanging around the Mickey the Mope dive shops around here. In fact if the dive shops around here were your only source of info you wouldn't ever know there was such a thing. They don't have a catagory in the yellow pages either.

 

[flw]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...


I think this is good advice but it's often hard to do especially in some locations. I didn't find any one I'd consider a mentor until I had the cards and started rubbing elbows with some people. You won't run into many (if any) experienced technical divers hanging around the Mickey the Mope dive shops around here. In fact if the dive shops around here were your only source of info you wouldn't ever know there was such a thing. They don't have a catagory in the yellow pages either.

But then again, when you are looking for a _good_ instructor, the only real way to tell who is good and bad is to ask their previous students, so you will have to know someone to start with.
For most people, a combination of the mentoring and course is best - I had both, diving with amore experienced partner both before and after courses, it does take time, longer than a course is going to take - the big advantage to mentoring, is you meet other divers, which in turn, once you've enough experience means invites to other dives you wouldn't have otherwise known about.

 

[MikeFerrara]

flw once bubbled...



But then again, when you are looking for a _good_ instructor, the only real way to tell who is good and bad is to ask their previous students, so you will have to know someone to start with.
For most people, a combination of the mentoring and course is best - I had both, diving with amore experienced partner both before and after courses, it does take time, longer than a course is going to take - the big advantage to mentoring, is you meet other divers, which in turn, once you've enough experience means invites to other dives you wouldn't have otherwise known about.

Again I agree. However just as OW students often don't know how to pick an instructor neither do tech students. When my wife and I started we didn't even know anyone involved in technical diving. Our first instructor was a joke. We didn't really even know where to go for information. Those day nitrox was technical and I was already in trouble around the shop for using it. I guess the internet was around but not in a big way and we sure didn't know anything about it. We got better at picking insructors as we went. We never knew any technical divers until we started technical diving. Later we picked our instructors from among those we knew through diving but the first one.....well he said he was good. LOL

I think with today's information resources it would be much easier to get started without all the trial and error. I would have to say that instructors were more instrumental in showing us what not to do. LOL In some ways I think technical training is more of a mess than recreational training.

 

[DS1]

I would suggest to take a course like GUE DIR-F that way you find out all the skills and different swims you need to work on before a deco course

im currently doing the TDI adv nitrox/deco course and i regret not taking the dir-f cause its much harder than people believe

I have a very good instructor so its not like some padi class that after a certain amount of dive you pass.... he will give me the card once he feels im ready