Tech1 vs Normoxic trimix

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LanceRiley

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Location
Cebu, Philippines
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200 - 499
Hi this is not meant to go on an agency bashing.... I just need insights on both sides.

Im qualified to take on both courses. Yes i took up 2 different agencies.

Pro's and Cons ?

Normoxic trimix course brings me to 65m. although not so much an issue... could help see some wrecks at 60m.

while the Tech1 is 51m max?

Right now my highest certification is TDI Extended Range... 55m on Air . yes not ideal... hence i wanted to learn more about diving trimix.
 
Tech1 is 170'/52m, one deco gas, max deco time of 30mins, so about 25mins bottom time at max depth. The course is longer and cover more skills than a typical normoxic trimix course.

I don't regret having taken it
 
Tech1 is 170'/52m, one deco gas, max deco time of 30mins, so about 25mins bottom time at max depth. The course is longer and cover more skills than a typical normoxic trimix course.

I don't regret having taken it

thanks for the reply Jack. I have finished my TDI Extended Range. Using 2 Deco gases. But all on air.

might have covered most of the skills... from this point on. i want to know if ... taking the Tech1 would still be advantageous to me. compared to taking the TDI Normoxic Trimix class.
 
I took the TDI Normoxic Trimix class, and redid a dive to 180 ft that I'd done before during the Extended Range class. It was an astounding difference; I could see, think, calculate, make notes, and remember the dive afterwards.
 
I took the TDI Normoxic Trimix class, and redid a dive to 180 ft that I'd done before during the Extended Range class. It was an astounding difference; I could see, think, calculate, make notes, and remember the dive afterwards.

hi.. very interesting. i did a 52/53m dive on a wreck on air. i do remember everything. maybe footages of the gopro helped. but.... after an hour AFTER the dive. i felt tired.. air felt heavy at those depths....
 
Air becomes dense and more difficult to breath at those depths compared to trimix. That's a simple fact that is irrelevant of the agency. Where the agencies may differ is that the gasses taught in T1 keep the gas densities lower.

IMO, the 2 courses don't compare well as one gets you a little deeper and the other generally teaches more knowlege and skills. (That's not implying one is "better" or one isn't worthwhile). Where you are going to dive and with who along with what instructors are availible can make a big difference in determining which may be a better fit.
 
Which agency teaches what class?
 
Yes i
Air becomes dense and more difficult to breath at those depths compared to trimix. That's a simple fact that is irrelevant of the agency. Where the agencies may differ is that the gasses taught in T1 keep the gas densities lower.

IMO, the 2 courses don't compare well as one gets you a little deeper and the other generally teaches more knowlege and skills. (That's not implying one is "better" or one isn't worthwhile). Where you are going to dive and with who along with what instructors are availible can make a big difference in determining which may be a better fit.
yes i do understand the concept of trimix. weight of gass at depth. the computations on why and how. but all unofficial learning. tech 1 dives up to 52m on trimix. with tdi trimix. i can also dive up to 52m on trimix. no need to go deeper.

and instructor doesnt matter. same instructor.

my idea was that. i needed the knowledge on trimix. diving to that depth is already there in extended range. with 2 decogas.

will i learn more in tech1 ? ofcourse tech1 cost is 2x as much as the tdi trimix. will it be worth it to be tech1 ?
 
I’d like to offer some thoughts, not in any particular order or structured in any particular way.

If you don’t have a fundies tech pass, Tech 1 isn’t even an option for you. Or maybe the other way to put it is, Tech 1 is even more expensive and an even longer route than your TDI option as you have to take fundies first and get a tech rating. Getting the tech rating isn’t always a foregone conclusion either.

Whether the GUE route provides value for the additional time and money investment is hard to say. It kind of depends on each person and their circumstance. Some things to keep in mind:
- as you know, a major benefit of GUE diving/divers is standardization. You can travel to a completely different country, not speak a language in common with GUE divers and still, under water, everyone is on the same page. If you do not have other GUE divers in your area and have no plans/interest in traveling to other areas to dive (such as cave country), that standardization is of little benefit. For me, it is very useful. I travelled to Canada, looked for GUE divers, and got in really good dives with like-minded divers. Insta buddies. The good kind. And the thing is, these folks know exactly what you are looking for when you arrive. Where do I get doubles? Where do I get 32 or 21/35?
- getting into the GUE “family” is kind of nice too. For example, if you want to go to the next step (tech 2 or maybe CCR), you can check around if there is a twosome looking for a third. And you know the other two will be trained almost exactly the way you were trained.
- On the flip side, GUE tend to be more conservative. Tech 1 gives you diving to 170 ft. You can use 30/30 (not very common) for shallower dives, 21/35 for light tech 1 dives or 18/45 for deeper tech 1 dives. Only one deco gas though. You use O2 or 50% depending on how profile. I know other agencies start you on two bottles with their an/dp classes.
- Oh, here is one pretty big difference that I picked up talking to fellow scubaboarders who got tech training from other agencies - dive planning and deco. In GUE, you can plan and execute your tech dive sans computer. You can use a bottom timer or a simple computer in gauge mode for the dive. In talking with other divers trained with other agencies, their dive planning and execution (how much deco they need to do) was all derived from a computer.

For me, I like the training from GUE but in my case, there are loads of benefits. Plus, there is a vibrant GUE community in my area. Good luck with your choice though.
 
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