Light deco?

[npole]

@npole - you still haven’t answered the question! What criteria would you use to denote different levels of dives and training?

Why you're so obsessed about labeling? The "level" of a diver is determined by the experience.
Also, training can be very useful for specialty, in example "cave diving" is branch of diving that requires a special set of skills and preparation.
But the "decompression" (and the theory behind it) is a fundamental that should be teach to any diver from the basics of any course, it is essential, it cannot be relegated to a separate category, you will follow the decompression theory as soon you start your dive, 5 meters.. 10 meters.. 18 meters.. 30 meters.

 

[sigxbill]

Why you're so obsessed about labeling? The "level" of a diver is determined by the experience.
Also, training can be very useful for specialty, in example "cave diving" is branch of diving that requires a special set of skills and preparation.
But the "decompression" (and the theory behind it) is a fundamental that should be teach to any diver from the basics of any course, it is essential, it cannot be relegated to a separate category, you will follow the decompression theory as soon you start your dive, 5 meters.. 10 meters.. 18 meters.. 30 meters.

Cave diving is every bit as much of a label as deep / “decompression” / mixed gas diving is. You have completely ignored the fact that scuba training is modular, and that is where labels come from. The only way I can think of to eliminate labels is to eliminate the modularity of scuba education - and consequently the labels that the acompany those modules - and make scuba one big class (that most won’t want to take).

Also, experience says very little about one’s “level.” I can show you plenty of divers, with thousands of dives of “experience,” that are of minimal skill level.

Cheers

 

[aquacat8]

Understanding decompression theory for open water divers? Really? I mean beyond the basics that are taught in open water… I once innocently asked what the differences between the various algorithms was on this very board and an incomprehensible discussion ensued.

 

[Roger Hobden]

I once innocently asked what the differences between the various algorithms was on this very board and an incomprehensible discussion ensued.

Unfortunately, even a bare-bones outline of the different theories underlying these algorithmes is one of many "missing chapters" of a number of OW courses around the world.

 

[broncobowsher]

Understanding decompression theory for open water divers? Really? I mean beyond the basics that are taught in open water… I once innocently asked what the differences between the various algorithms was on this very board and an incomprehensible discussion ensued.

Like this one. Take some technicality and use it to completely derail the thread. Yes, technically correct, but completely against the spirit of the question. And everyone knows the real spirit of the question, even those who don't want to admit it and think they are smarter then the rest of us and pointing out that little bit over and over again. Oh, what was the point of this thread anyway???

 

[lowviz]

Oh, what was the point of this thread anyway???

The point of the original post, as I see it, is an attempt to understand how/why different divers view ‘poking their nose’ into deco.

You won’t find total agreement on anything on this board but you can usually get away with saying that 10 (maybe 15 minutes) of deco could be seen as the extreme end of light/lite deco.

As for the various algorithms, they all look the same to me when you are only 10 minutes into deco. So I really don’t care much about the basic algorithms. My choice is to get a well-organized DC that will happily do deco and program it midrange between super conservative and overly aggressive and use whatever happens to be the default algorithm. Yes, of course, it is a Shearwater. Much more power than I will ever need, but it is beautifully organized, one gets the hang of it very quickly.

So to the OP, note how often threads are started by one's search for a more aggressive DC or their ranting about another stupidly conservative DC. These are divers who view deco as a forbidden zone. So they make accommodations by finding an aggressive DC that will push the wall further than a conservative DC will. This is fine. Lots of people do just that.

There are other divers who just want a compliant non-aggressive DC and are quite willing to pay the price of a mandatory stop for the extra downtime gotten by going into light deco.

Finally, with respect to being overly technical, all you need to know is how fast you consume gas at various depths. That is the basis of gas planning. If I go into light deco then I need enough back gas for the whole trip including stop(s). I also need a personal source of redundant gas. I am not supposed to do a direct ascent while in deco so bring enough gas for your plan on your back, the pony just comes along for the ride.

 

[npole]

You have completely ignored the fact that scuba training is modular, and that is where labels come from.

Modularity makes when it's applied to learn advanced skills that aren't part of the basics (hence the "cave diving" example). The decompression is part of the basic diving because there's no such scuba diving without decompression. As of now, "recreational divers" are taught that if the "NDL" magic number (and of meaning of that NDL is obscure and written only in the black bible) reaches zero, you will be catapulted in a parallel world with wizards and dragons.

 

[clownfishsydney]

There are some sites where I go into deco when only using a single tank. When diving off my boat, at some sites, all the divers will commonly do this at some sites in the 30 metre (110 feet) range. I have no problem with this.

For these dives, I will still surface with 100 to 110 bar (say 1500 psi plus). My computer has an alternate GF I can switch to if anything goes wrong (eg somehow getting very low on air). This will normally show no deco is actually needed.

 

[lermontov]

There are some sites where I go into deco when only using a single tank. When diving off my boat, at some sites, all the divers will commonly do this at some sites in the 30 metre (110 feet) range. I have no problem with this.

For these dives, I will still surface with 100 to 110 bar (say 1500 psi plus). My computer has an alternate GF I can switch to if anything goes wrong (eg somehow getting very low on air). This will normally show no deco is actually needed.

must be short dives or you have a vey good sac rate, what G/f are you running to get deco with half a tank

 

[dmaziuk]

Option #3: a waay big tank.