Recreational Diving vs Technical Diving

Unless you move into professional diving, the two main types of scuba diving most people encounter are recreational and technical diving. Recreational diving is diving for fun. It requires special equipment and training, but it’s accessible. Most people can get into recreational diving fairly quickly.

There’s also technical diving. (You may also see it called “tech diving” or “tec diving”.) This is a specialized type of scuba diving that requires extra training and precautions. Tech diving tends to take place in more hazardous environments. That hazard may be due to tight spaces, or just the added nitrogen load that comes with diving at deep depths.

But where is the line drawn between tech diving and rec diving? How do you know if a trip will be one or the other? And if you want to start having tech diving adventures, what do you need to get started?

Recreational Diving in a Nutshell

Most scuba diving is recreational diving. As the name suggests, this is simply diving for leisure. All scuba diving should be approached seriously, but recreational scuba diving generally doesn’t involve some of the more intensive or hazardous situations that technical divers pursue.

That doesn’t mean that rec diving can’t be intense! It just means that there’s a threshold to that intensity. You won’t be exploring miles of underwater caverns. “Recreational diving” can still cover a lot of diverse, unusual situations, and many training courses and diving experiences blur the line between recreational and technical diving.

Recreational divers start with an open water certification which permits them to dive down to 60 feet, and they may go for advanced or deep-dive certifications that permit them to dive down 130 feet. Governing bodies differ slightly, but generally this is considered the maximum depth for recreational diving, as it’s widely regarded as the lowest a diver can go without requiring a decompression stop on the way up.

Recreational diving can take place in oceans, but lake dives are also common. It may incorporate other pastimes or styles, like photography or drift diving. Generally, though, it won’t include entering an enclosed space.

Tech Diving in a Nutshell

Technical diving is when divers go beyond the limits of rec diving, in one of several ways. “Technical diving” is loosely defined. Various certification organizations differ in exactly what it means. But here are some good, general indicators:

• Depth: Are you going deeper than 130 feet/40 meters?
• Will you need decompression stops on your way up?
• Will you require a rebreather?
• Will you need specific gas mixtures, or to switch gases during the dive?

If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” you’re probably technical diving. Another big category of technical diving is penetration diving. This is any dive where you can’t swim straight up to the surface, because you’re in an enclosed environment of some kind.

Penetration diving like cave diving, wreck diving, and ice diving all blur the line between technical and recreational scuba diving. Many organizations make their tech vs. rec distinction based on how deep into the environment you’re going. Are you going past the “light zone”? That is, can you still see light from the exit? If you can’t, that’s technical diving. Ice diving is a special case, and different agencies view it in different ways. But since you can’t swim straight up to the surface, it’s often considered tech diving.

However, one thing is certain: If there’s any chance that a group would consider it technical diving, you will definitely need special training for it. Even if you’re just going in the light zone at the entrance of a cave or shipwreck, you need to have the right training and equipment to stay safe. Anything beyond swimming in open water requires education beyond the introductory course.

Recreational Diving Training

All divers start by taking an open water certification. This usually starts in a classroom and ends with supervised open water dives. You’ll learn terminology and safety principles. You’ll also learn how to use basic scuba gear. Dive centers and resorts require proof of this certification before they rent scuba equipment out, fill tanks, or book excursions. The good news is that many dive shops will also offer the certifications and courses that you need.

But even for recreational divers, your training doesn’t end there. Most certification groups offer advanced certification and continuing education courses so that you can enhance your skills and try new experiences. For some organizations, the natural next step is a Deep Diver certification that trains people to dive confidently down to 130 ft/40m.

From there, you can learn many advanced skills that don’t quite cross the line into “technical diving”. Rescue Diver courses teach you to be prepared to save the lives of your fellow divers. You can take courses in drift diving, underwater photography, and dry suit use. You can learn about conservation, fish identification, and other ecologically-minded courses.

You can also take classes in diving techniques that begin approaching that technical diving line, like ice diving, wreck diving, or cavern diving.

Technical Diving Training

Tech diving courses are very different from rec diving courses. They may be supplemented by courses that fall into the recreational realm. In fact, you’ll need some of the same courses under your belt that recreational divers take before you can begin tech diving training.

For instance, in order to take some intro to technical diving classes, you may need an advanced diver certification for open water, a course on diving with Nitrox, and possibly a course on deep diving. Having these minimum requirements down shows that you can handle the basics of being at depth and dealing with specialized air mixtures.

Once you’re ready, you’ll sign up for your first technical diving course. Many organizations offer tracks for both open circuit and closed-circuit rebreather diving. Within those tracks, they structure their courses by depth, teaching you to dive deeper with every class while also teaching you new skills to go with them. You may start at 40 meters, for instance, and work your way down to 100. Along the way you’ll learn how to plan and execute repetitive decompression dives, how to mix your own gases, and eventually how to manage multiple bailout cylinders and multiple decompression stops.

Typical Diving Depths for Recreational Dives

Many organizations recommend that beginning open water divers go no deeper than 60 ft/18m. If you’ve completed advanced courses, that depth extends to 130 ft/40m. Other certification agencies have slightly deeper depth.

The general idea is that recreational divers shouldn’t have to make decompression stops. Many of the modern depths for rec diving were set 50 years ago in military settings, where the science and equipment wasn’t as fine-tuned as it is now. As a result, some organizations increased their maximum depths. But whatever limits your accrediting body sets, it’s important to abide by their guidelines.

Typical Diving Depths for Technical Dives

Because of the use of rebreathers, gas mixtures, decompression stops, and other tools, technical divers can venture far deeper into the water. Many certification organizations will build a course’s maximum depth right into the name of the course. Generally, certification for tech divers begins at 130 ft/40m and continues on to 330 ft/100m.

Typical Recreational Dive Gear

Just because you aren’t going down as far as tech divers are, that doesn’t mean that you don’t need dependable gear. Here are some things to consider.

• The Sport wetsuit line is built for comfort and range of motion in moderate-to-shallow depths. It’s made for beginners and first-time suit buyers in mind, and is a great way to start your recreational scuba diving adventure. It’s available in men’s and women’s styles.
• An entry-level dive computer can help you get used to reading and tracking key information about your dive. Beginning recreational divers may want to consider the Aladin A1. The features are fairly straightforward, but it’s still a solid, affordable piece of dive gear.
• The MK25 EVO is one of the most popular, reliable regulator first stages out there. Its rugged durability and reliable airflow make it a go-to choice for people of all experience levels. Combining it with the D420 second stage gives you a solid combination that’s intended to make breathing on a scuba dive feel easier and more natural than ever. That’s great news for people who are just starting out.

Typical Technical Dive Gear

Technical diving tends to require additional certifications and classes from a diver and additional equipment. Good dive gear can see you through a lot. But tech divers need more than “good”. Since you’ll be spending more time underwater, in more extreme conditions, you want the absolute best gear you can find.

• A dry suit may be preferable to a wet suit for many tech dives. Cave divers, ice divers, and people diving to extreme depths are among the many tech divers who need protection from the cold. A dry suit is a great start towards getting that protection.
• Many tech dives take place in tight spaces, where you’ll need a specialized buoyancy control device with a low profile. Technical BCDs include sidemount and backmount BCDs that help you fine-tune your buoyancy when it matters most.
• An upgrade to our popular G260 technical diving system, the MK19 EVO BT/G260 Carbon BT regulator system delivers superior durability with a premium carbon fiber front cover and a corrosion resistant Black Tech DLC coating. It’s designed to be the premium regulator system for cold water, silty diving conditions, and technical diving.
• When you’re performing technical dives, many tech divers use a custom set of dive tables printed for the dive and a computer in gauge mode or as a back up. A good dive computer is an important piece of equipment for tech divers. A good computer will be able to keep track of multiple gasses, keep a log of your dives, and withstand depths of 100m and beyond. The G2 rises to all of those challenges.

There are other things to consider, like dry suit glove systems, or masks and lights that are meant for low-light conditions. Having appropriate technical dive gear can go a long way towards a safe and satisfying technical dive experience.

Recreational Dive Opportunities

Recreational divers have plenty of opportunities available. Most divers in the water are rec divers, so there’s clearly a lot of fun to be had rec diving! Whether you’re exploring home waters of your nearby lakes or coasts, or traveling to scuba paradises like Hawaii or Bonaire, recreational scuba diving provides a lifetime of new experiences. And who knows, you may even develop the confidence and experience to start tiptoeing into tech diving!

Technical Dive Opportunities

Tech divers can do everything that a recreational diver can, and then some. Technical dive opportunities include ice diving, cave diving, advanced wreck diving, and more. The skills you learn as a tech diver are designed to help go further and experience more, while staying as safe as possible. It also gives you opportunities to push on even further in your diving career. You may become an instructor yourself, or pursue extreme endeavors like cave exploration. Technical diving expertise is valuable beyond just having fun. For many, by the time they’ve put that much time, money, and study into the craft, they will turn around and make it into a career.

Additional Considerations

Apart from the training and gear, planning is a big differentiator between tech and rec diving. Planning should always be part of the diving experience, and many divers consider it to be part of the fun! Knowing the weather, the tides, and the current can help you have the smoothest experience possible.

But technical diving has many more moving parts to consider, and requires a great deal more planning to execute smoothly and safely. You can’t just wing it when you have to bring different gas mixtures for different depths, or make sure you have enough air for your decompression stops. Mapping your dive out ahead of time is always helpful, but with technical diving it’s absolutely essential.

Want to Know More?

Technical diving isn’t the only way to have a fun or interesting dive experience. There’s plenty of adventure to be had under the banner of “recreational diving,” from drift dives to exploring the open water. But if you really want to know the depths, it’s worth your time to learn more about the ins and outs of technical diving.