Safety stops when monitoring SurGF

[boulderjohn]

nd I don't think it serves them to go on about how safety stops are boring and should be skipped if you are not feeling like it.

So you like straw man arguments, do you? I'm sorry, but I really don't like it when people try to score points by misrepresenting an opposing point of view and then mocking it. I never said that safety stops "should be skipped if you are not feeling like it."

My position in this thread can be summed ups this way.

A safety stop is a valuable part of many dives because we cannot know precisely how our bodies are reacting to decompression stress. In some cases, they are rightfully considered mandatory. In some cases, there is absolutely no point in doing them. In between those extremes a diver should use good judgment, and that good judgment is well served with a computer that gives SurfGF readings and a diver who understands what they mean.​

 

[davehicks]

So you like straw man arguments, do you? I'm sorry, but I really don't like it when people try to score points by misrepresenting an opposing point of view and then mocking it. I never said that safety stops "should be skipped if you are not feeling like it."

My position in this thread can be summed ups this way.

A safety stop is a valuable part of many dives because we cannot know precisely how our bodies are reacting to decompression stress. In some cases, they are rightfully considered mandatory. In some cases, there is absolutely no point in doing them. In between those extremes a diver should use good judgment, and that good judgment is well served with a computer that gives SurfGF readings and a diver who understands what they mean.​

This is all going down the inevitable rat-hole. The truth is that a LOT of divers don't know how to tell these two scenarios apart. Some of those who don't understand also think they are experts. As a result, I won't be advocating for blowing off safety stops with qualifiers that many divers don't understand.

SurGF & GF99 good tools to help divers figure out where they are on the N2 saturation scale, and I hope more people learn how to use it effectively. A lot of us have Shearwater comps and can benefit from these data points, but I would hazard to guess that most divers also don't use a Shearwater.

 

[inquis]

The truth is that a LOT of divers don't know how to tell these two scenarios apart.

I don't disagree and think your comments would be on point in Basic, but we are not there. I do expect technical divers *can* tell those scenarios apart, and I feel it is a disservice to aspiring technical divers to pretend they are the same in this area.​

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Here's another scenario that has been advocated by better divers than me that has always stuck in my mind. If on a true deco dive that's racked up a good bit follow the dive plan and exit when clear. Staying for another few minutes won't change much. If on a smaller profile dive and not doing a ton of deco it's good to stay for a few extra minutes to pad the stop. In the 2nd scenario you're padding your stop by 20%, or even 40% more which is never a bad thing.

It's fascinating (to me) that in OW class the bear minimum is taught and as we progress into more technical diving it's stressed over and over to slow way down. Because of how my SW is setup I'm much more apt to go into deco on regular dives, but I also crawl back to the surface much slower then in the beginning. And I never get that diver fatigue that I always thought was from excitement, go figure.

SurfGF and analyzing dives after have been hugely eye opening. I don't really ever do a traditional "safety stop" anymore. I have a better understanding of my body and the data that my dc is telling me (hope to never stop learning though).

To me a safety stop was just a way to get the masses, fresh out of OW who were flying back to the surface (like me), to hit the brakes and pause for a second. Times have changed. Theres better information available then that blanket approach.

 

[Fastmarc]

To me a safety stop was just a way to get the masses, fresh out of OW who were flying back to the surface (like me), to hit the brakes and pause for a second. Times have changed. Theres better information available then that blanket approach.

I don't think it's so much that times have changed. It still standard that safety stops are taught during open water courses. I think if you are so inclined (like us) to continue learning more as you progress you may reach the stage where you can through knowledge consider tweeking (continuously) your procedures to keep you safer like in this example. All of my dives with operators are with the majority of divers having no interests to continue their education in scuba diving. Heck, if you don't ask them how much air they have, they will run out of air at depth. These people need the practice of safety stops forced on them.

 

[Fastmarc]

if anyone, in the future, looks for the Perdix setting it’s below, I think I use the Count Up setting myself

View attachment 783744

Have it switched on now. I remember seeing it, but it just wasn't clear at the time what it did.
Interestingly, in TEC OC it doesn't have it under 'safety stops' as that is not something that is referenced much in that manual as you would expect in TEC mode.

 

[NDonahue]

My point of emphasis is that a lot of new divers read these posts, and I don't think it serves them to go on about how safety stops are boring and should be skipped if you are not feeling like it. That does not serve the community well.

Aren’t we in the Technical Diving forum? This is exactly the debates I want to read here — although I’d prefer if positions were backed up w/ more data.

 

[BlueTrin]

Have it switched on now. I remember seeing it, but it just wasn't clear at the time what it did.
Interestingly, in TEC OC it doesn't have it under 'safety stops' as that is not something that is referenced much in that manual as you would expect in TEC mode.

I checked on my perdix when I went home and it is called something different like you said.

It is called deco clear and it counts up when you are cleared.

 

[Fastmarc]

Did some dives yesterday with the Clear now active and can confirm that on dives within the NDL as soon as I reached 20ft it started counting up, hence can be used to time your safety stops. As I have my last stop set to 20ft, I am not sure if the last stop was set to 10ft that it will not start counting unless you are at 10ft.

 

[lowwall]

What I have been doing is staying submerged, slowly rising until the last diver before me reaches the ladder. Ususally end up with a SurfGF in the 60's or below. My GF is 45/95.

What happens when there's another diver with the same strategy?