tec 4 rec

[MXGratefulDiver]

On our recent vacation in Guanaja, George from Clearwater Paradise did a mask defog at depth. He was showing off a bit after a recent conversation about defogging at depth. It was a simple procedure...check it out here, it starts at 1:41: Titos Labyrinths Scuba Dive, Guanaja - Childish Things - YouTube

Good for all to practice.

You've got to be careful doing that ... you can get things in your mask ...

Not sure I get "childish" out of any of that video ... mostly it just looks like people having fun ... but I would dearly love to see people doing these things without having to kneel on the bottom ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[elmer fudd]

I've just dabbled in tech, (adv. nitrox), but I think the big difference between technical diving and recreational diving is that a lot of good practices that can be overlooked by sport divers become critical safety issues when technical diving.

The biggest stand out difference between the two though is planning and gas management. When doing the typical recreational dive most divers I know just agree on a depth and a turn around pressure. Or if they've been diving together for awhile just a max depth. With technical diving, you plan your dive, your gas mix, MOD, how long at each depth, how much of each gas you will need, when you change gasses, etc... It's critical, because if you don't have enough gas then you can't properly decompress. Also, breathing the wrong gas at the wrong depth can kill you.

Buddy/team skills are more emphasized as well and you all dive the same gas mixes and plan.


So far as gear configuration goes, there are a lot of ways to do technical diving, (sidemount, DIR, rebreathers, independent doubles, etc...), so it's kind of hard to say that a gear aspect of tech diving should be adopted for recreational diving.

I kind of wish that someone would make some 5.5" steel HP 50's or HP60's. I think that doubled up either backmount or sidemount they would make an awesome recreational diving rig. You'd have total redundancy and a much smaller lighter package than the typical set of doubles.

 

[TSandM]

I would particularly like to see recreational divers learning non-silting propulsion techniques and horizontal trim, but it's a selfish wish, because I dive Puget Sound, which is silty, and following behind a lot of other divers means I don't get to see very much. There is nothing intrinsically technical about those techniques, though -- they just aren't taught most places.

 

[gekodivebali]

It's interesting that the op is focusing solely on equipment and the answers by tec divers almost only cover techniques. This shows a great misconception by recreational divers when looking at technical diving. People look at gear because that's what looks different. Technique is overlooked because it's less obvious.
I guess that is also something for tec instructors and agencies to work on. Stop talking about equipment but focus on techniques. Take it from "when one tank is not enough" to "when your current dive skills are not enough". This would actually make technical diving more desirable by focusing on something that every good diver should pursue: to become a better diver.

 

[billt4sf]

Those of you with years of expierience, those of you doing the whoe DIR thing, those of you with technical ambition and/or expierience: Which equipment or diving tecnique related things which are usually but not exclusively connected with technical diving should be adopted by recreational divers, because they make so much more sense than what is education standard these days?
.

As a newish diver (not one with the years of experience you suggest) it's an easy answer: buddy skills. Stay with your buddy, (don't just follow the leader), know how to operate their equipment (at least to dump their weights, to share gas), communication and hand signals and dive plan (including if you get separated).

We did not learn this well in OW (or AOW) and I see many divers not being good buddies.

Also, everything else everyone said. But being good buddies comes first!

- Bill

 

[Banyan]

It's interesting that the op is focusing solely on equipment and the answers by tec divers almost only cover techniques. This shows a great misconception by recreational divers when looking at technical diving. People look at gear because that's what looks different. Technique is overlooked because it's less obvious.

That's exactly what I was noticing as I read the thread. And not just a focus on technique, but mindset. Very interesting.

As someone in a GUE Rec 1 course, which maybe is within view of the door to tech, I truly wish that I had been taught proper propulsion before. Now that my backup kick is no longer unpredictably and spasmodically propelling me forward, I feel like a dive god.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

Some specifics:

1. Have your octo be a good breather that YOU would be comfortable breathing in 100' of water in a panic situation. None of that slimline crap. If it's a hard breather, or full of mud/sand, you're likely to have your buddy rip your primary out of your mouth. Then you get to breath the sand-filled hard breather.

2. Have all your stuff clipped to your body so you're not dragging it around on the reef, mud, etc.

3. Wear a mask with a black skirt so you don't get glare on your lens from the sun.

4. Get some real fins, not those crappy split fins that won't do you a damn bit of good in a current. Spring straps are good because they're fast on/off and durable.

5. Get your weighting correct. Don't overweight yourself, it makes you dangerous to you and your buddy.

6. Stop using your arms, use your legs!!!

7. Stop bicycle kicking, and stop kicking the ground.

8. Get hoses that are the right length. They shouldn't bow out like crazy, they should stay next to your body.

9. Learn some basic hand signals for gas remaining, turning a dive, using an SMB (you should have one of these and practice using it), aborting a dive, OK, etc.

10. Have a sharp knife or shears for cutting (titanium is good). Don't need to be scuba Rambo, but put it somewhere between your waist chin.

11. Always do a safety stop.

12. More crap is not better. Take what you need on a dive, and leave the rest. But take what you need.

13. Keep your inflator hose where you can reach it quickly. Don't have it floating all over the place. Bunggy it to a shoulder strap or something.

14. Get your gear serviced when its time, and take care of it between dives.

15. Learn how to use your computer. RTFM.

16. Have a decent light, and take it with you if you're going into low vis, deep, or at night. Learn to signal with it (OK, attention, etc.).

17. A wrist slate is nice for when you can't figure out what someone wants or want to convey something a little more complex.

18. Baby shampoo works great as defogger, and it's cheap.

19. Buy in bulk to get discounts on gear. And call around. Your local shop should price match.

20. Wear the right exposure suit, you will have more fun and be safer.

21. Ask experienced divers for gear suggestions, don't just buy whatever is in the shop.

22. 6' SMBs are a good size, and get a decent sized reel (100'+) to send it up on.

23. Gate clips only, no swing/suicide clips.

24. No shame in buying used, especially if you're not committed to diving yet.

OK, that's all I can think of right now. Hope that is useful.

---------- Post added July 23rd, 2013 at 07:16 PM ----------

Now that my backup kick is no longer unpredictably and spasmodically propelling me forward, I feel like a dive god.

Easy there grasshopper

 

[TSandM]

I think what is truly fascinating about the answers is that almost nothing that is being proposed is "technical". We don't think recreational divers need to learn more about decompression, or how to juggle bottles, or do lights-out exits.

We think they should plan better and think more about their dives. We think they should have solid basic diving skills. (What's "technical" about good buoyancy control, or non-silting kicks?) We think they should have better situational awareness, something which isn't taught anywhere by much of anybody at the recreational level, but is POUNDED into technical divers -- but again, there is nothing "technical" about maintaining enough bandwidth to notice what is going on with your buddies and your environment. We think they should organize and streamline their gear -- again, nothing "technical" about a neat single tank configuration.

What it begins to sound like is simply a quiet but scathing condemnation of the standards to which recreational divers are held by the people who train them, and sometimes by the divers themselves.

 

[DaleC]

I find it interesting that the OP would want tech solutions to rec diving. Why not ask what really good rec divers suggest- seeing as that's what one is doing.

I know, I know: on the net there aren't any really good rec divers. Once you hit 50 dives it's either off to instructor school or diving caves.

 

[fjpatrum]

I am strictly a rec diver and a newb at that. So far, what I've taken from the tech community is:

1) Long hose and bungeed backup because it just seems to make sense to me. Having tried several octo-keepers that had varying degrees of effectiveness I decided the bungee just works and if it doesn't I'll know immediately instead of unknowingly dragging my octo across the reef or something. The long hose also makes intuitive sense to me after being incredibly uncomfortable during air share drills.
2) A backplate/wing because it's more comfortable for me in cold water where I find a jacket constricts too much--no other real reason
3) Gas planning. I still don't really use rock-bottom but I have a better concept of gas planning and what to expect from my own consumption.
4) Mindset. I really got my mindset from other life experiences, rather than diving or reading about diving, but my personal mindset seems to be more like those of the tech divers with respect to planning for possible bad scenarios and how to deal with them.