How Deep on Air

[MaxBottomtime]

And perhaps I should have worded it differently, like "How Deep Do You Feel Comfortable Diving On Air?"

I got narced on a wreck at 100 feet once and was confused about which of the two divers next to me was my buddy. I felt fine on another dive to 240 feet, my deepest. I found two lights on the sand. One still worked, so I clipped it off. I also found an instructor's slate. I recognized the name on it so I clipped it off as well.
I've made dives on mix and can certainly tell the difference, but I used to dive deep almost every dive and couldn't afford the helium. Now I only make a couple deep dives each year, so I don't mind using air.

 

[Nuribromanski]

Answer: it depends. How long will you be at max pO2? What's your CNS before the dive, during the deco, and will you need to dive again within 24 hours? What level of exertion at max pO2? How well/poorly do you personally handle narcosis? Are you diving with a buddy or solo? Are you diving OC or CCR? How cold will you be? I've routinely dove a 1.7 pO2 for what I considered short bottom times with minimal exertion without pushing CNS limits on BM, but would not try to fly a CCR without 10/50 on the same dives. If others choose differently, I do not judge. The suicide club comment is out of line, though.

 

[Pavao]

10/55?

Answer: it depends. How long will you be at max pO2? What's your CNS before the dive, during the deco, and will you need to dive again within 24 hours? What level of exertion at max pO2? How well/poorly do you personally handle narcosis? Are you diving with a buddy or solo? Are you diving OC or CCR? How cold will you be? I've routinely dove a 1.7 pO2 for what I considered short bottom times with minimal exertion without pushing CNS limits on BM, but would not try to fly a CCR without 10/55 on the same dives. If others choose differently, I do not judge. The suicide club comment is out of line, though.

 

[tkdgodess]

Try a chamber dive to 180 it is hilarious. I couldn't laugh for 2 days after because i laughed so hard inside. S*it faced laughing hit me going down at 150, i felt the brain numbing effects. Didn't help some good buddies were with me hamming it up, we even had the chamber tender giggling. (So much for adapting imo) I know I'm narced past 140, not scared, not freaked out, just know I've gone past my limit, happy sh*t faced, functioning as in neutral, can keep track of my buddies, check gauges and stick to runtime, but not good in an emergency.

 

[Centrals]

And perhaps I should have worded it differently, like "How Deep Do You Feel Comfortable Diving On Air?".

60m and had been few meters deeper for a short time

 

[Stoo]

Try a chamber dive to 180 it is hilarious.

I agree... In Tobermory, the chamber was open for training dives for many years (might be still) and they are simultaneously amusing and terrifying. I "can" function quite nicely at 180' there, but why would I?

Watching others try to complete simple math and puzzles is pretty interesting. So I avoid taking puzzles on deeper dives, and never try to balance my cheque book at depth.

As others have said, "repeat" skills are easily performed at depth (like using my camera since I take it on pretty much every dive) but I wouldn't want to penetrate a new wreck at that depth on air.

And I am certainly not "advocating" using air for anyone else. But it works fine for me on these dives, which for the most part are familiar sites I've done many times. I am much more concerned about reg. freeze-ups and so on than I am narcosis...

 

[ajduplessis]

P O2 TODmax : 1.3 atm (IANTD) => 52 m on air
At 52 m P N2 : 4.9 atm. Max P N2: 5.5 from physiological perspective for being anesthetized. Proposed max P N2 : 3.6 atm (IANTD) => 45 m

In a nutshell : all below 45 m severely reduced in water awareness and hence decision making.

I personally dive on air or EAN 26 not deeper than 45 for a serious dive with extended BT.



Regards
Alex@nder

IANTD prescribes best gas for the depth!! Stop using OW/air dive limits in blanket statements and rather understand the agencies methodology and approach.

 

[shoredivr]

Comfortable here in cold dark water to 160'.

I've been to 190' in the St. Lawrence on a planned dive, and it was difficult to juggle more than a couple of tasks. I prefer helium.

 

[AfterDark]

To the bottom.

 

[danvolker]

english not your first language either?...maybe you want to look up the definition of narrow minded and refrain from using it in the wrong context

please do go ahead and describe my contribution, i'm curious

what you mean "ask John if he will do any form of deep air diving"? that tells me you have no clue who he is and what he did lol

you missed the whole point of me listing those names, but whatever floats your boat as long as you don't attack me


hmmm let me throw another name at you to ponder...Sheck Exley

According to George Irvine, who was a very close friend of Sheck....Sheck had been hanging around and getting pumped up on deep record dive ideas by Bowden and a bunch of losers that George eviscerated on the Internet after Sheck's tragic accident. This was one of the primary motivators for the DIR Rule....Don't Dive with Strokes.....people that will get you killed with their bad ideas....Choice of your diving "Peer Group" becomes very important once in to tech or Cave diving, as it ALSO is in Freediving as you begin to go for deeper than 100 foot freedives.

Sheck did know better than to attempt the dive that killed him, but the losers he was hanging around with had "glorified" the attempt to the point that Sheck allowed his own rules to be broken.