Wanting to upgrade....

[jj1987]

So the bug has bit. Cavern diving now reminds me of a strip club with a no touching policy. I got my cavern cert when I was 12, and that was cool for a while, but I wanted to do intro to cave. If I recall correctly, the age limit was 15 to take the next course, so after a year or two of cavern, my dad and I had dove basically everywhere within a 100 mile radius of Alachua county, and our diving slowly died down. Just recently we've picked back up, and now there's no good reason not to take my certification further.

Can some of you guys guide me in what gear I should get in order to do my intro to cave class? I want to make sure that it's easily upgradeable so that if I want to carry it any further, the cost of doing so is as reasonable as possible. We already have the 3 lights, the cave reels (we were advised to buy a larger one than we needed so it would be easy to upgrade), and I think that's it.

Also would you recommend taking nitrox before intro to cave or not?

[Gary]

Can some of you guys guide me in what gear I should get in order to do my intro to cave class? I want to make sure that it's easily upgradeable so that if I want to carry it any further, the cost of doing so is as reasonable as possible. We already have the 3 lights, the cave reels (we were advised to buy a larger one than we needed so it would be easy to upgrade), and I think that's it.

Also would you recommend taking nitrox before intro to cave or not?

Continuing from cavern->cave some of the best moves and long term purchase efficiency comes from not having to replace what you just bought.

Unfortunately, saving money in the long run can mean coughing a lot up up front. Not replacing later could mean buying most of what you need for later now.

A 10W 4.5Ah HID with a focusable head (most lights for cavern are inadequite for cave)
Instead of singles with H-valves - go strait to doubles (also means new BC, regs, etc) - lots of money.

Perhaps the cheapest way to do it would be to find a shop that rents H-valve singles (or take the course in rented doubles) and buy a good light. A good light will ensure you get the most out of your class and your diving and the rentals will save you from buying doubles+regs+backplate/BC all at once. Then as you progress you can add gear a piece at a time.

Most find doubles to be more comfortable and steady then singles and are a huge improvment on safety and redundancy. Because of that most instructors will allow intro students to take the course in doubles.

Many instructors will loan/rent you gear they have access to for the class which can save you a few bucks.

Also many instructors work with/through a store. Cavern and Intro particularly they may have be interested in guiding your gear purchases. When you call an instructor about the course and tell him/her what your plans are they may teach gear configuration out of the back of the dive store and can help you buy what you need as part of the class. They may even have a student discount for you.

Nitrox is useful. Many instructors will teach nitrox as part of a cave class or you can take it seperately - before or after intro - when isn't a big deal though. It's getting hard to find "air" fills these days at the dive shops in cave country. With rental tanks chances are good you will be using tanks filled with nitrox for your course. You'd have to dump the gas in them and specifically ask for air. I'm sure you'll be keeping the nitrox in the tank and either getting certified for or diving Nitrox under the instructor's supervision.

[Corbett]

PM sent

[MORGAN]

Continuing from cavern->cave some of the best moves and long term purchase efficiency comes from not having to replace what you just bought.

Truer words were never spoken - I wish I still had all the money I spent on OW type equipment. The last few years I have used backplate/wings cave diving configuration for all my diving. I have a steel backplate/Transplate harness/single tank wing for single tank diving, and an Al backplate/Transplate harness/Classic wing for caving and everything else.

If I had started right out from OW with a backplate/wings setup, I would have saved a pile of money - not to mention the aggravation of having to replace perfectly good but unsuitable equipment.

Mike