TDI - Intro to Tech - Necessary?

[Lorenzoid]

Bathwater . Honestly, this is a hobby and I have little tolerance for cold. Perhaps it is the case that drysuit diving is the way to go. That is a question I suppose will be answered over time.

As others have mentioned, for some of us who don't dive in chilly waters the more significant benefit of the drysuit is that it can serve as a source of redundant buoyancy in case of wing failure.

 

[NothingClever]

@Mergulhador do Delray

Lots of great insight in the responses.

Pick a good instructor and take the ITT course. I think that will set you on a path of more efficient learning.

I listened to a shop tell me I was good enough to skip ITT and go straight to AN/DP (so I did).

Mistake.

I needed remedial training later during my Trimix course. Not the end of the world but I much prefer to train in a progressive, stair-stepped model.

Good luck and let us know how you get along.

 

[Wibble]

Things I’ve learned on the way…

Diving beyond recreational limits—the very definition of technical diving—is a journey. There’s no particular end, it’s wherever you decide to go; it could be pushing at the limits of recreational diving all the way through cavern and cave, deeper diving, trimix and rebreathers. There’s no pressure on you, it’s wherever you want to go.

Unless someone actively dives as a technical diver, that person hasn’t a clue. This is especially true of the recreational diving machine, churning out barely competent customers in awe of the mediocrity that passes for dive leadership. DiveMasters aren’t masters. Recreational instructors don’t necessarily have good skills.

Technical divers have a very different attitude to all aspects of diving. They are keen to develop their knowledge and practice their skills until they’re mastered the skills in hand. They think about the dive and risk assess everything before they jump in. Failures are assumed and practiced. Critical spares are carried including spare gas. When something goes wrong it’s calmly dealt with.

Your first choice is for your mentor. Choose your instructor carefully as you’ll be having a long-term relationship over many years. You do not want a recreational diver who’s "done a course". You need someone with a real depth of knowledge who is not only teaching across the spectrum, but someone who dives the dives. Probably well known in the industry too.

It isn’t about bits of plastic. It’s about the knowledge and mastery of your personal competence and skills. It’s a long and expensive journey too, in terms of your time, your education, your kit. It can be very frustrating too especially as a skill is being learned.

But my goodness, it’s so satisfying. Genuinely going places that most people can only dream of going. Some of us have cookies.

Good luck.

 

[VikingDives]

I am beginning to plot out my progression into tech diving. Just curious what the consensus is on the actual utility of TDI's Intro to Tech. Is it valuable as a precursor to ANDP or is it just another credential?

Thanks!

I'm also starting on tech in the coming year, but let me give you the perspective I have as a rec. instructor with hundreds of dives and who teaches in neutral buoyancy and trim.

When I was looking for an instructor, I wanted one who made his/her students take ITT. All things being equal, you want an instructor who isn't a "minimum standards guy" and who goes above and beyond.

When I settled on someone, we had a discussion about what I'm looking for, what I think I'm strong/weak in and where I'd like to improve. For example, I can out Rec pretty much every Rec. instructor out there, but I'm self-taught. I want a second set of eyes to coach me through every aspect of tech before I get to actually doing the skills.

Another thing that I want to work on is my back kick. It has improved a lot, but I know that having an instructor look at what I'm doing is going to help me improve much faster than I'll improve on my own.

Do you need the card? No, but you (and I) will benefit from the instruction.

Diving tech means you have a hard overhead and screwing up a little bit is the difference between a normal life and a trip to the hospital/chamber/death. Don't skimp on yourself.

There are classes that are BS - but you can't have too much training the things that matter. Do you need a c-card for them? No. However, personally I wouldn't trust an instructor who would take you through AN/DP without having time and experience in the water. If you called me up and wanted to do a rec. class, I'd require that I assess your experience before we moved forward. I'd hope you'd find a tech instructor who'd have the same regard for you.

But the most important questions are: "What's your commute" and "How far are you from the Metro?"

God, I do NOT miss Vienna.

 

[0utrageousfun]

I am not familiar with gear configuration. So I guess that is the question. Is there some course that will concentrate on learning how to dive with twinsets so that I have those mechanics down and integrated with the basics before adding in the additional tasks involved in the "tech" part of technical diving?

I completed Into to Tech in November down in FL and my instructor spent plenty of time on the gear configuration side of things. Prior to the class, I had only ever ogled at other folks' doubles rigs on dive boats in Lake Michigan. We got plenty of dry-land familiarization with the doubles equipment in the classroom before progressing to dry drills. Then, my classmate and I did it all over again in the water. I gained a lot of knowledge, skills, and confidence during ITT. I also learned a lot about which skills I need to continue working on. I'd absolutely recommend the course. I had a great time and am excited to dive doubles in the future.

 

[broncobowsher]

@Mergulhador do Delray

Lots of great insight in the responses.

Pick a good instructor and take the ITT course. I think that will set you on a path of more efficient learning.

I listened to a shop tell me I was good enough to skip ITT and go straight to AN/DP (so I did).

Mistake.

I needed remedial training later during my Trimix course. Not the end of the world but I much prefer to train in a progressive, stair-stepped model.

Good luck and let us know how you get along.

Same experience here, except it was the Normoxic trimix CCR class. I now see I should backpedal about 3 levels and take a fundies class. Even this late in the game I still find I am missing the basics.

 

[Wibble]

Same experience here, except it was the Normoxic trimix CCR class. I now see I should backpedal about 3 levels and take a fundies class. Even this late in the game I still find I am missing the basics.

Classic technical diver approach to skills; constant refinement, constant learning.

(Interesting how the MOD2 affects oneself. Any weakness in core skills comes to the fore, not least reestablishing existing skills, e.g. stage handling and SAC/RMV, that may go unpracticed and wither. I'm planning on more practice and refinement for next year; a year of consolidation rather than new courses.)

 

[happy-diver]

I went diving a lot got some twins don't think I asked anyone for permission to persue my PASSION
through diving got to meet real people, worked out some plans mixed some gasses did some deep
did hundreds of dives in a double thickness real wetsuit it didn't kill me to 100m and so I sat silently

Others, no research go back to school skip hold hands and ask when it's ok to take their floaties off

 

[AJ]

Classic technical diver approach to skills; constant refinement, constant learning.

Yep, tech diving is not a hobby anymore. It requires dedication far beyond rec diving. If you're not willing to invest in gear, time and skills, don't even think about it.

I have done about 700 dives. Done intro to tech successfully. Many don't even make it because their skills are not good enough. Every dive I practice my skills learned in the intro to the point I can do them blindfolded and up to speed.

Starting CCR diving soon. I know I will have to invest a lot of money and time to get to the desired skill level compared to OC again (100 hours diving is just starting, many more hours before serious deco diving). I will be learning again for the next few years and that's what I love to do, besides some awesome diving of course

 

[Wibble]

Yep, tech diving is not a hobby anymore. It requires dedication far beyond rec diving. If you're not willing to invest in gear, time and skills, don't even think about it.

I have done about 700 dives. Done intro to tech successfully. Many don't even make it because their skills are not good enough. Every dive I practice my skills learned in the intro to the point I can do them blindfolded and up to speed.

Starting CCR diving soon. I know I will have to invest a lot of money and time to get to the desired skill level compared to OC again (100 hours diving is just starting, many more hours before serious deco diving). I will be learning again for the next few years and that's what I love to do, besides some awesome diving of course

Have you moved on through ANDP (advanced nitrox + deco procedures), diving with stage cylinders? (Not mentioned in your post)

Diving with CCR really does require a thorough understanding of gasses and their consequential effects. Rebreathers require you to dive with stage cylinder(s) so having those skills sorted before you start would make life a lot easier.

The more skills you bring into a new level of diving the easier the course will be.