The most universal literature

[Dectek]

I have not made up my mind on which instructor I will use for my Cavern and beyond training. (just as important been able to match schedules with)
This also means that the Agency is not written in stone.
I would like to start reading so I would like to find out which text / workbook I should pick up.
Does one agency's text cover more than another or in other words "is there a book that contains all the information that would be used by any and all agencies?

I did not know if I should buy from NACD or NSS-CDS. (or place your favorite here) Any instructors like to toss me their two cents on the matter?

 

[TSandM]

We have the TDI, NACD, NSS-CDS, and GUE written materials for cave. I'd recommend the NSS-CDS and GUE books. GUE goes a lot more into the deco and gas mixing and O2 toxicity stuff; the NSS-CDS book has a little more on the practical aspects of cave diving. The NACD and TDI booklets are pretty thin.

 

[ucfdiver]

GUE written stuff is the best that I've seen and read, but I don't see the agency bashing between any of the tech agencies going on like you do with ssi vs naui vs padi.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

The NACD and TDI booklets are pretty thin.

How old is your NACD book?

I only have the NACD and the TDI booklets, the TDI booklet is more of an outline than anything else - so I'd avoid it unless its necessary for a TDI class(I took a TDI class and it was taught with the NACD book). My NACD book is quite a bit thicker than the TDI book, identicaly size to the NSS-CDS booklets I've seen.

I'd recommend the NACD book.

 

[Meng_Tze]

I have both the NACD and GUE cave manuals. Both are good. The majority of the texts deal with geology, equipment, gas, etiquette and such. The real teachings come from your instructor. He/She will turn the text into real life examples and lessons.

 

[GDI]

Hey if you have a comment (read feedback here) on the NACD Book please Let me know, as I helped write the book.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I have both the NSS-CDS and the NACD books and think they're both pretty equivalent. There were some issues with the old NACD book but I think they've been addressed. I don't have a new one. I've browsed throught the GUE book and it lacks the cave conservation, land owner relations, etc type of stuff that you'll need to know about and is the first part of both the CDS and NACD books.

 

[jeandiver]

Hey if you have a comment (read feedback here) on the NACD Book please Let me know, as I helped write the book.

GREAT BOOK !!!

Er .... (blush)

Jean

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Hey if you have a comment (read feedback here) on the NACD Book please Let me know, as I helped write the book.

I too helped write the NACD book. I now exclusively sell the NSS-CDS workbook to my students.

Rick: You have my feedback on the NACD. :no

Did you get my last e-mail? No one has responded to it yet.

 

[jimdiverman]

I too helped write the NACD book. I now exclusively sell the NSS-CDS workbook to my students.

Rick: You have my feedback on the NACD. :no

Did you get my last e-mail? No one has responded to it yet.

I recently completed my PSAI full cave certification in North Florida. (Captain Jim, you and I met at your house about a month ago today for dinner along with some other folks that were cave diving in Florida at the time. Thanks again to you and your wife for your hospitality.)

While my instructor taught me through PSAI and I earned PSAI cave certifications, my instructor is well versed in the other agencies policies, rules and instruction, and so I was exposed to a variety of these including NACD, NSS-CDS, and others. There is good information there even in some of the older editions. I tried to read and soak up as much of that as I could during the training. PSAI released a new cavern manual at DEMA last year, and they are about to issue their cave manual. (Another couple of months maybe, Gary?)

Like some others have already said, the manuals gave some basic information, but the real training came from my instructor and all of his experience in preparing me to dive and survive inside of overhead environments. I find that the techniques and practices in cave diving can all be traced back to a few individuals, and that basis makes for highly standardized practical application in the water. From our gear configuration to our mindsets, there's a way to do it, and I like that. It keeps us safe, and it makes it easy to dive with another cave diver because of all the steps that we go through before a dive, and all the procedures we use during a dive. And if there are any variations, pre-dive procedures cover it.

I would say that as long as you are using an active instructor whose knowledge and experience are rooted in the traditions of cave diving and the cumulative lessons learned, you will be the better for it, as will the cave diving community in general.