Fun Diving with AIR

[beachhead]

without a dive computer, how do you dive with recreational divers breathing air? how do you plan multiple dives? is their a DIR table for fun diving (air) ?

 

[fweber]

The DIR answer: Air is great..... for filling your car tires. Standard DIR gas would be EAN32.

 

[David P]

You question seems too easy...it confuses me... how do you plan a dive on Ean 32? Same way but plan it for Ean 21. Use your padi/naui/navy tables, just like the way you were taught in O/W class.

 

[beachhead]

You question seems too easy...it confuses me... how do you plan a dive on Ean 32? Same way but plan it for Ean 21. Use your padi/naui/navy tables, just like the way you were taught in O/W class.

sorry for the confusion.

I just wanted something to work with on the fly. I think I just found it at DIR-diver.com

Peter Steinhoff's Minimum Deco Table takes care of both Eanx32 and 21. Mandatory stops look credible.

At some point we were taught to dive deep first (as a 1st dive). Is this still ultimately correct? Steinhoff's table doesn't remind to practice this thought.

 

[RiverRat]

The DIR answer: Air is great..... for filling your car tires. Standard DIR gas would be EAN32.

Just curious. What do you guys do when traveling to, say for example, a tropical location that only pumps air? I've been to several locales where you dive air or you don't dive, period. Do you select locations, boats etc. that are DIR friendly? Do you limit your max depth to 60 feet at those places? I just ask because it seems tough to dive strict DIR in the "real" world of dive travel.

 

[JeffG]

Just curious. What do you guys do when traveling to, say for example, a tropical location that only pumps air? I've been to several locales where you dive air or you don't dive, period. Do you select locations, boats etc. that are DIR friendly? Do you limit your max depth to 60 feet at those places? I just ask because it seems tough to dive strict DIR in the "real" world of dive travel.

We would rule number 1 the entire vacation and spend all of our time pontificating on the internet.

 

[RiverRat]

We would rule number 1 the entire vacation and spend all of our time pontificating on the internet.

I had a feeling that would stir things up, not my intention but I had a feeling, especially when I saw JeffG replied.

 

[RTodd]

Just curious. What do you guys do when traveling to, say for example, a tropical location that only pumps air? I've been to several locales where you dive air or you don't dive, period. Do you select locations, boats etc. that are DIR friendly? Do you limit your max depth to 60 feet at those places? I just ask because it seems tough to dive strict DIR in the "real" world of dive travel.

If you are willing to put in a little work before you leave, you can pretty much get nitrox anywhere now. If it simply wasn't possible, I would probably go somewhere else. Diving air is way too limiting on my dive profiles.

To answer the original question, you don't have enough dives yet. Air diving is extremely limiting and, with experience, it just isn't worth it for anything other than a very shallow dive where the tables are pretty meaningless anyway.

 

[Steve R]

Just curious. What do you guys do when traveling to, say for example, a tropical location that only pumps air? I've been to several locales where you dive air or you don't dive, period. Do you select locations, boats etc. that are DIR friendly? Do you limit your max depth to 60 feet at those places? I just ask because it seems tough to dive strict DIR in the "real" world of dive travel.

Seems like a pretty straight forward recreational question to answer. Clearly places like that do exist. Your options are not to dive or to go ahead with it and use your head. I realize the opponents of DIR like to label a codified 'rule book' as one that is used without thought, regardless of the fact that that it is not and has never been true.

I can't imagine any DIR team that chooses to dive to 80ft on air, or whatever, is somehow going to fall apart and forget everything they know just because the gas isn't ideal. That certainly isn't to say or even imply that choosing to do that dive somehow invalidates a system and their next step is 180ft on air....

I think it's part of the DIR process to use your head.

Or we could employ JeffG's suggestion, which keeps the rule book totally in tact and can be at least as fun as any vacation I've ever been on.

Personally I would like to see more places promote the use of Nitrox such as say Bonaire does. Having Coz run like Bonaire would be sweet.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Personally I would like to see more places promote the use of Nitrox such as say Bonaire does. Having Coz run like Bonaire would be sweet.

Having Catalina Island run like Bonaire would be sweet. One of the biggest drawbacks to diving there is that it's next to impossible to get nitrox fills. In fact, most of SoCal seems to be behind the curve when it comes to nitrox ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)