Question about comfortable depth

[dbulmer]

How can I determine my "comfort level" ? I mean, what should I watch for as I am going deeper ? Are there signs (headache, vision problems, etc) that I am approaching depth that is a limit for my health status ?

Comfort level can be determined by how relaxed you feel and one measure of that is how relaxed your breathing rate is. If you are not comfortable you tend to breathe more quickly and shallower which over time can lead to a headache.

What I think you should do is re-read the advice you have been given and put to one side any preconceptions you might have. As Jim Lapenta and others have said, we train to enjoy the diving that we do or want to do - along the way we learn how to deal with some of the little worries we have in our heads and it's the instructor's job to help you realise what they might be for you.

 

[boulderjohn]

How can I determine my "comfort level" ? I mean, what should I watch for as I am going deeper ? Are there signs (headache, vision problems, etc) that I am approaching depth that is a limit for my health status ?

If we are talking about recreational depths, just the opposite is true. As you go deeper, diving is easier and more comfortable. Your ears do not bother you as much when you descend a little. Your buoyancy is not thrown off as much by minor changes in depth. If you have decent equipment, it will be just as easy to breather when deep. When you start getting into the deepest limits of recreational diving, narcosis becomes a factor, but a lot of people--maybe most people--don't really feel any different then and will mistakenly claim they are not experiencing narcosis.

So, no, there is no physical clue that you are diving too deep for your "comfort level." Your "comfort level" is actually a conviction based upon your training and experience that you can handle anything that can likely go wrong at the depth you are diving. It is an understanding of how fast you use your air so that you are confident that you can make a safe ascent with what you have. It is the habit of checking your air frequently so that there are no surprises in lack of air supply. As your skill and training permit, you will feel comfortable at deeper and deeper depths.

 

[flots am]

Purchase good equipment, and keep it maintained, and you won't have to worry about complete equipment failure.

Everything fails.

A diver in Cozumel ended up completely out of air when crap from a rental tank clogged the tank valve when he when head-down to look at something.

Also, people sometimes get stupid. As much as I'd like stupidity to be painful, it shouldn't be fatal. A safe diver always needs to know where his next breath will come from if the current regulator stops working.

---------- Post added April 23rd, 2013 at 05:41 PM ----------

How can I determine my "comfort level" ? I mean, what should I watch for as I am going deeper ? Are there signs (headache, vision problems, etc) that I am approaching depth that is a limit for my health status ?

"Comfortable" is a false indicator of safety in SCUBA. With a first class regulator and warm water, you could easily be "comfortable" in 200' of water. You wouldn't be safe, and might have no way to safely reach the surface, but you would be comfortable. At least for a while.

"Confident" and "well trained" is more like what you're looking for.

You want to know that you have the training and skills and equipment to safely do whatever dive you're doing. This includes safely ending it in case (when) your equipment fails.

Your Open Water class should teach you what you need to know, although in an effort to be "not scary" most learning materials (books/online/whatever) gloss over things that are both dangerous and not obvious.

For example, you'll learn about diving within the "no decompression" limits. This is a combination of time and depth, either on a printed table or a diver computer, where you are able to safely surface at any time. What they only touch on, is that exceeding the "no decompression" limits requires staying at specific depths for specific times, before surfacing. This is also only generally touched on, not really explained.

What they don't mention is that often, you won't have enough air with you to actually do the required stops, which leaves you with a choice between bent, drowned or trying to convince others to share air with you.

If you take a good class, really learn the materials, regularly practice your skills and dive so that you're always in control, Open Water SCUBA is very safe. If you don't do this stuff, it's just a spin at the Wheel of Consequences.

fltos

 

[Rich Keller]

In my opinion you cannot get more comfortable then 33ft max to start. Over 90% of the life in the ocean exists in the first 33ft, there is also the best light/vis and you can easily get to the surface no matter what happens if you do not panic. You will not need a computer, you cannot stay down long enough on scuba to worry about decompression and if you know how to weight yourself properly you would not even need a BCD. This is the least task loaded and most enjoyable type of dive for someone just starting out.

 

[windapp]

Quickly surfacing is generally a very poor option for most scuba emergencies. I am very comfortable at most any depth as long as I have a dive buddy who sticks close to deal with any such emergency without having to immediately surface. I would have to say that 20 ft from the surface is about the only depth I feel at all comfortable when an insta-buddy takes off on me.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

If we are talking about recreational depths, just the opposite is true. As you go deeper, diving is easier and more comfortable. Your ears do not bother you as much when you descend a little. Your buoyancy is not thrown off as much by minor changes in depth. If you have decent equipment, it will be just as easy to breather when deep. When you start getting into the deepest limits of recreational diving, narcosis becomes a factor, but a lot of people--maybe most people--don't really feel any different then and will mistakenly claim they are not experiencing narcosis.

So, no, there is no physical clue that you are diving too deep for your "comfort level." Your "comfort level" is actually a conviction based upon your training and experience that you can handle anything that can likely go wrong at the depth you are diving. It is an understanding of how fast you use your air so that you are confident that you can make a safe ascent with what you have. It is the habit of checking your air frequently so that there are no surprises in lack of air supply. As your skill and training permit, you will feel comfortable at deeper and deeper depths.

I disagree with most of this. I have done many hundreds of dives below recreational depths, probably thousands in the 60 to 90 ft depth. I am most definitely more comfortable and relaxed in shallower water. Diving in 20 -40 feet is just very relaxing for me. Once I get past 100 feet, the time constraints, the deco concerns, the distance from the surface (even though I have a redundant air source) ALL begin to weigh on my mind. Viable options in case of emergency become more limited. This all equates to a reduced degree of "comfort". I commonly dive to 180 feet, but to be honest, I am pretty amped up on anything over 150 feet.. maybe it is because I know the narcosis will take its toll or what ever, but for me... each 30 -40 ft increment in depth Definitely changes the "feel" of the dive.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Did anyone say "stay close to your dive buddy" yet? Avoid the possibility of your lungs exploding (ok, exaggerated, kinda) Stay close to your dive buddy and be situationaly aware.

 

[boulderjohn]

I disagree with most of this. I have done many hundreds of dives below recreational depths, probably thousands in the 60 to 90 ft depth. I am most definitely more comfortable and relaxed in shallower water. Diving in 20 -40 feet is just very relaxing for me. Once I get past 100 feet, the time constraints, the deco concerns, the distance from the surface (even though I have a redundant air source) ALL begin to weigh on my mind. Viable options in case of emergency become more limited. This all equates to a reduced degree of "comfort". I commonly dive to 180 feet, but to be honest, I am pretty amped up on anything over 150 feet.. maybe it is because I know the narcosis will take its toll or what ever, but for me... each 30 -40 ft increment in depth Definitely changes the "feel" of the dive.

Interesting. Maybe if you had actually read what I wrote instead of disagreeing with me out of reflex, you would have seen that we said pretty much the same thing. I don't see a single thing in what you wrote that is different from what I wrote.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Well I think the point is... is that I don't feel comfortable at certain depths.... I doubt training would make much of a difference... depth is ALWAYS a prime consideration on pucker factor (after sharks) of course.

Also your comments about no physical clue about depth and comfort level is not my expereince. You fight a screaming current at 130 feet for 5 minutes and it will kick your assss.. MUCH different than swimming in 15 feet of water. The simple work of breathing makes the experience much different. I definitely notice a huge reduction in the ability to do heavy work and think straight below 175 or 200 feet (on air). Depth does matter.

 

[tamas970]

I still have ear issues if I go from 100 to 110' . Until now, I dived rental unbalanced regulators and breathing was noticeably more difficult once I passed 80'. Hopefully the latter will change with my new balanced regs...

To the OP: as others posted: #1 rule of scuba diving: NEVER hold your breath, otherwise this will happen to your lungs:

(they will explode)

Scuba is about keeping your gear in perfectly working condition and trusting your gear. Sometimes the really interesting things are 30-40m/120+Ft deep. We learnt scuba because we want to see those. To enhance safety, there are several redundancies: octo, pony, buddy air-sharing.

Also, a very important thing, which you have to learn as early as possible: DON'T listen to your instincts, remember your training at all times! On one of my certification dives I had to caugh - my instinct said, spit out the reg, take a deep breath and caugh - this would have killed me in 3m/10Ft of water...

If we are talking about recreational depths, just the opposite is true. As you go deeper, diving is easier and more comfortable. Your ears do not bother you as much when you descend a little. Your buoyancy is not thrown off as much by minor changes in depth. If you have decent equipment, it will be just as easy to breather when deep. When you start getting into the deepest limits of recreational diving, narcosis becomes a factor, but a lot of people--maybe most people--don't really feel any different then and will mistakenly claim they are not experiencing narcosis.

So, no, there is no physical clue that you are diving too deep for your "comfort level." Your "comfort level" is actually a conviction based upon your training and experience that you can handle anything that can likely go wrong at the depth you are diving. It is an understanding of how fast you use your air so that you are confident that you can make a safe ascent with what you have. It is the habit of checking your air frequently so that there are no surprises in lack of air supply. As your skill and training permit, you will feel comfortable at deeper and deeper depths.