CAVE DIVER REACTS TO DANGEROUS TRUTH OF JACOB'S WELL 

He took the "oxygen tank" comment more calmly than most divers.

Any time I've heard about a false chimney claiming a life, I always think to myself "Why don't people just use a guideline?" I come to this video and learn that the people who actually have cave diving experience do use guidelines and don't get stuck in false chimneys.

Haha id dive with this guy. He’s smart and knows what he’s talking about, but he’s not cocky or arrogant like a lot of divers I’ve seen. He just genuinely wants to vibe and help people learn new stuff

I really despise videos titled in this format "dancer reacts to dance video" and the likes. But this is an exception and the information and knowledge I found here absolutely exceeded my expectations. It also didn't feel like information was shoved down my throat, you speak in a way that holds my attention. thank you for taking the time to do this.

Mrballen has scared me out if ever diving, and probably wouldn’t ever dive, but you make it sound not so scary. You just need the right training.

Jacob’s well’s danger is in that the spring actually tries to push you into the fake chimney, so that’s where a lot of the fatalities end up. It really boils down to people who have no experience cave diving and very little experience diving in general showing up with gear and no map.

I was terrified of diving until I listened to this gentleman. He's very educated and awesome at explaining how everything works. He's a rock star!

“How can you tell they don’t have back up lights?” I am thinking diving lights back in 1979 were probably much larger so it would be easier to see if someone had a back up light or not.

I've seen cave diving as a some sort of a suicide wish but you'd changed my mind entirely. You've taught me how safe it could be if you follow the rules.

I’m not a diver, and I’ll be honest I don’t see myself ever doing it, but I find your content very entertaining and informative.

Right off the bat, I will say that I love how you explain the difference between a siphon and a spring. Obviously just another reason why you should never cave dive without the proper training, but I think people could easily make the instinctive mistake of feeling that a siphon is "easier to dive" because the water flows inwards and pulls you along. The fact that the water pushes against you in a spring might make you think the cave is fighting against you. With the proper training you can very easily realize that the water pushing against you at the beginning of the dive is much MUCH preferred since that's when you'd be at your strongest plus you don't want the water pushing against you when you're trying to leave. Make the entry harder than the exit and you'll be safer. Very good info.

Me, who can't even swim, watching this at 3am: Hm, interesting...

The incident happened in the 70's. Flashlights aren't the same today as they were back then. Not exactly a fair comparison to modern day flashlights.

In the 70s, your lights were basically connected to car batteries lol That's how they knew they didn't have backup lights, that shit didn't fit in pockets... Which they didn't have, since there were horse collars instead of BCDs lol

“Lemme get my underwater plasma gun” It just doesn’t work like that

I jay have to say… as someone who had a 25 year run in radio… and a lifelong “wisher” of being able to dive… you have a cadence and presence that is perfect for teaching, not to mention the fact that you break it down for someone like me to understand what you’re speaking of… I just wanted to say thank you, and I very much appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

If I ever cave-dived -which considering the fact I haven't free-dived in nearly a decade I probably won't- I would love to do it with the kind of instructor that loads themselves with extra security measures. Better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them. That's a philosophy that applies to every aspect of life and applies 1000 times more when diving.

This is a great reaction video, I gotta appreciate you calling out the inaccuracies from videos like this. My biggest gripe with "informative" videos like the one you're reacting to is the condescending narration you commonly get, as if they're talking to you like you're a child.

I've yet to go on my first dive yet I can't help but binge your channel. Keep it up, dude!

In the late 00's, I lived in the Woodcreek subdivision, in a rental home on Pleasant Valley Rd. Less than a quarter of a mile from Jacob's Well. To date, Woodcreek is the most beautiful and tranquil place I've lived. I never knew why, but assumed it was due to popular HOA rules, but there were no tall residential nightlights in the subdivision. So virtually no light pollution. It was the only place with a night sky that reminded me of my childhood home. My youngest son was still a baby. Every day, I took him for walks back and forth to the well. My oldest son, who was in pre-K at the time, joined us when he was not in school. We would leave our home and walk down the road to an RV park, where there was a trail from it down to the well. Most people accessed Jacob's well from a larger road on its other side, named after it. But the trail from the RV park was by far a more scenic walk. A short walk, but it at least half of it was weaved between the rock bluffs overlooking that side of Cyprus Creek. Those are very dear memories for me. My boys were so young, and it was a period of our lives from before more stressful times. I can still feel the weight on my back from my little one; he rode in a leather papoose. Jacob's Well is indeed a very beautiful spot, with crystal clear water. It looks exactly like the photos and videos. But in my memories, the centerpiece was not the well; it was my boys. I would gladly take an opportunity to go back and relive those days with them.

RU-vid has a weird sense of humor. I am claustrophobic so even thinking about cave diving gets me nervous lol still, I appreciate how informative and easy to understand your explanations are! Learning a lot from this! Though still going to avoid underwater caves...or caves in general for a good long while

McBallen did a good video on Jacob's Well.

I'm absolutely terrified of water , caves, and anything claustrophobic, but I figure you guys could teach me and talk me out of being this terrified.

Ngl I’m super claustrophobic the thought of going in a cave above ground is scary one underwater is my nightmare and yet I find these videos so interesting

i dont even swim in the pool at night without the light on yet here i am watching diving videos

Not a diver, never will be, but Jacob’s Well is beautiful and such an amazing place to visit and to swim. The springs around Austin/the hill country are so special. It’s just a damn shame there are so many tourists that pile in there these days. We used to go when it was just a place where you parked along side the road and walk thru the woods to get there and hang out all day.

Thank you. I know nothing of cave diving and found this very educational. You be safe and have great adventures. Thank you for putting safety over arrogance or ignorance.

I've never dived before. Never had any interest growing up. I'm 27 and I Found Mr B. Allen's channel a few years ago and his stories got me curious to learn more about cave diving and diving in general. That's how I stumbled across this channel a while back. I still don't have much interest in trying to dive yet. However, Gus and Woody make it sound like such a fun challenge. They take and remove my fears and replace them with knowledge and information. Both of you are amazing! Love Woodys personality and I love the way Gus conveys information! Great team 👏

I'm not a diver. Never had any interest in it but for some reason I'm addicted to your videos. 👍

Now I'm wondering how dangerous the job of laying lines in caves is. I imagine it's incredibly dangerous

This is the first time I’m being familiarized with cliff diving, I just looked up Jacob’s Well and found your video. I gotta say, you’ve got me intrigued. Subscribed.

I know nothing about diving, but your video taught me a lot while being very entertaining! Keep up the good work!

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

I'm not a cave diver. But when you guys reviewed some of Mr. Ballen's videos you got my attention and this is fascinating. You have a new subscriber here. 🤠

Watching your videos is not just entertaining but informative. It really boils down to proper training and being qualified to dive in that location. Thank you xx

I'm glad my recommendation landed me to you. I don't seek out scuba diver YT channels despite diving myself and with the pandemic halting the possibility for me to finish my advance license + my advance diving license text book got swept by the flood last year, this is really nice to watch. Kudos dude.

Thanks for correcting the “oxygen” tank. As a former respiratory therapist and long time scuba diver that always drives me nuts.

Lmao you talking about the grate cracked me up, "Oh that's a shame lemme just get out my underwater plasma gun" lol

Lalalalalove the channel - can't get enough! I'm a Respiratory Therapist and also the clinical coordinator of our hyperbaric medicine department at a large inner city hosp. I get divers from time to time and use D.A.N. physicians often. This is awesome putting my clinical knowledge to use! Always great to hear it from a divers perspective! Thank you for another amazing upload!

Thank you for a great video and very informed commentary. You seem like a very knowledgeable person and very prepared. This was so fun to watch and I could listen to you all day talking about diving. I do not dive, but if I wanted to, I would want to learn from you!

this is the problem with mass produced youtube channels, it's people who haven't a clue pretending they're experts in a field they know jack shit about, and the majority of people believe it all

I've seen enough dive videos. I now use a line in my daily life.

This series is very entertaining. Keep up the good work

Gus (and Woody) you’ve really changed my perspective - I used to watch these cave diving death videos and thought why’d anyone do that, but after you came up in my suggested I’ve been heavily binge watching your videos - I feel more educated to the point I’m predicting the same questions you guys would ask. you’ve taught me a thing or two whereas before I knew nothing, it’s nice to have a little knowledge rather than falling for clickbait. I’m no diver but id love to be certified in the future, I think caverns would be my max id be willing to explore if I trained. But thank you for showing us how a lot of these circumstances are based on poor decision making,planning and ignoring rules. You guys are awesome keep doing what you’re doing ❤

When you mention "200 ft in" and other contraints this makes me feel how important pacing and moderation must be in diving. I'd rather curse at only having fun for a short time than raise my odds of literally dying by even one percent.

I am never ever ever going cave diving or any diving but this was very interesting! Every day's a school day. Tried to do my PADI a few years ago but got so " land sick" after bobbing about in the sea I had to quit 🤮

Underrated video

Good job on the commentary, I enjoyed it. It is a reasonably tight restriction at bottom of a large section of loose rocks that tend to slide down the slope and fill in the entrance. I’ve felt rocks filling in around me while going through. There’s only one exit so that restriction is on my mind during the dive, hoping that it wasn’t filled in with rocks. We kept a 5 gallon bucket there to help move the rocks if needed.

I recently got my diving license and I’m hoping to get varying experiences diving! It looks like an amazing experience so long as you’re careful

I’m in San Antonio, Texas and I’ve been to Jacob’s Well (outside of Wimberley TX). I have never seen divers there though, only people swimming and just hanging out. I had no idea

Have great memories diving with my pops. Glad I found this channel. Awesome rig btw.

As a psychologist I respectfully disagree. You are affording too much intelligence, logic and personality traits that enhance safety to the general public as well as "adrenaline junkies or counter phobics." I love how your channel handled Mr. Ballen reacts and accepted my respectful criticism of your poor treatment of the wonderful female mortician. I think you're underestimating how highly skilled you are. Something to be proud of, usually it's the reverse. Love the content.

I randomly came across this video and now I’m learning more about diving. I actually enjoyed watching this so far lol I’m not finished yet though

Well, I think this proves that when making videos people who sound confident and sound like they know what the heck their talking about, most people think and believe the information they are listening to is correct and have no reason to doubt it. Thats why videos like yours are SO VERY IMPORTANT! Thank you for breaking this down for us. Awesome job.

Thanks for all the explanations and details about the rules of diving. Some of my family are open water certified and it is nice to know what they are talking about!

I really enjoyed your video. I was cracking up a lot besides learning a lot! Thank you for the great fun and education.

Idk why i thought of this, but when you were talking about lines you bring into the cave with you. Is there such a thing as glow in the dark line?

Very informative! Great and simple naration! Keep up the good work buddy!

Great video, thanks for posting!

Brand new subscriber! Really enjoyed learning about the reality of cave diving as opposed to the video that was posted by someone who clearly DID NOT know about cave diving and why it went wrong.

When you mentioned Buford springs that’s exactly what I thought of when I saw the computer animated scene of that cave.

Taking 4 lights instead of 3 is the type of mentality that keeps you alive. Kudos.

This video started 10 months and legend has it that this guy is still pausing and playing this same video.

Your reactions make my life better ☺️

I lost a very close friend in a cave dive in Oronogo, Missouri many years ago. He and another close friend were not cave certified, and as far as I know had never cave diver before. My understanding was he was a little stuffy, so took some antihistamines the morning of the dive. When they got pretty deep, the other diver was ahead of this guy, and turned around and he was gone. She looked for some time, but running low on oxygen, she resurfaced and called the local sheriffs department and reported him missing. They did eventually recover his body. Autopsy reports showed being narced, likely started by the antihistamine he had taken. I’ll never understand why he took that chance, was always pretty level headed, a detective for the same police dept I worked at, and talked him into learning how to dive so I had a dive buddy in the middle of Kansas. For the longest time I blamed it on myself for getting him involved. I was finally able after many years to learn it was him who made that decision, however I have never dived again.

Really awesome analysis! Would you be willing to do a video about what the movie Sanctum got right and wrong about cave diving?

I appreciate the overall sentiment of this video. I will say, though, as a native diver to that area, I scoffed when you said “there’s no way they removed the grate” lol they did. It wasn’t fancy welding or anything like that, it was just quickcrete and rebar. The sign “you can’t keep us out” was written on a plastic slate. Over at the dive shop in San Marcos, you can see three of the tanks that were recovered from divers who died down there and a bunch of other stuff. It’s like a mini Jacob’s Well museum.

I know nothing about diving, and have a genuine fear of deep water. But im addicted to learning about it. Your videos are very informative. Binge watching some today. Next video, reacting to 7 most dangerouse caves

only thing I can think of with not seeing a back-up is that it was in 1978 and flashlights and batteries were a lot bigger

Cave diving looks SUPER interesting and fun, but after hearing Gus talk about how tight some of these restrictions are, I'm thinking I may have to leave this particular sport to others. I'm curious if Gus and Woody ever mentioned how tall they are, or how much they weigh?

I sure am glad you spent 5 minutes telling me why I wouldn't be able to know if you had a backup light Because Figuring that out would be so difficult.

Great vid bro!!! Thanks

Jacobs well access is regulated by the city now and you have to pay to get in. I’ve lived here since I was in 5th grade (2005) and you could just walk up and swim. We used to jump our bikes into it with ropes tied to them to pull them out😂

I love this channel thanks for educating us...

I discovered your channel recently. I really enjoy your content, even though I dont think I'll ever go diving. I saw a video or a girl being "crushed" by her dry suit and that freaked me out.

Mate this was interesting to watch. I’m a whitewater kayaker. The amount of crap I see about “nearly died, thank god you’re alive…” blows my mind. Exactly like you said: Commentary by people with no clue, for people with no clue.

They do call them flippers in Australia. Im guessing around 75% would be used for body board surfing. Great video

To me life is like going cave diving without being cave certified. A ton of pitfalls and most people know nothing about how to be safe exploring it.

Very cool guy! Strangely this came up as a recommended video when I'm terrified of diving & caves & stuff. Mega anxiety. This knowledge helped me feel less afraid abt caves especially (thank you nutter butter or whatever it's called for traumatizing me). Youre a great guy! Keep it up!

great stuff. Nice to know all divers are not suicidal

Has it ever happened that a light has malfunctioned or that you’ve lost it when diving?

Maybe by that time that backup light was a much bigger thing

2:10 is a scene from "Sanctum", right before the disaster. Loved your commentary on it BTW.

🥽 I love this video! Great commentary and explanation 👍

Great info!

I love how merciless you are in your criticism. Just tearing them apart. Reading them for filth. Very satisfying even though I know nothing about cave diving and will nEVER attempt it.

I've never done diving but sir I would actually do diving with you. You explain it all so well

omg, you are like a diving dictionary :) amazing :) I am learning a lot of things from you guys!

Thank you, enjoying your channel, such a great insight into cave diving - really well explained

How is this man not famous yet?

Your channel has inspired me to take the leap and get some scuba lessons

You should do a video on the various challenges and close calls you have encountered it would be interesting to hear.

It's easy to tell you take your role very seriously because you're easily annoyed by the improper terminology used by other RU-vidrs. Keep up the faith bro, spread the good word & dispel the misinformation for other divers, especially the wannabes.

Just a thought, aren't the gates just locked with a padlock? Those are easy to shim or force open, or even just cut with bolt cutters and replace with a lock of their own. I believe that is even what Ben Mcdaniel did at the blue vortex one you showed in the video. You don't need to destroy/remove the rebar to access the cave.

Good video, thanks, I've done some tracing work here in Jamaica with the Water Resources Authority. We usually call them risings and sinks. Most (all?) of our inland "blue holes" are risings. The sinks are always river caves, or "impenetrable sinks" (boulder choked at the entrance). RS Stewart - JCO.

I have never been SCUBA diving,much less cave diving...yet I would definitly go diving with this gentleman.

I’ve swam there since the early 70’s. Back before some man-made ponds were dug there, you could see the turbulence at the surface. It would punch you out.

I've heard you say this now a couple of times, that we don't dive in siphons. This is incorrect, as we actually do. An example would be Peacock III or many caves with an upstream and downstream section at an offset sink. You just need to be careful and plan your gas management accordingly. For example, instead of turning on thirds, you turn on sixths.

great video! can you please do some cave reviews with cave maps. keep up the great work!

Love your show mate! Just curious, what on earth did you say at 18 minutes and 7 seconds?