PADI tables finally going away?

[Pullmyfinger]

I was looking for metric tables awhile back. I went to a shop to grab a set of PADI tables, air, 32, 36, and an EAD table.
I was told that PADI was doing away with all of the tables, including the Nitrox ones.
Based on that, I gather any future nitrox training will be computer only.

-Mitch

 

[Blackwood]

I was looking for metric tables awhile back. I went to a shop to grab a set of PADI tables, air, 32, 36, and an EAD table.
I was told that PADI was doing away with all of the tables, including the Nitrox ones.
Based on that, I gather any future nitrox training will be computer only.

-Mitch

ERDP perhaps?

 

[Quero]

I was looking for metric tables awhile back. I went to a shop to grab a set of PADI tables, air, 32, 36, and an EAD table.
I was told that PADI was doing away with all of the tables, including the Nitrox ones.
Based on that, I gather any future nitrox training will be computer only.

-Mitch

Well, Mitch, the tables themselves are not disappearing, but the production of the plastic ones seems likely to cease. The tables can still be printed on paper in student manuals, though.

 

[mikemill]

ERDP perhaps?

Didn't that get deprecated already? Thought the eRDPML was the standard one now.

Oh and along these lines: Long live "The Wheel"!!!!

 

[Pullmyfinger]

I thought the same thing, so I looked in a co-workers new open water manual.
The table wasn't printed in there. There was only a picture of a table, with a caption indicating it was a dive table.
I went ahead and bought them all in metric to go along with the imperial ones I have.
I like the PADI/DSAT tables. They are on that thick plastic card material.

-Mitch

 

[Pullmyfinger]

"Long live the wheel!"
Hahahaha!

I've never used one, or the ERDP. I do like the PADI tables for planning recreational dives.
I still have my YMCA table, but I tend to use the PADI table and their EAD table.

-Mitch

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Mikemill, that is a good one, On most salvage dives years ago we would pull out the wheel to cut time, mabey thats why i know how conservative I am with my phisolgy on navy tables.

My wheel is still with all My numerous tables, Thats why I think HOLLY SH!&, going away with tables, the navy wont even do that even having heads up display for the last 15 years.


Happy Diving

 

[The Chairman]

Wrong. I check my gauges every couple of minutes.

Wow. We dive completely differently. I check my gauges when I arrive on the bottom. I'm at X depth for X minutes. Kewl. If I feel a depth change (ears/thermocline/etc) I'll check again but I don't need to remind myself that I am at X depth for X minutes. I focus on my buddy and the dive.

I still have enough info to plan my next dive.

Suffice it to say, you are an anal diver. Nothing wrong with that, but you are exception rather than the rule.

You decry the thoroughness of "old school" training

You can put words in my mouth all you want but I find the misrepresentation offensive. In fact, I decry the excesses of old school training. The mantra or "If you don't dive my way, you will surely die!" is even more tired in light of IMPROVED gear and IMPROVED training methods. You don't need to be a Navy Seal to dive and have fun doing it. Now if you want to take out Osama, Navy Seal training is the ticket, and there is nothing wrong with that.

my training included what to do under virtually every contingency.

BS. That would have taken you 20 years to do.

In the aviation world, it's called "situation awareness."

Situational awareness is a strong point for my students. They're not bogged down with tables and such.

Oh, and he didn't charge any extra for the better training. He said it was his pleasure to train them.

Hopefully you had the decency to compensate this man for going the extra mile. No need to take advantage of people.

But, since you don't even tell your students that the tables even exist, you make the decision for them, eh?

Yep, I do. I even send them to ScubaBoard so they can learn a ton more... IF THEY WANT TO LEARN A TON MORE.

By the way, Key Largo isn't the only place people dive, you know.

It's a tragedy, I know. If only all the diving were this wonderful!

 

[mikemill]

Wow. We dive completely differently. I check my gauges when I arrive on the bottom. I'm at X depth for X minutes. Kewl. If I feel a depth change (ears/thermocline/etc) I'll check again but I don't need to remind myself that I am at X depth for X minutes. I focus on my buddy and the dive.

Wrist mount gauges FTW! I can look at my gauges, my buddies, and the jellyfish he is about to run into all at the same time. The only gauge that isn't wrist mounted is my SPG but that one I'm willing to check less often (since I know my SAC rate, depth, time, and carry a metric ****-ton of gas).

Oh and you can have your air integrated PDC on the wrist too if you want.

 

[iamafish]

Actually whether a diver is using tables, computers, digital or analog pressure and/or depth gauges, all of these tools, if used properly in the water, should only confirm what a diver already knows based on their situational knowledge of their dive and dive conditions at any point in time. (Some numbers are harder than others.)

For example, I always think how many bar I have in my tank before I look at my SPG, based on the dive profile. The SPG should confirm what I already know based on my knowledge of where I am in my dive profile and how much air has been consumed (based on depth, conditions, etc). I was taught this as a solo diver (and when solo diving, I like to have two dive computers, my pony and pony regs, and often a spare mask, not to mention a minimum of two torches in my pockets, SMB and reel just in case... etc.)

This has evolved to something similar with my dive computer, and I try to know my depth and NDL time (NDLs) before looking at the computer. Quite often I'm wrong, but it is great practice in keeping your mind on your dive and dive profile. I also do this when fun diving with a buddy or leading a dive with a less experienced diver, if the situation permits (sometimes leading a dive I tend to pay more attention to the gas consumption and limits of the less experienced diver), using the dive computer to verify, or cross-check, what my mind thinks it should be.

Tables? I have them in my dive bag, standard and the Nitrox ones, but tend to never use them; as I always use my dive computer and if I need to plan, I use the PDC planning mode. But, I also do the same mental check for planning, and try to estimate what the limits are based on my prior dive profiles (in my head), before looking at the planner in my computer.

I agree with NetDoc who, in an earlier post, mentioned that the tables will someday be a footnote in diver history; but they are still useful to teach the concepts of nitrogen loading as others has mentioned, including outgassing and decompression theory. But, in daily practice, and on dive boats all over the world, everyone I see has as a dive computer on their wrist. Only students are playing with tables and after the complete the training, they are diving with a computer. I think this is very good, especially in the world of multilevel (or continuous mode) diving.

On the other hand, no dive computer, table or timer can compensate for a lack of situational knowledge of what is going on in the body when diving. Yes, guessing NDLs in our heads can be difficult, and so is tracking depth at times. I'm not very good at NDL tracking in my head, but I'm pretty good at knowing how much air is left in the tank and my depth and approx dive time, before looking at the little friend on my wrist or gauge hanging here and there.

I do find dive tables useful for providing a hard and smooth surface for writing on paper when there is no suitable smooth service