Increased conservatism?

[KeithG]

And my second vacation diver perspective is all about minimal vs minimum diving (I started a thread a while ago that evolved to this concept but Google is stupid today and can not find it for me).

Minimal vs Minimum gear. Very different concepts. I slowly got lulled into Minimum diving as I acquired more AND more gear. I am now an advocate for minimal diving. Minimal diving is all about reducing the amount of crap I carry when I dive. So I claim it is about reducing a maximum (which Minimal gear brain causes).

Minimal diving means that for each type of dive you check your gear and leave stuff behind that you know you will not need for that dive. You dive with a minimal amount of gear. The anti-christmas tree effect.

Minimum diving means that you have a minimum list of stuff that you take on every dive - even if you know will never need it "on this dive". You establish a minimum list of necessary stuff that covers every type of dive you ever expect to do, purchase of all of it and then take all of it on every dive. Christmas tree diver!

Note that my minimal transgressions were very minor. From diving LOBs we had picked up a very compact safety sausage/mirror/whistle package. But we blindly clipped it onto our BCD when diving in Bonaire. What? Why? I also tossed a $15 timex "bottom timer" that I had clipped onto my BCD. It was small and cute. But not needed when I already had 2 dive computers. Minimal diving is all about getting rid of that extra clutter that you have happily accumulated over the years.

And we learned to leave the snorkels on the boat years ago - unless it was a drift dive...

 

[JamesBon92007]

I used to do mainly shore diving down to about 40' and never gave a thought to NDLs and such. Lately I have been traveling to places such as Hawai'i and Cozumel and end up near 100' sometimes. Now that I am 64 I am very conservative about the NDLs and tend to stay within about 75% of the limits, gradually reduce the depth of the remainder of the dive, and add a minute or two to the safety stops.

Shore diving in SoCal, especially Orange County, has lost some of it's appeal as I get older. The best dive spots seem to have very high bluffs that I will have to climb back up. As late as my 40s I used to run up the hills with my daughter. Now I stop and rest a few times. Currently I am planning some shore dives that have very easy entrance and are very close to the level ground. That's not so say I won't do any more dives where there are bluffs to climb, but I will probably take about 600 mg of ibuprofen first My back has also turned to crap so the thought of carrying doubles even across a large expanse of sand makes my back hurt. Plus it seems to be pinching a nerve and it makes it very difficult to walk while wearing a weight belt so I have to carry it in my hand. I am currently working on incorporating about five pounds of lead into my back wing so I won't have to wear it around my waist. IOW, I am adapting but not necessarily avoiding any particular dives. When it comes right down to it most of my enjoyment comes in less that 50 feet of water so I'm still a very happy diver

One of the many pluses of diving is that when I'm in the water my back never hurts, even with the tanks and all.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Minimal diving is all about reducing the amount of crap I carry when I dive. ..

Me too. Lately some dive ops have been telling me I need an octopus on my reg set. What the heck do I need that for if I'm diving alone most of the time? I do like to bring along one little flashlight for looking inside dark holes but leave the other two behind unless it's a night dive.

 

[KeithG]

Me too. Lately some dive ops have been telling me I need an octopus on my reg set. What the heck do I need that for if I'm diving alone most of the time? I do like to bring along one little flashlight for looking inside dark holes but leave the other two behind unless it's a night dive.

Well there is minimal diving and then there is naked free diving...

One light during the day meets my minimal list. I always carry one in my BCD pocket and use it several times every dive.

I have no industry acclaimed minimal list, but I would gently suggest an octo is on it? I have never used my octo. My dive buddy has never used my octo. I have never used my dive buddies octo. BUT, my dive buddy has used her octo twice.

First time was a LDS screwup, they did the annual (randomly screw with our gear) service and did not tighten the new mouthpiece zip tie properly. She eventually ended up with a 2 piece primary. Underwater. She calmly switched to her octo. Told me about it at the end of the dive. Seems like she was not very worried about me needing to air share on her primary with no mouthpiece?

Second event was a hose split under the steel swage (or crimp?) at her primary end. She calmly swam over to me and pointed at the stream of bubbles pouring from the side of her reg. I calmly pointed at her octo with a bit of "what do you want me to do, use that other one stupid, this is why we paid the big money to get an extra one attitude". You CAN convey lots of meaning with a simple hand gesture. She calmly swapped to her octo. We did have a few frantic moments caused by my constant "give me your air pressure" hand signals as we ascended from 60 feet to 15. Despite the cloud of bubbles she had lots of gas. It was a very small split, but an impressive amount of bubbles. We calmly swam back to the boat at 15 feet.

Octos can be handy.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I have no industry acclaimed minimal list, but I would gently suggest an octo is on it?
Octos can be handy.

Well, actually I plan to put one on my reg so that my newly certified girlfriend will feel a little more secure. I'm even going to put one on her reg too.

Knives and gloves can be handy too but they are being banned in some places. I always carried a knife and wore gloves when diving locally.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have no industry acclaimed minimal list, but I would gently suggest an octo is on it?

We had a thread on ScubaBoard that featured a woman who was issued a rental regulator set with no octo. Another diver on the boat was hunting lobster, and he was very overweighted because that was his style when lobstering. He was using a brand new BCD with integrated weight pockets he evidently did not understand, because when he managed to get to the surface after going OOA, he could not figure out how to dump his weights. (My wild guess is he was using a Zeagle and put the weights in the wrong pockets.) The woman with no octo ended up buddy breathing with him, and both of them drowned.

 

[AlexL]

Minimal diving means that for each type of dive you check your gear and leave stuff behind that you know you will not need for that dive.

Steve Lewis touches on this in the Six Skills, and compares it to alpine mountaineering. Only take what you need, and leave the rest behind. I agree that its a very good practice to have. less stuff on your rig, less things to check / get in the way, less things to break or snag. Guess if you take it to the extreme in warm clear water, you end up close to monkey diving with just a skin, a slung bottle on a single loop of webbing worn bandolier style, and a single set of 1st and 2nd stages.

"Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away" --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

as for 'minimum diving', i cant really see One Rig To Rule Them All. A shallow blue water coral dive has very different gear needs then a deep cold great lakes or north Europe dive, and both have very different needs then full technical dives in a cave or rec penetrations. you wouldn’t take a f40 on a rock crawler trail, nor would you take a rock crawler on a technical race track. if all of your diving is relatively similar, as like a DM working on a boat, it might work, but if you dive both local and travel, the change in diving requirements can be drastic.

 

[northernone]

Guess if you take it to the extreme in warm clear water, you end up close to monkey diving with just a skin, a slung bottle on a single loop of webbing worn bandolier style, and a single set of 1st and 2nd stages.

"Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away" --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

You've hit upon my favorite SCUBA kit in those conditions. The freedom is incredible. Now to grow some bioprene.

Excellent points regarding the right kit for the environment and task as well.

Cameron

 

[stuartv]

What factors have had you reduce your maximums? Moving away from 'bigger dives' towards self preservation as training goals.

I haven't reduced my maximums, but I have increased my safety margins.

When I only had OW certification, I would do single tank dives to 110+ feet with no pony, using a recreational computer with an algorithm that works out to a very rough equivalent of Buhlmann with Gradient Factors of 90/90 or even 95/95. And I would normally stay down right to the end of my NDL (and still surface with 900 - 1200 psi).

Now that I have progressed to tech diving and currently am at the TDI Helitrox level, I am doing "bigger" dives, but with double tanks and using a much more conservative setting for my computers - typically GF50/80. And if I go into deco, I will typically meet all my deco obligations and then also do a 3 minute safety stop at the end, after my deco is cleared.

So, even though the dives themselves are "bigger", I am being more conservative in how I do the dives.

I feel like getting certified for deco was the most liberating thing I've done in diving. Being freed from NDLs has freed me to not feel like I had to squeeze every last minute of NDL out of every dive.

 

[Beach57]

I think you pick your spot in diving. I did caves and caverns in my early years, and decided it wasn't for me. Two near misses helped that decision. In following the old tables, I flew after diving and enjoyed a minor case of the bends. No chamber ride, but I became more conservative to prevent it. I'll take people to 130' for Deep certifications, but find little need to be there, unless you're just in the mood for a very short dive. I used to take divers to Shaw's Cove in Laguna (So. Cal.) for cert dives. 61 concrete stairs down to the shore, and 61 stairs back up to the street.... Invariably someone will ask, at the top of the stairs, "are you a scuba diver?" As I stand there in dry suit, bcd, and tanks - ready to pass out. My normal response is to gasp, laugh, and say "yes, want to learn?" I've done the altitude thing up in Utah. Maxing my time at 5,600' elevation, then passing the Parley Canyon summit at 7,200' on the way from Park City to Salt Lake. You just sit and wait until you're in group B, and all's well. Then, I swim 1,500 yards in sprints three times a week to keep fit for duty. My main concern is the comfort and safety of my clients, so I choose sites that way. Someday physical issues will come to play, but for now, I think you just use common sense and pick your spot accordingly.

So, a direct answer.... safety, benefit, enjoyment.