the sweet spot

[hedonist222]

All the posts above are telling you what course to take, I won't go into that.
You said you don't know what to do at deco stop, since you don't have nice walls to hang onto. What I like to do is to do a deco stop not hanging onto a buoy, but balancing myself with my breathing. No matter how clear the water looks, there is always something floating, to give you reference. You would be surprised how many interesting things are swiming right in front of your mask, just if you look for it.
Not to mention how easier is to breathe balance yourself during "normal" diving, once it becomes second nature.

sounds fair but I cannot stomach decompressing in the blue for more than fifteen minutes
I get agitated at the barbers

If we had walls/pinnacles, this would be a different thread altogether

 

[Marie13]

sounds fair but I cannot stomach decompressing in the blue for more than fifteen minutes
I get agitated at the barbers

If we had walls/pinnacles, this would be a different thread altogether

Get Multideco and play around planning some dives. Quite the eye opener.

 

[hedonist222]

Just take the class. Even if you don’t do the deeper dives, I’m sure you’ll learn something that might improve your diving.

abundance of hobbies - sparse time and money dear Marie

 

[Marie13]

abundance of hobbies - sparse time and money dear Marie

You’ve got screwed up priorities if diving isn’t at the top.

 

[OTF]

sounds fair but I cannot stomach decompressing in the blue for more than fifteen minutes
I get agitated at the barbers

If we had walls/pinnacles, this would be a different thread altogether

Then deco diving might not be worth it for you. There is plenty to see and do within the no decompression limits - I still do tons of shallow NDL dives despite my tech cert. Although taking the class will make you a much better diver and give you lots of tools that open up all sorts of diving options, including short accelerated decos. And again, the time "wasted" hanging on the line is a tiny fraction compared to the other "non diving" preparation that goes into achieving bottom time.

You could try adding a "mock deco stop" to an NDL dive to see how boring or nerve-wracking it feels for you. Just extend your 15 foot safety stop to 10 or 15 minutes. You might find that it goes by quick. J

 

[hedonist222]

Then deco diving might not be worth it for you. There is plenty to see and do within the no decompression limits - I still do tons of shallow NDL dives despite my tech cert. Although taking the class will make you a much better diver and give you lots of tools that open up all sorts of diving options, including short accelerated decos. And again, the time "wasted" hanging on the line is a tiny fraction compared to the other "non diving" preparation that goes into achieving bottom time.

You could try adding a "mock deco stop" to an NDL dive to see how boring or nerve-wracking it feels for you. Just extend your 15 foot safety stop to 10 or 15 minutes. You might find that it goes by quick. J

hi OTF

maybe our dive profiles don't offer me anything enticing
dive to 45 to 75 meters for x minutes then deco for what seems like x times 0.75 minutes

appealing to some but not me

I've simulated deco stops to fifteens minutes in the past and felt like suicide was a good option at that point

I spoke with this deco diver and I mentioned how I cannot digest the idea of decompressing for thirty minutes after a 75 min dive and he said

really? its great
I love spacing out

lucky him

I would opt for suicide at that point

another diver said they watch movies on their mobile phones to pass the time
good idea but not for me

hence the subject of this thread

the sweeeeeeeeeeeet spot

between going deep but not spacing out for more than fifteen minutes

 

[admikar]

In that case, sweet spot is depth and duration that will give you <15 min deco time. What that depth is? Only you can tell, depending on dive location.

 

[Degenerate]

If you really hate deco that much then diving close to NDL is probably the sweet spot for you.
I can't say I enjoy the time I spend on deco but if that's what I gotta do to enjoy the dive up until that point then it is well worth it.
Moving to CCR made it better because now we can all talk to each other to pass the time during deco at least.

 

[Brett Hatch]

If you really hate deco that much then diving close to NDL is probably the sweet spot for you.
I can't say I enjoy the time I spend on deco but if that's what I gotta do to enjoy the dive up until that point then it is well worth it.
Moving to CCR made it better because now we can all talk to each other to pass the time during deco at least.

Wait, what? People are always touting silence as one of the upsides to CCR, since you exhaust so few bubbles. But now you gotta deal with people talking to you??? Not so sure that's a good trade

 

[DiveClimbRide]

Gf 50/85 EANX35 30m for 50 mins gives you 15 mins of deco. (backgas)

Gf 50/85 EANX 28 40m for 23 mins gives you 15 mins of deco (backgas)

Gf 50/85 Air 50m for 15 mins gives you 15 mins of deco (O2 or 50% deco)

Gf 50/85 EANX 35 30m for 70 mins gives you 15 mins of deco (O2)


I think you get the point there's plenty that can be done with only 15mins of deco and one deco gas or even no deco gas. Take an/dp and you'll be set