Taking Intro/Basic Cave in September..or around there. Looking for advice.

[sealsix14]

I don't want to start doing these skills wrong so like you said, i'll stick to buoyancy and trim, and maybe some line skills at Pelham. Just wish I could get out there more often, being stuck 6 hours from there makes weekend diving a little more strenuous.

O and a quick gear question; My Friend told me I should think about investing in a used Can Light from ebay or something since I'm going to eventually go full cave, is this a good idea or is this something I should put off getting until after Intro/Basic and just rent one If I need it for Intro?

 

[PfcAJ]

u can get a good one used, but remember: Buy it nice, or buy it twice.

A 21w HID light with a battery in the ~9ah range can be acquired fairly cheaply and will serve you well for a long time.

 

[TSandM]

Are you asking whether it's reasonable to buy a canister light used, or just about the timing? If you are going on, you will need a light with significant burn time, so whether you buy it now or later depends on how your finances are sitting.

I have bought several used can lights, and they have all worked as billed. I bought them all from ads on The Deco Stop. You have to know what you are buying, because the older lights with the Welch-Allyn bulbs can be quite cheap, but they are unmanageably fragile.

 

[sealsix14]

Thanks for the advice, i've found some Diverite lights on ebay and a few light monkeys every now and then but I honestly don't know the difference between them. I just know that the LM ones run rather expensive but don't know if it's worth the extra price.

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TSandM: Sort of both, my friend said to get a used one now because he knew that over time I would have more than one of almost everything. I just wasn't sure If I should go ahead and get a nice Used one now. I'll probably have the funds to pick one up before Intro this fall, but If not I can always rent one until I get it. and I've been on The Deco Stop before but never though to check their ads, thanks for the tip. Also, what should I specifically be looking for: I know PfcAJ mention the 21 HID ~9ah range, anything else more specific I should look for?

 

[TSandM]

I think you'd find an almost unanimous opinion that LM lights are worth the extra money. They're well made, but most of all, LM's customer service is absolutely unreal. I don't think I've ever dealt with a company in ANY area of my life that comes anywhere near them. We own four LM (Salvo) lights, and I really can't imagine ever switching to anything else, unless Dive Xtras ever gets their new light off the ground. (Dive Xtras also has fabulous customer service )

For cave diving, a 21W HID is a very good light. If I were going to buy new right now, I'd probably buy an LED, though. They don't have the "punch" of an HID, and they have more spill than I like, but the durability and long lifespan of the bulbs, and getting rid of the ballast, makes up for it. A lot of people are thinking that way, which is why HID lights show up for sale at pretty regular intervals.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I thought the same thing about LEDs until I saw these lights - German Invasion on Hole in the Wall on Vimeo

They are both LED and have some serious punch. The brighter one is a 4500 lumen and the other one is a 3000 lumen. They are Tilly Tec lights, made by a guy out of Germany. And he has excellent customer service! The student with the 3000 had his light head fail earlier in the week during class. He had bought a demo light and it apparently had been dropped at one time. He contacted Tilly that evening and had a new light head shipped to him from Germany to his hotel in Marianna, FL 3 days later! No charge! I was very impressed by these lights and the customer service.

The one thing I will caution if you decide to buy a used light is the battery life. Older batteries have shorter burn times or limited life left. The cost to replace a battery pack on top of the cost of a used light might bring you to the cost of a new light. Also, HID bulbs have limited strikes unlike LED bulbs (well, they have limited life but it's so long it might as well be unlimited).

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Well, I did mention that it's a good idea to get some help, so you can learn properly. But I stand by my oft-stated belief that anything you CAN learn in open water, you SHOULD learn in open water, and that includes buoyancy, trim, non-silting propulsion, basic line skills, and drills.

I agree those skills should be learned in open water. That's one of the reasons my cavern students don't enter the overhead until all skills are first performed in open water.

 

[Davemohio]

I did my cavern cert in High Springs this Feb. Great class.

I rented my cannister light from the shop. Very affordable. Had my own back up lights as well.

I also hired a GREAT Instructor dive bud to dive with me so i could get acclimated to the flow of some of the springs prior to the class.

Have fun!

 

[stairman]

I think renting a light makes good sence. You can decide if LED is good enough vs. HID as well as wattage. Rental lights are usually 10 watts and thats all Ive ever used cave diving. You dont miss what you dont know. I would suggest diving a time or two with a cavediver who will help you out with skills youll need to know for class. You may have to buy their fuel and lunch but it will be money well spent. A sample thread could read, " full cavediver needed to help out a potential cavern/basic diver with skills in preparation for class" Will pick up or compensate for fuel and lunch. No one wants to fail a course, kickin yourself all the way back to Georgia but it happens. Good Luck!

 

[PfcAJ]

LED lights are great till the water gets a little silty. Water getting silty is one of those things that happen in caves

 

[USFpsychDiver]

My Cavern and Cave I were done in Ginnie and Peacock, with one excursion to Little River at the end of Cave (I did NAUI). Gives experience in different types of cave (high and low flow). I rented a can light for Cavern but bought one before Cave -- seemed like a reasonable thing to do. I looked at used lights, as well as some of the inexpensive LEDs, and ended up buying one from one of the 'home brew' folks (take a look in the light forums and you can find them). One thing you can do is look for someone who uses more standard battery backs -- I think they use them in high end radio control cars -- and can be found at reasonable prices at places like Batteries Plus. I went LED for durability.

Enjoy the classes. I'm assuming you're working on bouyancy & trim in your tech gear (doubles and whatever exposure suit you'll be using). I found that bouyancy & trim learned in a wetsuit and single AL80 did not translate to bouyancy & trim in a drysuit and double steels -- I spent several days floundering and was still struggling with the doubles on Cave day 1, but had it under much better control by the end of class. Still, the more that's down the easier it is to concentrate on skills & drills.