To T2T or not to T2T?

[ucfdiver]

I would like to see more discussion about deco. Sadly, that doesn't happen, because only if youve taken certain classes are you ever allowed to think about it.

Start a thread. I'd be happy to discuss it-- at least to the best I can. The difficult thing with DCS is no one wants to admit they've taken a hit, and those of us who haven't taken one can't really say what works better for us because we haven't experienced negative results. Most of the quality information I've had on DCS has come from private conversations. More than one instructor has told me that they experienced DCS on a dive after heavy drinking the night before. Those guys aren't going to share that here, no matter how limited the users are.

 

[rjack321]

I would like to see more discussion about deco. Sadly, that doesn't happen, because only if youve taken certain classes are you ever allowed to think about it.

Like what kind of discussion? I do deco. I have exited the water: 1) fine 2) iffy 3) bent (yes all three but not on the same dive). Who am I to say what works for you or vice versa? I will tell you what works for me but until you are doing it consistently you won't ever know.

Even then, you're opinion (unless you are certain set of individuals) is disregarded. An example would be the recent thread about 25/25 and the use of 30/30. Not much discussion there really, it was much more of a "why are you going against our brilliant standard gas?" I feel like here we can have a much better discussion about things like that, even if people have differing opinions.

Who cares if your opinion is or isn't well regarded? I mean seriously there are some basic concepts that aren't too far out of the mainstream, within those boundaries who really cares? The 25/25 vs 30/30 thread you mention is a great example of not making a hill of beans difference in the grand scheme of things. When you are really doing something stupid or pointless though expect to be called on it here (as you probably would on TDS as well).

 

[down4fun]

but I would like to see more discussion about deco. Sadly, that doesn't happen, because only if youve taken certain classes are you ever allowed to think about it.

well i think lots of people think about, a few of us even it tried before we were ever trained. Not endorsing this, simply admitting. My first official deco dive i was thrilled. I remember thinking "I'm doing a decompression dive" and feeling like the big fish in the little pond. Every minute was exciting just to be there. The training, the planning, I was just geek enough to enjoy all of that. Then you do some deco dives and now it's just time spent hanging in the water. Then you start doing some deeper deco dives and suddenly that time that was so exciting just to be there is dragging on endlessly as the minutes slowly tick off that you have accumulated in a 2:1 ratio if not more for you bottom time enjoyment. Throw in some unexpected cold water and the hang sucks. Your mind wanders, you begin to think in your mind I could cut off 10 minutes of deco and probably still be ok (like some twisted version of that old tv show name that tune). In the end, you do your hang, wish for summer to come and warm the water up, and smile when it's sunny topside and you are finally warm again.
at least that's my take on things

 

[rjack321]

well i think lots of people think about, a few of us even it tried before we were ever trained. Not endorsing this, simply admitting. My first official deco dive i was thrilled. I remember thinking "I'm doing a decompression dive" and feeling like the big fish in the little pond. Every minute was exciting just to be there. The training, the planning, I was just geek enough to enjoy all of that. Then you do some deco dives and now it's just time spent hanging in the water. Then you start doing some deeper deco dives and suddenly that time that was so exciting just to be there is dragging on endlessly as the minutes slowly tick off that you have accumulated in a 2:1 ratio if not more for you bottom time enjoyment. Throw in some unexpected cold water and the hang sucks. Your mind wanders, you begin to think in your mind I could cut off 10 minutes of deco and probably still be ok (like some twisted version of that old tv show name that tune). In the end, you do your hang, wish for summer to come and warm the water up, and smile when it's sunny topside and you are finally warm again.
at least that's my take on things

I have never been so cold, bored, and tired as on deco. I think the worst was a 3:45am wake up, 4am departure from the house, 4 hour drive, and 25mins of deco for a blah dive in January, in the dark too. Not the most deco for sure but one of the most mundane mind wandering experiences I've had.

 

[LiteHedded]

I remember hanging onto a tree for 20 minutes shivering and miserable once. not the longest deco. but the most miserable

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Diving would be 100x better if I didn't have to decompress.

 

[Slamfire]

I think we are truly blessed by the topography of the region where we live. Even on boat dives we often get to do deco along a wall. Light levels change dramatically, animals and plants do too and every level is interesting in and of itself. I'm not saying I've never been bored on deco, but I can usually find something to go look at. When I compare that to the recent FL deco dive I did, there is a dramatic difference. Don't get me wrong, the bottom part of the dive was awesome. The deco part, not so much. It's just blue water and nothing else... for a loooong time. I got really excited when the monotony of the blueness was broken for a few seconds by half a dozen transient little fish in the distance. On the other hand I love being able to do deco dives with only a 2mm shorty; I can't do that over here -- have to go to FL.

I posted this video in the local Western Canada forum about a year ago. I think it reflects what you can expect on a deco dive around here. At the bottom, it's very dark. Night dive dark. As you ascend the enviroment goes green, the green turns a bit bluish as you get close to the surface... And more than often you can do this without a boat, just as a shore dive. I'll let you see for yourselves:

[vimeo]15210778[/vimeo]

 

[Slamfire]

If that's not enough to impress you, we can also resort over-the-top video editing:

[vimeo]24803450[/vimeo]

A friend of mine did this as a sort of joke.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Slamfire, the first vid was great and would def take my mind off of deco... second vid, was def over the top

 

[Tortuga68]

well i think lots of people think about, a few of us even it tried before we were ever trained. Not endorsing this, simply admitting. My first official deco dive i was thrilled. I remember thinking "I'm doing a decompression dive" and feeling like the big fish in the little pond. Every minute was exciting just to be there. The training, the planning, I was just geek enough to enjoy all of that. Then you do some deco dives and now it's just time spent hanging in the water. Then you start doing some deeper deco dives and suddenly that time that was so exciting just to be there is dragging on endlessly as the minutes slowly tick off that you have accumulated in a 2:1 ratio if not more for you bottom time enjoyment

I can definitely relate to this! At least the water is warm for me & the hangs aren't that long