Solo - sticking to recreational limits?

[Jim Lapenta]

Any dive I'd do with a buddy I'd do solo. As DA said though there are some I'd rather do without a buddy where due to the complexity of the dive or conditions a buddy would be a distraction.

 

[CamG]

I have done all the above while being extremely conservative.
When I plan any it is as a solo dive whether I am alone or not.
My solo deco dive was a result of my buddy bailing at the last possible moment he had a failure on the back of the boat.
I was told to rock on so I did.
I had a fantastic dive @ 150' with about 15 min. inside the wreck by myself it was very peaceful.
75 min. run time total 30 min of bottom with very conservative deco stops.

I have had several cave dives that were not long in duration but pretty small cave with some interesting flow.
Very fun, extremely conservative and would rather dive with a buddy but he would not fit
I do solo dives but would rather dive with a buddy on most dives.

If they are not comfortable or trained I would rather dive by myself if doing any overhead or deco.
This is mainly planned dives or chartered if it is a fun dive I will alter my plan to one they are comfortable with.

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[Seaduced]

Most of the time I'm in the 30-60 ft range. Occasionally, I will explore to the 130 ft limit or there 'bouts.

 

[DeeperOut]

I plan my solo dives on contingency - I have to be fairly certain that I can resolve any and all issues that arise. So conditions of the dive play a huge role. I routinely do pool one breath swims for 30 meters (without any prebreathing, to simulate actual scenario of out-of-air) and I did 30 meter ascents in my training, so I am confident in exiting an out-of-air scenario from 30 meters (yes, every single piece of gear, including air supply, is doubled or tripled, but still.... ). So a tech dive with 30 meters visibility to 60 meters "feels" equivalent to a 15-20 meters dive in murky water and dangers of overhead boat traffic and entanglement... I love solo dives but a good team is my first choice - everything is so much easier...

 

[Searcaigh]

My local solo dives do not exceed 22M, I would need a shovel to go deeper.

 

[Doc Harry]

Soloing beyond rec limits is significantly more risky. It took me while to make the jump. I use lower pO2 limts for safety, e.g., I use 100% O2 no deeper than 10 feet.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I stay well within rec limits. I dive for fun and I am just more relaxed if I don't hit deco or push any limit.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

If I won't do the dive solo I won't do it with a buddy. I plan and carry out deco, penetrations, and am completely ok with it.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Diver0001]

Some of the recent threads got me thinking. I keep my solo diving to recreational limits as opposed to doing technical dives solo. Don't get me wrong, I do technical dive, just with a buddy or two.

The decision to solo only within recreational limits is partly some conservatism on my part and partly because I already feel that I am way out there in terms of being solo. The stigma of being a tech solo is just too much for me to contemplate.

I became curious as to how many others do solo within the technical realm. I am not talking about wracking up 2 minutes of deco while on a solo dive, but rather about planning and executing a full technical dive while solo.

If the objectives of the dive are compatible to going solo then aside from the gas/contingency plan, being solo makes a bigger difference to how I get in and out of my drysuit than it does to how I dive.

In terms of wreck penetrations, for the most part I feel more comfortable doing them solo anyway. A lot of local wreck divers "walk Darwin on a leash" and I only have 1 buddy who I really trust to be inside a wreck with me. And sometimes we just don't both fit.

R..

 

[Searcaigh]

My local solo dives do not exceed 22M, I would need a shovel to go deeper.

I am withdrawing this statement, ended up doing a 30M solo last Sunday when the DM bailed after 12 mins. Anyway I was well prepared and even though it was my first time soloing at that depth I had no issues, although I probably over monitored my gauges more than usual in particular when it got close to my NDL time. Stacks of gas though I surfaced after two 3 min stops with 90 bar