Yes all dives are decompression dives, but not all decompression dives are the same.
I agree, not all decompression dives are the same. It's difficult to call something a "no-decompression dive" today when Certification Agencies recommend safety stops and a maximum ascent rate (which is often too fast above 30 feet). Also when people are getting bent by following the no-decompression guidelines.
I prefer to teach my students that every dive is a decompression dive, but the term "no-decompression dive" is often used, as this is an old term taken from the C & R Decompression Tables of 1915 (the first U.S. Navy "Decompression Tables). Since then, all "Decompression Tables" have been identified as such and have shown the "no-decompression limits" with
restrictions placed upon these calculations.
As far as terminology is concerned, a "Decompression Computer" based on "Decompression Tables" makes more sense that a "No-Decompression Computer" based on the "Decompression Tables." There are no computers that I'm aware of (perhaps someone call provide me with more input here) that if you go into "a decompression scenario" that just shut off. Are not the "decompression tables" part of every dive computer to some extent?
Even PADI describes a "Dive Computer" as "also known as : deco meter, decompression meter, decompression computer, scuba diving computer." (
Dive Computer).
Given the ascent rate of today's divers, often missed safety stops and the rate of DCS, perhaps it would be more prudent to eliminate the words "no-decompression dive" from our current vocabulary. Every dive IS a decompression dive, but as Ste Wart has rightly stated, not all decompression dives are the same.
Understanding a diver's safety envelope is a crucial element in diver education. More conservation should be used (imo) to prevent DCS.
