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One other point to consider -- before taking a Nitrox class, you may want to consider the types of diving you'll be doing. If it's going to be shallow local shore diving, then the Nitrox class may not be a big necessity (since you'll be running out of gas long before NDLs come into play).
I am also a NW Diver and I have never used a dry suit. I would do your check out dives with a wet suit and take a separate dry suit class later. To me it would be to many things at once. As far as Nitrox, it's your money but it won't really make much difference in your check out dives. They are shallow and you won't be down long. I wouldn't want to spend the money on the fills. I don't dive Nitrox and have never really felt the need to.
I do about 100 dives in the Northwest a year and I recommend you keep your class as simple as possible for a while until you get used to everything. The dry suit is just going to complicate things in the beginning. You won't get cold in the water with a wet suit, it's out of the water that gets cold here. Just bring a big jacket and stay warm on the surface.
Hey Stingray. Yeah, there aren't a lot of us around here in Beaverton. I used to be in a club in Lake Oswego but the shop closed and I haven't joined a new one yet. What shop are you diving out of?
I read some of these posts and it sounds like there is some confusion about nitrox. Nitrox is not for deep diving. It is to extend the bottom time by reducing the amount of nitrogen you absorb. You do this by replacing the nitrogen with oxygen. The oxygen at higher pressures can be toxic. That is why you can't use nitrox as a deep diving gas. You get the most benefit from nitrox at depths from 60 to around 90 feet. When I went from air on tables to computer, I got almost twice as much bottom time. I found that switching to nitrox on computer allowed me to almost double my time again. The benefit isn't in the first dive, though. I find it is in repetetive dives. I also find that my SAC is lower on nitrox and I don't feel as spent after a nitrox dive, but I don't know if that is a real effect or just in my head.
Deep diving is really the main reason I don't use Nitrox, most of my dives are below 60'. Also, cost. I don't care to spend the money on Nitrox fills and it's not very easy to get them most of the places I dive around here. I'm not knocking it, I just don't have a huge need for it right now. If I were an instructor doing a lot of shallow repetitive dives I would.
Yeah, the instructors at the LDS that I go to that are doing the check outs for the OW certs use NITROX, as I was told, so they aren't so worn out after doing all of the OW cert dives.
I'm still a little torn about whether or not to do it. I hear it is getting much more popular now.
For example, at 50 feet, the NDL on air is 90 minutes, on EANx32 is 155 minutes and on EANx36 NDL is 220 minutes.
NDL at 90 feet is 25 minutes on air, 35 minutes on EANx32 and EANx36 gives you 40 minutes.
Dives over 60 feet are fine on Nitrox. The max recommended depth for EANx32 is 110 feet and for EANx36 is 95 feet. Contingency depth is 132 feet for EANx32 and 110 feet for EANx36.
The fist dive is not where nitrox makes a difference. The repetitive dives are where it matters. It allows longer dives and shorter surface intervals. Especially on liveaboards or vacations where you want to get the most bottom time possible.
My comment regarding shallow diving was meant to convey that although Nitrox can lengthen NDL time, it is gas supply and not NDLs that typically limits your time underwater when you are diving in water 50 feet or shallower. Most folks (esp. newbies) are going to drain an AL80 well short of 90 minutes at a depth of 50 ft.
Of course, I consume more air than the average human....your mileage may vary ;-)
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