what course next?

[packeteer]

ok, so i am currently PADI AOW + SDI Nitrox and wanting to go "tec".

my LDS teaches PADI and TDI

when i mentioned i was thinking about the TDI advanced nitrox + deco procedures it was hinted i should probably do the PADI Deep course first.

what do you guys think?

ps. i'd like to do Fundies, but the next course is in about 3 weeks. it's also 1000km's away

 

[jar546]

deep diving course should be next

 

[keithdiver]

ok, so i am currently PADI AOW + SDI Nitrox and wanting to go "tec".

my LDS teaches PADI and TDI

when i mentioned i was thinking about the TDI advanced nitrox + deco procedures it was hinted i should probably do the PADI Deep course first.

what do you guys think?

ps. i'd like to do Fundies, but the next course is in about 3 weeks. it's also 1000km's away

How about just logging a bunch of dives to get more comfortable in the water, rather than rushing to get a bunch of C cards. With this in mind you can continue to brush up on skillls that can save your life and your buddies life. just MO.

 

[DevonDiver]

Decide upon the agency/course you want to take. Investigate the minimum experience pre-requisites (certifications and diving experience).

Get those.

Take an 'intro to tech course', so that you can have an accurate assessment of your skills and capabilities. If these need improvement, get suitable training...and self-study/practice to develop yourself to a level that will allow a 'painless' transition into tech training.

Don't rush the process. It's vital to get the core skills ingrained and polished to a very high standard.

Buoyancy, trim, control, propulsion, situational awareness, multi-tasking and self-discipline are the key elements...and you can develop those just as easily in shallow water as you can at greater depth. What matters is experience. Spend hours underwater.

Cultivate a mindset for perfectionism. Self-assess, analyise and improve your diving at every opportunity.

 

[tstormdiver]

Decide upon the agency/course you want to take. Investigate the minimum experience pre-requisites (certifications and diving experience).

Get those.

Take an 'intro to tech course', so that you can have an accurate assessment of your skills and capabilities. If these need improvement, get suitable training...and self-study/practice to develop yourself to a level that will allow a 'painless' transition into tech training.

Don't rush the process. It's vital to get the core skills ingrained and polished to a very high standard.

Buoyancy, trim, control, propulsion, situational awareness, multi-tasking and self-discipline are the key elements...and you can develop those just as easily in shallow water as you can at greater depth. What matters is experience. Spend hours underwater.

Cultivate a mindset for perfectionism. Self-assess, analyise and improve your diving at every opportunity.

+1
I tried to start my Adv. Nitrox course much too early (150 or so dives) & found I was woefully unprepared. It took me 2 yrs to get through that course. DD nailed it exactly on the head. Get experience, perfect your basic skills to the point they are flawless & downright boring.

 

[TSandM]

I agree. I recently talked to a GUE instructor who told me that it's his experience that the students who do Fundies in a single tank, and take the time to perfect their skills in that setup, make a rapid and painless transition to doubles, and learn the doubles skills very quickly because they are far more stable.

Don't hurry into technical diving. With under 50 dives, there has GOT to be a ton of stuff in the water that you haven't seen yet. If you can possibly do Fundies, or an Intro to Tech from a demanding instructor, in a single tank, do that. Then do a lot of fun diving, working on your skills until everything is second nature. THEN transition to doubles, and do a bunch of the same diving you have been doing, in the new equipment setup. At that point, you'll be ready to march into a technical class and absorb the new material, and step up to the new in-water challenges.

There's no rush. The ocean is still going to be there.

 

[String]

Id got for TDI Advanced Nitrox/deco procedures combined.

This will massively hone your own personal dive skills and abilities way more than a recreational course will.

It MIGHT be worth doing rescue diver though.

 

[BoltSnap]

Is "Intro to Tech" a PADI specific course or is it something that TDI and other agencies offer as well?

Also, does the first course in Tech overlap with "advanced nitrox + deco procedures" or are they totally different?

 

[Searcaigh]

+1
I tried to start my Adv. Nitrox course much too early (150 or so dives) & found I was woefully unprepared. It took me 2 yrs to get through that course. DD nailed it exactly on the head. Get experience, perfect your basic skills to the point they are flawless & downright boring.

+1 and do a rescue course next.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Depends on the agency. I got my intro and helitrox through naui tech. Good to 160 feet with trimixes over 21% O2. Course goes up to 17% he but through experience have dived as rich as 28%he. Adv nitrox and deco are next on the list. I agree with those who say to just dive. You do not need a deep course until you get your skills perfected as Andy said. Shallow dives are in fact a better test of your skills. Doing basic skills at 50 feet is easy. Plenty of time to react. Start working on doing them in the first 10-15 feet. Try not to vary your depth more than a foot when mask clearing, sharing air, recovering a reg, etc. And do them all horizontal. When you can do all the basics smoothly and without changing depth do the intro. Then get another 50 dives to work on those skills. Then do a tech course or a good deep course that includes extensive planning, gas management, buddy skills, and rescue techniques for deep dives.