Females vs males - rate of air consumption ?

[Hank49]

Of COURSE women have better air consumption. My (female) Nitrox instructor explained that it's because they have tiny lungs and no hearts.

My ex wife smoked more than a pack a day and still would have 30-50 more bar air than I after a dive. A Swiss friend of mine explained to me that it's because the brain is the largest oxygen consuming organ in the body. (just kidding ladies, I'm really just jealous)

 

[mjh]

Without a doubt some could be the difference in physiology but my wife (the cardiologist) and I both feel the main two issues are comfort/experience and physical conditioning. She saw a significant increase in her bottom time as she got more experience and got back to working out every day. She went from 45-50 min per dive to +1:10 on an 80alum.

 

[simbrooks]

My main buddy (female) and i have similar SAC's, when using the same tank, but when i put on a larger tank my SAC seems to increase (only marginally and then i seem to be "worse" than her). However my SAC is dropping like a rock at the moment, partially as i change my diving habits and continue to get things together - still think i am on that newbie curve

 

[ASUPaula]

Great link, Kim. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Allison Finch]

I have very good consumption rates. I always come up with tons of air. As a result, when I go diving on a boat that I know (and who knows me) I get a small tank. Even so, I rarely come back with less than 1200 lbs. Why? I have tiny lungs. I am very comfortable in the water. I dive warm, clear water.
One problem with these small lungs is that, without training, I suck at freediving. Small lung capacity. When I train for freediving, I can see a corresponding reaction in my consumption rate.

 

[goodknight411]

I've seen the same thing, but i think body size has alot to do with it. I'm very small and don't use much air. I know a male instructor who uses even less than me. Of course, he's not much bigger than me. I also know big guys AND girls who use more air on the same dives. I guess smaller people don't require as much air, or don't have any lung space to put it in.

 

[RIDIVER501]

While it isn't a hard fact it does tend to be true most of the time. The Ladies are usually better on their air consumption rates.

 

[DI_Guy]

wow.... coming back with 1200 psi.... That is great...

What kind of dives are you doing Allison ( ie: depth and dive time )

I have hugh lungs, so I am told ( can hold my breath for 3 minutes if I had to ) but I can suck a tank dry real fast if I don't control my breathing.

So far, all the ladies that have answered my question have low air consumption rates. It seems to jive with what I suspected. Well done ladies...

I guess I have to change my nicname to air_sucking_bottom_crawler .... lol

 

[RIDIVER501]

My Buddies and I use the designation Air-pig. but one tip for you to help with air consumption and setting up a decent breathing rythm....breathe in through your mouth (obviously) but exhale through your nose...Smaller pipe. takes a bit longer to exhale then inhale. helps to establish that slow deep breathing pattern. and will help to improve your air consumption rate.

 

[munkispank]

If I dive with an 80, I will come back with 1500 psi every dive- my (male) buddy will be on 500. Now he is much fitter and less flabby than me, but he still drains it faster than me. I get very frustrated when I have to dive with the big tanks- I much prefer the smaller ones when a shop has one. One exception to my breathing capacity wa sin Cozumel- I think the whole drify diving thing just annoyed me too much and I got bothered trying to keep up with the divemaster- I got down to 500 psi on my safety stop- what a shock- I have never been that low. felt super strange having this big lump of bouyancy on my back too.