Nitrox?

[Divin'Papaw]

I meant warm water.
I'm 68 years old...Strictly a warm water diver

You don't know what you're missing, but I get it. I live in FL now and 72 F water is cold to me these days!

 

[formernuke]

The short answer is yes.

Besides the NDL I'm not as tired when diving nitrox. For example in Roatan I was doing 5 dives a day. Never hit NDL and I wasn't as tired.

Nitrox and rescue are two classes I recommend EVERY diver take.

Other than that, what @tbone1004 said.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Recreational dives for cruise ship passengers never go beyond 45, maybe 50 minutes on the very outside. Usually they are 35-40 mins.

At this stage in my experience I'm using up gas pretty fast, usually get low at about 35 mins.

If you're getting low on air around the 35-minute mark on a cruise-shipper dive, Nitrox isn't going to help extend your dive time. It sounds like you don't plan on doing any diving beyond the occasional cruise. One can hardly blame you for not wanting to start diving in the Great Lakes at your age. No worries. Enjoy the cruise-shipper dives. Take the Nitrox course for the educational value when you can.

 

[mac66]

I'll try and answer some of your questions.

The Curacao dives were 37 and 57 feet, about 35 mins each.there were 5 divers

Typically, dives are with small groups i.e, 3-6 people though in Bonaire and several places I've had the DM/ guide to myself. Just returned from Roatan and dived with 2 others and a DM. In Mahahaul, Mexico I was the only diver. The last time in Aruba there were 12 divers split between 2 DMs.

I sometimes book the dives through the ship and sometimes with private operators so you never know how many divers there's going to be. It seems though that the typical ratio of divers to DMs is 6:1.

I typically cruise 2, sometimes 3 times a year and that's when I dive. Though I cruised 4 times last year making up for delayed covid years cruises. I dived 14 times on cruises last year. I dived 4 times on a cruise this year. Dont have any more cruises planned until January '24, though we may go one more time this year if we find something cheap.

I dont have, use a computer.

 

[dmaziuk]

I wouldn't bother unless a dive (or cruise) operator throws it in for pennies on top of their charge for the dive(s). There is no practical benefit for the kinds of dives you say you're doing, there will be a cost. Some claim they feel better after a dive, but I am not aware of any evidence that's anything other than placebo effect.

 

[tursiops]

Some claim they feel better after a dive, but I am not aware of any evidence that's anything other than placebo effect.

Nor is there any evidence that it is not true. It is an open question, confounded by varying definitions of "fatigue" and dislike for anecdotes.

 

[formernuke]

Nor is there any evidence that it is not true. It is an open question, confounded by varying definitions of "fatigue" and dislike for anecdotes.

I notice it but that's just me and I'm weird.

 

[tursiops]

I notice it but that's just me and I'm weird.

I guess I'm weird too.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Something to consider.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Some claim they feel better after a dive, but I am not aware of any evidence that's anything other than placebo effect.

I don't know if the mechanisms behind fatigue and skin bends relate to each other--maybe no one does for sure--but there is definitely a range of skin bend severity, from "I could swear I feel a little sensitive but maybe it's just abrasion from the suit" to "there's a giant painful rash on my chest." Logic suggests that Nitrox could help (and a 100% O2 deco stop even more).