Padi Dsat

[Steve R]

I don't disagree - I was actually referring to the 3 easy steps to 125m. That's classic.

Yup, I know that's what you were getting at.

Hey Jeff ole buddy. Glad to see the killer kitty has returned.

 

[Steve R]

Fast track to 125m.... Whats wrong with that? Saves ya a lot of money, especially if you get rid of that helium crap.

yep, I've seen guys do that solo, and used only 2 deco gases as three bottles was way too much to handle.................

Sweet profile that was.

Finishing the off-gassing laying on the bottom of the boat in some pain was, well,...............priceless to watch to say the least.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Was that their O2 stop?

 

[Steve R]

Was that their O2 stop?

I dunno dude. I just don't get the idea of seeing how many times I can play russian roulette with my life, and then throwing in the twist of adding a second bullet in there for kicks and giggles once in a while. :shakehead

 

[ScubaAndDreams]

But, I recently completed the PDAI tec courses - great courses! Very thorough, good content.

I agree with the comment that the instructor makes a difference, and I had a terrific one, but I knew that going in as I had trained with him before.

Not sure about the comment that it is not good to go to 165' on air. In fact you can easily, and safely, go a bit deeper on air (MOD is ~187).

Wow...this is a troll right? Sweet...air to 187' and "safely" nonetheless maybe we can make that a specialty course...Good thing you were "thoroughly trained"

 

[Colliam7]

Wow...this is a troll right? Sweet...air to 187' and "safely" nonetheless maybe we can make that a specialty course...Good thing you were "thoroughly trained"

So, what do you dive at 165 feet? Raises an interesting question. Some on this post say, 'No way.' others have said, 'Why breath trimix that shallow?' Presuming the concern is being narc'd, where do you (and others) draw the line? And, what are the data, other than personal / anecdotal experience, supporting a particular depth?

Obviously, there are extremes in both directions - some well-known folks who (still) make dives on the Doria on air; others who won't go to 165' on air.

 

[SparticleBrane]

A lot of people who are diving that deep are switching to trimix (or never used deep air to begin with).

 

[Meng_Tze]

I start planning for/using mix around 35 meters (115ft) give or take. It also depends on the dive, the profile, task loading etc, etc. Some start at 39-40 meters, others start at 30 meters.

Yes air can be done deeper, but not by me..

 

[MikeFerrara]

So, what do you dive at 165 feet? Raises an interesting question. Some on this post say, 'No way.' others have said, 'Why breath trimix that shallow?' Presuming the concern is being narc'd, where do you (and others) draw the line? And, what are the data, other than personal / anecdotal experience, supporting a particular depth?

There have been lots of studies and one place to read about some of those studies is the IANTD technical diving encyclopedia. Still none of those studies will tell you what max END makes sense.

When it comes to narcosis, less is better as far as I'm concerned. I dive for fun and diving is more fun that way. Personally I don't care to dive much below 100 ft without helium. I might go a little deeper but it's been a really long time since I've been below 130 or so without helium. Other people can do what they want but if I want to dive deeper and there isn't helium available or if I can't afford it I'd rather just do a different dive or not dive at all.

Obviously, there are extremes in both directions - some well-known folks who (still) make dives on the Doria on air; others who won't go to 165' on air.

I don't know which well known folks you're talking about but I have no interest in following their lead.

I know divers who used to do cave surveys at 250 before trimix was being used. I don't know too many who care to do that these days.

In regards to training, the only real concern I have is that as "technical diving gets more popular and more commercialized and more and more recreational agencies get into the act we ARE seeing technical instructors and divers with less experience than what we used to see. We ARE seeing PADI instructors going to 135 ft deep quarries and doing a bunch of bounce dives to get the 25 "required technical dives". Now these idiots can go out and teach on air to 165 ft. Whatever, but I don't want to be anywhere in the area when it's going on.

To make matters worse, I think we're seeing divers move on to "technical diving" much earlier in their diving careers than what we used to see.

Maybe deep diving on air wasn't ever real smart but IMO it just gets dummer with less experienced divers and instructors doing it...especially since helium and decompression information is easier to get than ever before.

I think most of the tech agencies provide ways to avoid deep diving on air these days. With IANTD, you can combine normoxic trimix with the technical diver course. GUE doesn't mess with the deep air thing at all. I'm not sure about TDI. Here comes DSAT with a sparkeling new course with no option for helium prior to doing the course to 165. It looks like flat out insanity to me. I guess some instructors are conducting these courses without hitting the max allowable depths. Since deep diving is the subject, I think that's even more rediculous.

I think allowing the option is one thing but making it a requirement is another. Personally, I wouldn't even bother with an agency that doesn't get it yet.

 

[Mike Edmonston]

Personally, I wouldn't even bother with an agency that doesn't get it yet.

Well said Mike

Cheers

Mike