Took me 15 years to figure out I was checking my air supply wrong

I always glanced at my SPG on the way up, but last June a dive supervisor in the Gulf told me to actually stop and read it static. Has anyone else realized they were rushing through something basic for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor.amy24d agoTop Commenter

Read something similar in a diving magazine once about how your brain just fills in numbers if you glance too fast lol. @max415 pretty much nailed it, that static reading trick is the real deal for better gas planning.

max41524d ago

Man, this hits close to home. I did the exact same thing for years - just a quick glance and mental math on the way up from 100 feet. A dive buddy finally sat me down after a deep wreck dive and made me stare at my SPG for a full 10 seconds before starting my ascent. Turned out I was usually off by 300-500 psi on my estimates because I never let the needle settle. Now I do a full stop at depth, take a breath, and actually look at the numbers like I'm reading a clock. Total game changer for my gas management on deco stops.

the_thomas24d ago

I get what you're saying but I think this whole thing is blown out of proportion. I mean, being off by 300 to 500 psi on a deep dive sounds bad, but in practice that's maybe a few minutes of gas at depth. Most of us aren't that tight on our reserves anyway. Unless you're pushing the limits of your gas and running into decompression obligations, a quick glance is usually fine. I've been diving for fifteen years and I've never had a situation where that 300 psi difference mattered. People act like every dive is a tech dive when most of us are just doing recreational stuff where you've got plenty of margin for error.