Personally I read the Rodales article as well and I did not feel it was not "pushing" deep air but rather just addressing the question of whether it could be done safely.
Frankly I found the article to be a refreshing change of pace from the anti everything that ain't politically correct trend that seems so popular lately.
The article pointed out that people have and continue to make deep air dives safely and that it does offer the advantage of simplicity. It also makes the point that saftey is a relative thing. To be honest if we were all obsessed with saftey, none of us would ever go in the water. Diving is an adjustable risk sport and what is risky to one diver may not be regarded as risky to another.
The article did mention the elimination of the risk of switching to the wrong gas at depth, but I do have an issue with that. If you are doing deep anything without an accellerated deco gas, you will be doing a lot of deco, so I don't think deep air would totally eliminate the risk in the real world as most divers would take a deco gas along anyway.
You do need to be fair and state that the article does point out the limitations of deep air and suggests deep air in cold dark conditions or where a long swim along the bottom is required may not be a great idea. They also point out that results will vary from diver to diver and day to day.
The article essentially concludes that deep air is safe under the right conditions and I think that is a reasonable conclusion.
A larger issue of contention I suspect is the underlying assumption of the philopsophy of leaving the esponsibility for deciding what is safe and whether the conditions are right with the individual diver. I have always been a big proponent of individual responsibility. I much prefer it to the dogma of some of the current tech training agencies that promote doing things in the one true approved fashion and consequently eliminating freewill, at least if you want to be a member of the "club".
There are some people who like this sense of belonging, who like the idea of having a creed to follow and who view dving as the ultimate team sport. But the there are others who view diving as an expression of individuality and view diving as the ultimate in individual sports and as an opportunity to express their individualism and self reliance and to put it into practice.
It's a big ocean and I think there is more than enough room for both points of view. In my opinion a little maturity and a little tolerance would be a welcome addition to this thread.
Tom R:
Any discussion on deep air is bad, Just don't do it. Just like the solo diving, it's stupid and who certifys them anyway. Maybe we should start teaching team/buddy awareness.
This is a pretty predictable thread and it was inevitable that some one would make a statement like this. I guess I would have been surprised and maybe even dissapiointed if someone did not. Your statement sums up the anti whatever argument nicely but also serves as a good example of where a little tolerance for other points of views would be appreciated.
Personally I do both deep air and solo diving and have done so for almost 20 years so naturally I disagree with you that either is "bad" or "stupid" and resent the implication you make about divers who engage in either.
What maybe bothers me the most about your post is the idea that if you feel something is "bad" it should not be discussed. I assume the idea is that if we talk about something that is "bad", people will run out and try it in a teeming mass.
I prefer to think that if we openly discuss anything enough, people will be able to make their own decision based on informed consent and will pursue those things that makes sense to them and avoid those things they don't. It's an idea that is closely related to that thing that lots of people talk about but that very few seem to really understand lately called "freedom".
