Tank configuration

[swimmer_spe]

Which you will do repeatedly in cave training...

@swimmer_spe, I suggest you spend more time enjoying your cavern dives and becoming more comfortable in the water before considering a gear change.

You say your issue with a reg swap is related to cold water...FL springs are a minimum of 68F which should feel downright balmy to you. Mexico cenotes are 74+. If you are still uncomfortable with reg swaps in that environment it's not temp related...

If you find you have no issues with reg swaps or any other basic skills in the temperate springs, then consider moving on to sidemount or doubles but not before.

My next time down to the Cenotes, I may or may not do more training. I do plan to spend at least 2 days/4 dives of a week vacation in the cenotes, exploring, practicing, and enjoying my time.

Because of some dive sites locally, it has been suggested I go doubles. I have been told that most cave divers go sidemount. I am trying to figure out what the differences between the 2 are, and which is right for me.

The 65m limit for cavern is a good point for me. My next course I would take is not distance related. It is gear related.

Sometime in 2018, I will be getting doubles certified.

It wont be till around the end of December 2018 that I may return to the cenotes.

Do I dive singles, and have dive operators annoyed with me?
Do I dive doubles, and have some dive operators annoyed with me?
Do I dive sidemount, and have all dive operators pleased with me?

 

[elgoog]

Do I dive singles, and have dive operators annoyed with me?
Do I dive doubles, and have some dive operators annoyed with me?
Do I dive sidemount, and have all dive operators pleased with me?

None of the above are accurate. Who, or from where, did you get this impression?

 

[swimmer_spe]

None of the above are accurate. Who, or from where, did you get this impression?

When I was there last year. It was never said it was bad, but it was hinted that sidemount is what you should be diving. If you must dive other, it should be doubles. Singles are not suggested due to their lack of redundancy.

 

[elgoog]

When I was there last year. It was never said it was bad, but it was hinted that sidemount is what you should be diving.

Sidemount is sold pretty heavily in Mexico (this I have experience with) - whether it's better than backmount doubles or not, in Mexico or otherwise, I can't comment on because I have zero experience with it. This topic has been discussed/debated ad nauseam on this forum and others.

Singles are not suggested due to their lack of redundancy

You were specifically told this for cavern diving? This is surprising considering how many cavern dives and classes are done in single tank and "standard" SCUBA gear. Again, the debate on this is endless but that's not what I'm intending to start here.

 

[Dogbowl]

Do I dive singles, and have dive operators annoyed with me?
Do I dive doubles, and have some dive operators annoyed with me?
Do I dive sidemount, and have all dive operators pleased with me?

This bothers me. It's either you are misinterpreting the singles, backmount, side mount issue or you need to change your dive op/instructor/ guide.

I dived the cenotes several times on a single tank and no one was "annoyed" with me. I've not taken the cavern course, but I have taken my mask off, rinsed and defogged it in the cavern numerous times and switched my primary to my octopus several times cause I was biting through my mouthpiece. Being able to perform these tasks inside the cavern was a learning experience for me and I'm glad I "had" to do it.

 

[Jack Hammer]

When I was there last year. It was never said it was bad, but it was hinted that sidemount is what you should be diving. If you must dive other, it should be doubles. Singles are not suggested due to their lack of redundancy.

Perhaps you may want to consider diving with a different group.

 

[Caveeagle]

Because of some dive sites locally, it has been suggested I go doubles. I have been told that most cave divers go sidemount. I am trying to figure out what the differences between the 2 are, and which is right for me.

This comment seems to gloss over the fact that sidemount diving has really only come into fashion in the last several years. Many, many cave divers have used BM doubles for years. And many still do. Just my casual observation is about 50/50 SM vs BM. ...and I dive the Florida caves pretty often.

I dive SM in caves where there is advantage, but prefer BM otherwise.

Couple more points for the OP..

You can use an H valve to get full redundancy in a single tank configuration. So doubles ar not needed for that.

I also think gas consumption is just one of those things you need to work on. And will eventually get better when you start diving more frequently.

You can find many pages of debate around the relative benefits of SM vs BM. I think your bigger issue is just figuring out a way to get more time underwater and gain confidence and skills.

 

[caffeinedreams]

In my (admittedly few) days of cenote diving, most cavern divers seemed to be diving single tank and my group had no trouble getting to the end of the cavern lines while sticking to the rule of thirds.

I also plan on future tech / doubles training, but don't think I'd do so if the only reason was extending cavern diving time. It seems like a large cost and unnecessary extra task loading for something that should be doable with recreational training and gear.

That said - if you want to take a tech course, you should go out and do it! Then use the gear in dives where you think it'd be useful.

 

[JohnnyC]

Right now, the best configuration for you, is to dive a single tank. Recreationally. A lot.

Dive more. Dive lots. Dive the way you know how. Right now, you're not cut out for guided cavern diving beyond the way they do it now. Can and will that change? Sure, it's entirely possible. But right now, you're way out of your league. There's nothing wrong with that at all, and millions of people are the same way. Enjoy the dives that you're doing now, the way you're doing them.

 

[swimmer_spe]

Sidemount is sold pretty heavily in Mexico (this I have experience with) - whether it's better than backmount doubles or not, in Mexico or otherwise, I can't comment on because I have zero experience with it. This topic has been discussed/debated ad nauseam on this forum and others.


You were specifically told this for cavern diving? This is surprising considering how many cavern dives and classes are done in single tank and "standard" SCUBA gear. Again, the debate on this is endless but that's not what I'm intending to start here.

When I was there, it seemed that most were diving sidemount, with a few diving backmount. At each site, I think I saw about 10-20 divers, and I was the only one with a single tank.