How Much More Would You Pay for Nitrox?

[MXGratefulDiver]

What's everyone else's dividing line for choosing between air and nitrox?

My dividing line is where I'm diving. If I'm in a pool, I use air. If I'm diving in Puget Sound, I use nitrox. When I travel if nitrox is available, and I'm planning 3 or more dives per day I'll purchase it.

Locally I pay a flat fee of $100 per month to my LDS for unlimited nitrox fills. On a typical month that works out to about $5 per fill. For many of my non-teaching dives, even on EAN32 I'll typically come within a few minutes of NDL ... if not surpass it.

It's all about them profiles, boss ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

What's everyone else's dividing line for choosing between air and nitrox?

Certification is one - and I fill my own tanks with Air. So for me there is hardly a line - it is more like a closed door.

 

[Lorenzoid]

If I were diving frequently, say, a few times a week, I would definitely be more judicious if Nitrox were $15 while air is only $6. I would only use Nitrox on dives that benefited from it. And for me, those are few and far between. My buddy is an air hog, and our dives typically end long before we reach air NDLs, let along Nitrox NDLs.

In Bonaire I use Nitrox because the price difference is minimal to zero, depending on the dive op. But due to my buddy's air consumption, I typically surface after 50-55 minutes with 1100-1500 psi and effectively infinite no-deco time remaining. Nitrox helps me extend my bottom time not a bit.

 

[tbone1004]

all new divers should be certified for Nitrox. There's really no excuse not to include the few hours of lectures into the OW classes and just have dive 3/4 on nitrox. If the LDS doesn't include it in their OW courses, to me that is just blatantly ripping off their customers for more classes. It's literally one extra night of classes, and no more work at OW. Charge an extra $30-$50 depending on how many students, and just do it that way.

 

[redacted]

I don't pay extra for EAN unless it gets me more bottom time.

 

[Bob DBF]

There's no questions about nitrox being better than air.

What's everyone else's dividing line for choosing between air and nitrox?

Nitrox is better than air when it makes sense for the dive plan, sometimes it doesn't.

The hour or so drive, in the wrong direction, each way to get a Nitrox fill kind makes any price difference irrelevant to me.

I will get Nitrox on a multi-dive multi-day live-aboard, but don't bother for my normal diving. I managed to dive over forty years without Nitrox so some more dives on air won't bother me.



Bob
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Always use the right tool for the job. A hammer is the right tool for any job. Anything can be used as a hammer.

 

[drbill]

When I finally get to the geezer stage, I might use Nitrox. I have dived air exclusively for 52 years and to depths of 200 fsw. I'm not 100% certain that Nitrox gives you enough of an advantage to outweigh the additional cost. I like bottom time but I get plenty of it on most of my dives already.

 

[Steve_C]

to depths of 200 fsw

That's not nitrox territory anyway.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

... it's not air territory either ... but that's another discussion entirely ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[AfterDark]

I don't buy it now. I used it on 2 dives on the U853 2 years ago, a waste of money. I'll stick with 21%, that costs enough.