Thinking about going tec

[girlwithbigtanks]

I think it’s interesting to see how interpretations of what you think technical diving is and what it actually is once you’ve taken a course. Are you just running random numbers? are you looking at the gas volumes and contingency plans? Are you aware there is planning that the software doesn’t exactly tell you? How did you come to choose your GF? So much to think about.

 

[formernuke]

I think it’s interesting to see how interpretations of what you think technical diving is and what it actually is once you’ve taken a course. Are you just running random numbers? are you looking at the gas volumes and contingency plans? Are you aware there is planning that the software doesn’t exactly tell you? How did you come to choose your GF? So much to think about.

To me (who knows nothing about tech) it means diving beyond 130 feet or diving below 130 with deco obligations. It means planning bottom gas and travel deco gasses. It means planning your dives based on deco obligations, not exceeding O2 toxicity levels and your air consumption. It means in water gas changes where the wrong gas will kill you. It means perfect bouyancy control. It means dealing with the unexpected or emergency in the water since surfacing means death or a helicopter ride straight to the decompression chamber.

Did I miss anything?

 

[rjack321]

Did I miss anything?

Your buddy?

​

 

[girlwithbigtanks]

For me it’s more than that. You listed off the mechanics. For me it’s to be curious, watch, listen, stay up to date, attitude and accepting there are things I know I don’t know. Who am I diving with? Are they a good fit as a buddy and team mate? Can you have good debriefing with each other, push and improve? At some point you are making plans for a dive where there is no preexisting plan or information on how to get it done and you are relying on a lot of built up experience and your own guess work. (Complicated logistics for example). Or knowing when your ready to push your own comfort zone. That’s also part technical diving to me. Probably the most rewarding part personally.

 

[KenGordon]

Wow, I'm both learning a s*^$ ton and getting confused at the same time. I love this site.

No, you are not really learning anything. You need someone in the room to explain what this means to you. A lot of the planning stuff should apply for any non trivial dive. The question of what technical means is just irrelevant. If you have a problem, how do you deal with it? It gets more complicated but there is not a big leap from simple to super complicated, there is a gradual change. For a 10 minute Time to Surface va a 60 minute one there is obviously a difference, but where does that lie? 11 minutes? 59? Somewhere in between? Or is it about where you are? Entangled with 50 minutes of NDL? Vs OOG with 5 minutes of stops?

 

[Frontpointer1000]

@Frontpointer1000 are you used to cold water diving already?

No.

Despite living in Utah and swimming in cold Mountain Lakes my whole life, and in fact breaking ice and swimming in those lakes, I’m not used to cold water diving. And I don’t think I ever will be “used to it“. It’s cold. This, coming from a guy who, despite a very focused and unparalleled life of laziness, Poor diet, and wanton disregard For my health, I still cannot get fat and still get chilly diving in warm Caribbean waters.

That said, I’m not uncomfortable in cold water and actually I love the experience. I have the keen skill of ignorance and the ability to self-inflict pain and readily embrace Type II Fun (The suck). One of my first real cold water dives was in a high mountain lake, and upon surfacing, was delighted to find it snowing. That was in a wetsuit.

I have 25ish dry suit dives. Not totally comfortable with the extra equipment necessary for cold water diving but I am comfortable with the expectation to really have it down before I move forward with my training.

Couple weeks ago I did a solo high altitude lake dive. Ice was formed on small water pools around the reservoir, but no ice on the actual water. Water temp was 41 F. That was cold for me. I certainly learned I Need DS gloves.

 

[rjack321]

That said, I’m not uncomfortable in cold water and actually I love the experience. I have the keen skill of ignorance and the ability to self-inflict pain and readily embrace Type II Fun (The suck). One of my first real cold water dives was in a high mountain lake, and upon surfacing, was delighted to find it snowing. That was in a wetsuit.

If you can still crack a smile its clearly not "that cold" yet.
Dry gloves and suit heat goes a long way in <45F temps, especially once the runtimes are 70+minutes.

 

[1atm]

Bottom time really hinges on how much deco you are willing to do. Off to run a dive on MultiDeco. Be back shortly.

OK, I ran 130ft dive for 60 min with 28% back gas. I did it 3 times, with 50%, 100%, and with both 50 and 100 as deco for the same dive. Should be eye opening for you. O2 exposure is a real issue.

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This is that same 130ft dive on AIR with 50 and 100 for deco gas and just 50%. You get a CNS warning for just 100 for deco on this dive.

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Make sure to look at gas volumes incl contingency scenarios. Hint: it’s a significantly bigger issue in these plans than the CNS clock. That one you can fix with gas breaks. But please don’t splash without having thought through the gas volume ...

 

[hroark2112]

I’m also a former navy nuke, I took a different route to tech. I have not dive doubles since the 80’s, I went straight to CCR when I wanted to go tech.

of course, when I got back into diving after a long hiatus, I said I had no desire to go deeper than 60’. How wrong did that turn out to be??

Don’t discount rebreathers. Do some research and you might re-think it!

 

[RyanT]

There are a lot of interesting, and informative posts here; here's my 2 psi. Back in the early 90's I did a lot of single tank deco diving on air (120-180' range). I didn't plan my dives or gas consumption and I didn't know better. Fortunately, my experience and comfort in the water kept my out of real trouble (only one relatively minor bends hit). I took at ten year hiatus from diving and decided it needed to be a part of my life again. I knew from previous experience that I wouldn't be happy doing 70' NDL dives, so I embarked on tech training through normoxic trimix. Early in my tech training I thought I would continue on to advanced trimix (100 m) and rebreathers. Along the way, I discovered that the logistics of doing dives to 200' and beyond started to feel like work instead of fun. As such, I've settled on really enjoying dives in the 120-175' range as my comfort and enjoyment zone. Remember, at the end of the day, we do this because it is fun. Find your own level and fun and enjoy it.