The Dive Otter

Recreational vs Technical Diving

Deep Dive on DiversReady

In Mark Powell's books "Technical Diving an Introduction" and "Deco for Divers" he lays out his own definition of "technical" diving as:

"...involving diving deeper than recreational limits [Tyler: >130ft] for extended periods of time [Tyler: decompression obligation] and using mixed gases other than air. [Tyler: Anything other than EAN21]"

This seems extremely straight forward, however there are arguments on the Internet on a practically weekly basis about the definition of "technical".
In my opinion, it's not about the diver, it is about the dive. More than once someone has asked me if I was a "cave diver" because I was wearing a Drysuit, using a Backplate / Wing BCD and had a long hose setup when diving the local quarry that has a maximum depth of 40ft. None of these things make me a "technical diver" and the dive is most certainly not a "technical dive". And I have nowhere near the skills and experience to be going cave diving.

In My Opinion....
Recreational DiveTechnical Dive

-- eg. Boat traffic in Lake Michigan on a shallow wreck
Anything that doesn't fit in the list to the left, which might include: -- eg. Full Penetration on a Wreck or Cave

Some items that do not automatically make you a technical diver or the dive technical:
It is totally okay to do recreational dives your entire life. You don't have to be a "technical diver" to be "good" at diving and enjoy a dive. I'd rather dive with someone who has awesome trim, perfect buoyancy, command of the basic skills, fantastic communication and no ego. Instead of someone who has a cave certification and has none of the above. If you want to know if you are getting better, compare yourself to your yesterday self. Not anybody else.