Our choice for gas

I owe Lamar and
Lee Ann a helluva
lot, so they always get a free plug

Instrumentation

If you do deep-ocean wreck diving, there’s a pretty fair chance you generate your own custom dive tables using programs like GAP. Some cave divers go this route as well — although, in so far as cave dives tend to be multilevel in nature, most of us prefer the greater convenience and shorter deco times afforded by computers.

The good news is, for the vast majority of recreational cave dives, the most you need is a two-gas Nitrox computer, such as the Dive Rite Nitek Duo (street price under $400). You can spend more; you don’t need to.

Of course, computers can fail, so you need a backup. One choice is to dive a second computer. Just bear in mind that your backup computer needs to be sufficiently capable to cover your dive parameters. A single-gas Nitrox computer, for example, isn’t going to let you take advantage of the oxygen bottle you brought for deco.

For most new cave divers, back up comes in the form of dive tables. You will need something with real decompression stops on them. And, since we don’t always have back gas with precisely 32 percent, it may be better to have air tables, and use them in combination with an EAD chart.

To be able to fall back on tables when your one and only computer fails, you will need a means to monitor depth and time. A watch or timer, in combination with a simple depth gauge will suffice. As you gain experience, you will know your max depth in most popular caves, simply by where you are.

Reels »

[Top of Page]

Here’s a good story that explains why you need Cave Diver training

Another reason to get
your Cave Diver cert: Going with Connie to Mexico

Our recommendation
for manatee tours

Own a dive store? You should be reading this