Nitrox for shore diving Maui

[Maui Bound]

Hi all,

Going to be on Maui for two weeks early Jan on Kaanapali Beach. Looking at the Lahaina Diver five star package ($500 for 5 charters and unlimited shore diving tanks).

However, Nitrox is $15 per tank extra for all charters plus for any shore diving. Ughh!

Is this the going price for Nitrox rental in Kaanapali area, or can I do better.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[JohnW]

I'm headed to Waikiki after Christmas and was quoted with my operator $12 per tank.

 

[Charlie99]

I wouldn't bother with nitrox for the shore dives. Most shore dives in Maui are shallow. While nitrox is nice, it doesn't make much difference on 40' max dives where you spend most of your time shallower than 30'.

Nitrox would be a bit more useful for boat dives, particularly the square profile dives such as the St. Anthony wreck. These are usually the 2nd dive of the day. The most popular Molokini and Lanai divesites lend themselves to very nice multilevel profiles, and are easily done on air.

$15 a tank is on the expensive side, even for Maui --- Maui Dream in Kihei charges $10 for a nitrox tank rental. OTOH, for $5 it definitely isn't worth driving to the other side of the island and hauling around tanks!

 

[kidspot]

If you're diving with Lahaina Divers remember that everyone else will be using 72's and I've been told (2nd hand info here) they limit bottom times to 45 minutes, so it's not worth it even then unless you want the safety or "feel good" factor. As Charlie99 said, 90% of all shore dives here will put you in the 30-40ft max depth range, and your air will run out well before your NDL -

Aloha, Tim

P.S. Charlie - shouldn't it be about time for you to be coming back to Maui soon?

 

[Charlie99]

P.S. Charlie - shouldn't it be about time for you to be coming back to Maui soon?

My daughter and her family just moved to Silicon Valley from Chicago. So this year I'll spend Christmas in California and then head on over once the New Years crowd thins out. I'll be on island January 9th through March 29th.

It's been great spending some time with the grandchildren, but my wife and I are really looking forward to getting back to Maui.

 

[DiveMaven]

If you're diving with Lahaina Divers remember that everyone else will be using 72's and I've been told (2nd hand info here) they limit bottom times to 45 minutes, so it's not worth it even then unless you want the safety or "feel good" factor. As Charlie99 said, 90% of all shore dives here will put you in the 30-40ft max depth range, and your air will run out well before your NDL -

Aloha, Tim

P.S. Charlie - shouldn't it be about time for you to be coming back to Maui soon?

Tim's right, Lahaina Divers uses AL72's and the profiles generally run 35-40 minutes if you're diving with a guage. Divers with computers get a little more flexibility and we were doing 45 minute dives across the board. They say that bottom times are limited due to the short SI, which is typically 45 min. to an hour in length. The short SI's are because the boats need to get back to Lahaina Harbor to get ready for their afternoon charters.

We dive with Lahaina Divers most of the time (love the big 46' Newtons!) and find that the AL72 is more than enough air for a 45 min dive with a max depth of about 65-70 feet. We've seen a few people dive Nitrox, but haven't felt a need for it ourselves with the type of diving we're doing.

 

[Maui Bound]

Thanks everyone for the information.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I loves my nitrox but it's a waste on those shore dives there.