Nitrox Class??

[hydroslyder]

Hey everybody wats up.

I am going to be diving in the Florida Keys for about 4 days, and was wondering weather or not it would be beneficial to take a nitrox class before the trip. I dont think the diving will be to rigorous, mostly 2 dives a day and maybe a night dive.

Thanks

 

[melfox26]

If you'll be diving 2 dives per day for 4 days, it may be beneficial to dive on Nitrox as it will reduce the amount of Nitrogen you take in quite significantly over the 4 days. I've never dove in the Keys, so I can't tell you how deep it gets, maybe some of the Florida folks can chime in on that. Just keep in mind the maximum depths for the blend of Nitrox that you will be using, you do not want to go down beyond the max.

Mel
PADI Rescue Diver/Nitrox

 

[IndigoBlue]

Hey everybody wats up.

I am going to be diving in the Florida Keys for about 4 days, and was wondering weather or not it would be beneficial to take a nitrox class before the trip. I dont think the diving will be to rigorous, mostly 2 dives a day and maybe a night dive.

Thanks

"Beneficial" as in whether or not there is a benefit to diving with nitrox, certainly. Anytime you dive deeper than 20 ft, there is a benefit to nitrox. The benefit is longer bottom times within the NDL limits, better offgassing during your ascent and safety stops, therefore shorter surface intervals and/or longer repetitive dives. It is a more efficient way of diving, to be an EANx diver.

Whether it would make a big difference to you for 2 dives per day for a week, that I doubt. You may feel better, less fatigued, diving with nitrox. Other than that, you probably would not notice a difference.

Everyone whom I know of who got into DCS trouble did so not because they were using air vs nitrox, but more because they were drinking alcohol so much during the evening hours that they were dehydrating themselves and then diving the next morning, day after day. I doubt that nitrox would do much if anything in the way of addressing that problem.

So is nitrox a benefit? Yes.

Is nitrox a noticeable benefit? Yes.

Is there a really big difference in using nitrox vs air for 2 dives per day for a week? Probably not.

 

[PolsVoice]

although I don't think you "need" it for the diving you will be doing, I believe that an EANx cert is the only cert (other than OW) that every diver should have. Nitrox is so useful in so many situations that I can't believe what I'd do without it. At certain depths you double your no-stop bottom time! Always a plus.

EANx, I believe, will become a standard for divers over the next 10-20 years. The gas is truly a godsend. Go get it, regardless of whether or not you'll need it on THIS trip, I guarantee you won't regret it.