French exception

[Angelo Farina]

That’s not how it was/is on American dive internet boards. The mere mention of using air, much less using it deep was instantly was met with bashing and epic flame wars.
It was Nitox 32, and beyond 100’ you had to use trimix….only! And they were quite vocal about it.
No air period.
I think that eased up along with solo diving.

Strange opinions..
I think that air should be the standard breathing gas in most cases, and Nitrox is advantageous just for a very specific set of diving profiles: repetitive dives in the range of 25-34 meters with no deco allowed.
In many parts of the world this is not typical, as dives are deeper or shallower, only one, max two dives per day are done with a long surface interval, and deco is common.
In this case the only use for Nitrox is for accelerated deco, if one has no access to pure oxygen.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Strange opinions..
I think that air should be the standard breathing gas in most cases, and Nitrox is advantageous just for a very specific set of diving profiles: repetitive dives in the range of 25-34 meters with no deco allowed.
In many parts of the world this is not typical, as dives are deeper or shallower, only one, max two dives per day are done with a long surface interval, and deco is common.
In this case the only use for Nitrox is for accelerated deco, if one has no access to pure oxygen.

I see nothing wrong with air myself, air is everywhere. We don’t have nitrox or trimix available where I live.

If I was bound by some weird protocol and was only allowed to use 32 nitrox or trimix I would have moved on a long time ago.

 

[L13]

Strange opinions..
I think that air should be the standard breathing gas in most cases, and Nitrox is advantageous just for a very specific set of diving profiles: repetitive dives in the range of 25-34 meters with no deco allowed.
In many parts of the world this is not typical, as dives are deeper or shallower, only one, max two dives per day are done with a long surface interval, and deco is common.
In this case the only use for Nitrox is for accelerated deco, if one has no access to pure oxygen.

I disagree. A typical morning boat dive in Cozumel is 2 dives to ~20m with a 1 hour surface interval. With air, I can do two 35 minute dives and surface with a GF 0f 80% after the second dive. With Nitrox(32%) I can do two 60 minute dives and surface with the same GF of 80% after the second dive. For a 10% increase in the cost of the dive, I get 70% more time on the reef! If I do an afternoon boat dive, the difference is even bigger.

Even for a single dive to 20m, the difference is 65 minutes NDL instead of 40 minutes NDL.

 

[ginti]

I disagree. A typical morning boat dive in Cozumel is 2 dives to ~20m with a 1 hour surface interval. With air, I can do two 35 minute dives and surface with a GF 0f 80% after the second dive. With Nitrox(32%) I can do two 60 minute dives and surface with the same GF of 80% after the second dive. For a 10% increase in the cost of the dive, I get 70% more time on the reef! If I do an afternoon boat dive, the difference is even bigger.

Even for a single dive to 20m, the difference is 65 minutes NDL instead of 40 minutes NDL.

This is what @Angelo Farina meant - for ripetitive dives, nx32 makes sense

 

[L13]

This is what @Angelo Farina meant - for ripetitive dives, nx32 makes sense

He said "repetitive dives in the range of 25-34 meters with no deco allowed." My examples were a repetitive and a single dive at 20m.

Even for a 1 hour dive at 15m, the difference is surfacing at GF=45% vs. 70%.

I would say nx32 often makes sense as shallow as 20m, and sometimes as shallow as 15m.

On the other hand, when diving on my home turf, I often just use air to 35m and accept the shorter dives.

 

[ginti]

He said "repetitive dives in the range of 25-34 meters with no deco allowed." My examples were a repetitive and a single dive at 20m.

True, but be flexible. Maybe @Angelo Farina does not often dive with 1h interval...

 

[Germie]

With the prices of diving on Cozumel, the nitrox must be without any extra costs.

Nitrox can have advantages, for sure. But not everywhere available. And would you skip a dive because there is no ean available? I don't think so.

 

[Angelo Farina]

True, but be flexible. Maybe @Angelo Farina does not often dive with 1h interval...

Here in Italy we typically have a deep dive with deco in the morning. Then a good lunch, some rest. And sometimes (not always) a shallower dive in the afternoon.
The only time I experienced multiple dives in a day was on a LOB in Australia (Cairns).
I did not like to make 10 dives in 3 days...
And it was air, no Nitrox

 

[L13]

With the prices of diving on Cozumel, the nitrox must be without any extra costs.

+$5-10 for most Cozumel dive ops. Most have it easily available. Similar prices in many Caribbean destinations. +$3-5 for me locally. On an $80-100 boat dive, that isn't much extra for 70% more time on the reef for each dive.

Nitrox can have advantages, for sure. But not everywhere available. And would you skip a dive because there is no ean available? I don't think so.

Absolutely not. Air is more than adequate for most of my diving, but often nitrox is nice enough to be worth the extra, especially when traveling to places that have it. Slightly more cost for a lot more benefit from my travel dollars.

 

[L13]

I did not like to make 10 dives in 3 days...
And it was air, no Nitrox

I did 24 dives in 5 1/2 days, and loved it. Didn't want int to end. On nitrox.