TDI - Intro to Tech - Necessary?

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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!
The usefulness of TDI Intro to Tech kind of depends on who the instructor is. The course helps to solidify core skills. Buoyancy, trim, finning, etc are all ultra-critical for the tech diver. the Intro class is the place for all that and with acquainting the student with basic tech skills and gear. Advanced Nitrox is the place to work out all the gas stuff while Deco Procedures is for all the planning, and deco skills. I have seen too many people go to Deco Procedures and yet they can't hold their stops, deploy a DSMB, etc.
I do not teach Intro by itself. I offer a 3-way package of Intro, Advanced Nitrox, Deco Procedures. That is how one makes good tech divers.
 
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.
Before taking fundies, I had about 1500 total dives, 250ish of which were all cave. My skills were good (not perfect), but good enough to pass advanced classes such as cave dpv and cave ccr with no issues. When I got my ccr, I suddenly realized I had work to do. I started practicing open water ascents and realized I wasn't quite as stable as I thought I was and not as good at hitting the stops (from years of cave diving). I could back fin well, until I was in blue water with no reference other than my buddy and the smb line on the rebreather. Suddenly my back kick sucked for some unknown reason. So I chose to take fundies. A big part of my issue is I thought I knew how to set up a back plate. In reality all of my doubles training was through a non-instructor mentor and I really wasn't taught 100% properly. Most of my issues on the ccr were purely due to me not setting up my bp properly combined with the newness of ccr.
Fundies cleaned up all my issues, found new small ones I didn't realize (but were undeniable on video), and corrected those as well.
If extremely experienced technical instructors can take fundies and learn something, anybody can.
 
AN/DP IS NOT THE CLASS TO LEARN TO DIVE DOUBLES OR SIDEMOUNT FOR THE FIRST TIME! It's a waste of the instructors time and the time of other students.
I am following this thought, as I am interested in doing AN/DP; but not interested in diving doubles. I do dive with redundant air and I have no problem slinging a stage btl in addition to a pony.
 
Thanks for the responses.

I wouldn't be considering this at this point without the encouragement of people who do know what they're doing! So, I am told the buoyancy, trim and propulsion are all more than sufficient to start tech. But I practice this too, on every dive. I learned my first day out that I didn't like the feeling of bouncing around and not being in control of my depth, direction and speed. With that in mind, I made the conscious decision to practice at least half of every dive on basics. As a result, my trim is as horizontal as I want it to be without thinking too much about it, my finning is ok (other than back-finning which still gives me fits), and I can hold my position in the water column (+ or - a foot) for 15 or more minutes, launch a DSMB without flailing about.

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?

If it helps, I won't start this until May or June. Which will mean that I'll probably have an additional 60 to 80 dives under my belt before tech starts.
The really important things are the ones you say to already doing: buoyancy, trim, many different kicking techniques to be adapted to the necessity. I would add control of your breathing.
Using a twin tank is a very trivial thing: when I started, we did use twin tanks as the basic scuba system, and the usage of single tank arrived later. It was a bit MORE DIFFICULT to use a single tank than a twin tank, so I really do not understand how people can think that using a twin tank requires special additional skills. Twin tanks are more compact, more streamlined, give you better balance ad cause less risk of hitting obstacles than a single tank of the same capacity.
So if this is the only thing missing, I would say that a specific intro course just for using twin tanks is not needed in your case. Just try renting a compact twin tank instead of the standard single tank during your next dives, and you will discover how easy is to dive with them.
Said that, I think that, particularly for what nowadays is called "tech" (and which was standard rec diving at my time) it is better to train for much longer periods than what currently planned by most agencies, which concentrate the course in a few dives, not giving time to the student to assimilate all the new techniques.
So, having some "intro" course can still be very useful, not for learning additional skills, but simply for diluting in more time the transition from rec to tech.
Not all people have the same speed (I am a slow one), so if you are like me, having more time means getting a much better understanding.
Of course you could get the same result arranging for a "longer than normal" standard tech course, if your instructor agrees in "diluting" it on several months, instead of a couple of weekends...
 
When I took my fundies class, I had never dove a twinset and it was lent to me by the instructor.

I found it very hard to find the dump valve since the wing was different (the evolve wing is larger to fit a twinset).

It can seem minor but that made the class much more difficult for me. Agree that a twinset is more stable than a single cylinder though.

Also, the instructor spent some time rearranging all the d rings and the harness. It took me a while before I was able to find them after being rearranged. Like you said, it would have been probably better for me to split the class in two so I would have some practice time in the middle.
 
I am following this thought, as I am interested in doing AN/DP; but not interested in diving doubles. I do dive with redundant air and I have no problem slinging a stage btl in addition to a pony.

Talk to an instructor.
 
I am following this thought, as I am interested in doing AN/DP; but not interested in diving doubles. I do dive with redundant air and I have no problem slinging a stage btl in addition to a pony.
This sounds like a huge mess. A single on your back and 2 slung bottles?

For the depths that AN/DP applies, i.e. 100-150ft, you need:
1) doubles or possibly sidemount (although I am loath to suggest that as a some sort of panacea)
2) some modest amount of helium, in the 25-35% range so you aren't stumbling around in the cold being dumb
3) drysuit covers redundant buoyancy already and you arent diving in BC in a paper thin wetsuit at 140ft anyway
4) suit gas
5) one deco gas, most common is 50%, a rock solid protocol to switch to this gas so you don't die.
 
This sounds like a huge mess. A single on your back and 2 slung bottles?

For the depths that AN/DP applies, i.e. 100-150ft, you need:
1) doubles or possibly sidemount (although I am loath to suggest that as a some sort of panacea)
2) some modest amount of helium, in the 25-35% range so you aren't stumbling around in the cold being dumb
3) drysuit covers redundant buoyancy already and you arent diving in BC in a paper thin wetsuit at 140ft anyway
4) suit gas
5) one deco gas, most common is 50%, a rock solid protocol to switch to this gas so you don't die.

Agree with most of what you said but Helium is not "necessary" for 150 ft dives. I can do 150 ft dives, with light to moderate exertion, with no gas narcosis whatsoever. The "necessity" of helium is very dependent on an individuals susceptibility to narcosis, or a heavy workload. I would argue that it it was truly necessary for a large part of the population then AN/Helitrox would be the more popular course combination rather than AN/DP.

Dedicated "suit gas" is dependent on a helium mixture. If you are diving air or Nitrox as backgas that is fine as a suit gas.
 
This sounds like a huge mess. A single on your back and 2 slung bottles?

For the depths that AN/DP applies, i.e. 100-150ft, you need:
1) doubles or possibly sidemount (although I am loath to suggest that as a some sort of panacea)
2) some modest amount of helium, in the 25-35% range so you aren't stumbling around in the cold being dumb
3) drysuit covers redundant buoyancy already and you arent diving in BC in a paper thin wetsuit at 140ft anyway
4) suit gas
5) one deco gas, most common is 50%, a rock solid protocol to switch to this gas so you don't die.
If it would make you more comfortable, I could mount my 30cu pony to my main and only sling 1 bottle. 😅
One does not have to go to 150' to apply the knowledge from an AN/DP course. I am more interested in it, to give me the ability if I chose, to exceed my NDL. Of course proper prep and planning would ne required. To give me more time at say, the glass cloud sponge fields at a local dive site. My interest lies in future wreck, then a wreck penetration cert.
As far as Helium is concerned, I have not been past 126', where I was OK, not narc'd. There is, I believe, an extended range air, component to the TDI course stream. Eliminating Helium and the need for suit gas, which is actually quite minimal. I use my inflator to fight squeeze, primarily. BCD, primarily for buoyancy. Some I know, use the suit more for buoyancy. I did my OW, in a drysuit and have never dove in warm water.
A deco gas in a 40cu stage btl is easy peasy to sling. Pretty much all my diving, has been with a slung pony. I am very used to carrying one.
 
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