From the deep post getting off topic maybe it's interesting to define our individual 'gray line' between adv diving and tech.
For me it's when a dive compounds skills. Even Intro Cave is more advanced then tech. The limits to main line and such .... I still consider them the most serious that I've done but I wouldn't say technical.
Tech starts when compounding advanced skills into a single dive. So deco isn't tech, add trimix and a cave is tech. Cave with stages and a jump, tech. Open water and a little He in the tank, not so much. Deep alone is tech because you really can't get to 300 without all the baggage of things like CCR, tri, deco, bailouts... that all conspires to make deep technical. So, what's deep? The Sheck dive to 800+ is but is a 200 for very experienced full tri? Probably not. For me, yes.
My opinion with my limited experience right now is that tech is when it starts getting complicated and sticking to a well developed dive plan is practically required for a safe dive. I almost wrote reduced risk over safe, because even well planned tech dives can be risky IMHO. In my mind, its the planning that separates them and not necessarily the depth.
If I can strap on a cylinder with enough gas, check a NDL and jump in, that's rec diving. If I need to calculate/plan gas mixes, stop depths, entry/exit procedures, mess around with lines, etc - its advanced/tech.
I agree with that to an extent. If you are doing a dive to 130 feet on air or nitrox and going a tad over your NDL and staying a few extra minutes on your 15 foot safety stop until your deco obligation on your computer clears then I'd agree, not really tech diving. If you do an open water deco dive and rack up a 1/2 hour of deco and do multiple planned/scheduled stops on ascent to clear your deco that is tech. Also, you cannot purchase nitrox over 40% without taking an advanced nitrox course and most combine the Decompression procedures course with advanced nitrox. Likewise you cannot purchase a custom mix of helium without being certifed to entry level trimix. Those certs are considered technical training. You can purchase premixed helium to use in recreational diving if you take the recreational trimix course but the course is for recreational dive profiles...130 feet max and diving within No decompression limits which still makes it recreational diving.
Here is a link from Wikipedia:
Sounds like the definition may depend on who is defining it.
I would say that I would include dives with an overhead environment (real or virtual), including ice diving. I am a NAUI diver and that is their position on ice diving. They require it to be taught by a NAUI Technical Diving Instructor. I would also include dives beyond the 130' recreational limit, solo diving, dives with 40%+ Nitrox, gas switching, tri-mix or other mixed gases. In short most of these dives require some training, knowledge and planning above what is generally presented in standard recreational training coures.
Unless you're
just freediving
It's just my definition. I don't see 15 minutes of planned deco a tech dive. It very well could be but it's so easy I just can't see calling it technical. It feels like a label driven by some silly hubris more then reality. Is 30 minutes? I don't know, maybe. I don't do long deco so I don't know. Accelerated deco on more than one gas switch, sure, that feels like the correct title. I'd feel better calling an air dive with 50% O2 for deco an advanced dive then a tech dive. I reserve that title for those that do big dives.
Maybe I missed the point. GUE lists 3 levels of tech.
My deffinition is "all the cool shit I'm not trained to do yet" >
My opinion does not mean much, as I have not read a lot of books on Technical diving or DIR for that matter.
But if you know me... I will give my opinion as to what I think technical diving is:
Planned deco diving would be Tech according to Naui. Unplanned deco diving is not technical diving, it is a poorly planned dive that you need to react to.
Dives over 130' deep would be Tech according to Naui. How they picked that magic number I will never know.
Blackwater diving would be Tech I believe. I don't necessarily agree that is is tech to swim in 5' of goose chit but maybe just a challenging dive.
Swiftwater diving would be considered Tech. I agree that this is probably true.
Hazmat diving would be tech. AGA masks without the ambient breathing valve and the lengthy decontamination process.
Just diving with a full face mask also called AGA would in my mind be considered Tech even without the hazmat.
Solo diving would be considered by me to be Tech even though I do not know of any certifying agency that condones solo diving (Except for maybe the Church of the Rum River Bottom Dwellers ;D). for about $400 someone could write down the curriculum and submit it to Naui and possibly add it as a specialty.
Vehicle Recovery Diving / Body recovery diving could be a Tech dive with all the planning but I am not sure on this one.
Diving on your wifes birthday is not considered Tech but it it is very dangerous and not recommended (unless she is also a diver and she is in the same lake as you).
I am not sure, but I think that not too many years ago, a lot of the things we do as divers were considered "Technical Dives". Nitrox when It first came out was the bad boys gas and now it is very common in the rec crowd. Ice diving was done for work only and now its mostly done for fun. Penetration wreck dives were first done by the military to salvage sunk ships. Now penetration dives are for fun and excitement not for work.
The only thing that has changed is the level of knowledge gained from all of the combined experience of a ton of divers who have had both good and bad experiences doing these "Technical Dives". Complacency is the main reason that these item that were once "Technical Dives" are now just "Advanced Dives". As we get more and more complacent with our diving styles we will knock more and more Technical dives down to the rec level. Chew on that for a while (and then tell me I am full of baloney). Like I said before: Technical diving is what you make of it. Its more about the journey and less like the destination. John
Not to get into the matter much but for all wondering maybe you should seek out a Intro to Tech from a technical dive shop! Going through my Tech class scared the Chit out of me for what I had done before incorrectly. It is very nice to do great lakes dives from 150 to 250 with with sound knowledge from a good education. Reduces stress an anxiety on a dive.
I am now working on cave an that is another aspect of diving that requires lots of training.
I took lots for granted before I got the training. Plus you get lots of great diving in.
Just my take on it.
Jeff
Personally, I am really beginning to dislike the "tech diver" and "tech diving" labels. It seems to have become way too much of macho wand that people wave to try and impress people
I would much rather change it to "solid diver" or "solid diving". I am way more impressed with someone who is both mentally and physically (equipment and healthwise) prepared for the diving they are doing whether it be shallow warm water diving, overhead or decompression. There are way too many of any category that need to do a reality check for whatever diving they are doing.
If I had to define what a "technical" dive is, I would say it boils down to any type of dive that requires significant thought, planning and equipment beyond the normal recreational requirements.