The darkness beckons, but only to those with the training and the experience to explore the shadows safely. Exploring a submerged cave requires a significant investment in training and equipment. It's not for everyone.

Cavern diving can be with proper training and the right gear, an enjoyable foray into the shadows, whether it's the mouth of an underground river, a fish-filled coral grotto, a submerged lava tube or a majestic sea cave.

Step one is perfecting buoyancy skills and learning to slip through the water with total control.

Equally important is the most reliable equipment available and carrying more than one of the things that matter most. There's a two-light minimum in the shadows, three for total darkness. Reels provide a guideline to open water. Nothing is left to dangle or entangle.
   

1. Suunto Vytec It's an air-integrated hoseless computer for sport diving, or a stand-alone for technical diving, with the capability to handle decompression diving and multiple nitrox mixtures. Just the thing for an aspiring cave diver. $1,195

2. Aqualung Legend LX Over-pressure first stage is nitrox ready and environmentally sealed, with preferred ports for enhanced response. Neutrally buoyant, pneumatically balanced second stage provides consistent inhalation at any tank pressure and workload. $595

3. Deep Outdoors Serenity A bladder-attached BC jacket system designed and sized specifically for female divers. Suitable for single, high-volume and double tank configurations, with daisy chain, bent D-rings and slim D-ring attachment points. $485

4. Sea Vision Tech Series Low-gloss filtering amber lens increases contrast in low light and low-viz situations. Available with 2000, Ultra and SeaShadow skirt styles. Also available are custom prescriptions and +2.00 Gage Reader lenses. $111.95

5. Dive Rite Safety and Gap Reels Always bring two: one for navigation, one for safety. Made from noncorrosive materials, and anchored on a Permanent, Flush-Mounted Axle, these reels are built by cave divers to withstand punishing conditions with absolute reliability. Safety Reel $69.50, Gap Reel $65.00
6. Pelican Aqua King Don't take chances with a marginal dive light. Pelican's largest provides 100,000 of candlepower to light up the shadows, 10-12 hours of burn time and the redundant safety of a dual filament bulb, all backed by Pelican?s legendary lifetime guarantee. $91.72

7. Pelican Super SaberLite Never enter a cavern without a backup light. For insurance, go with a 500-foot depth rating, a focused Xenon beam to cut through murky water, and a tough polycarbonate lens and ABS case to withstand punishing environments. $33.99

8. Cressi-Sub Rondine The overhead environment demands a lot of a dive fin. With its Balanced Variable Flex Blade, the Rondine provides an ideal combination of power, versatility and finesse. $150

9. Henderson Titanium Hyperstretch Unique titanium-impregnated Hyperstretch material provides increased insulation with maximum flex and forgiveness a big plus when maintaining the right body position is key to diving success. $300 for 5 mm one-piece.