Gas Management on the Fly

By | Training

Math cartoon

Gas Management on the Fly

If you have been a reader of this site for a while, you probably have read my previous articles on dive planning. In that series, I discussed how to calculate your gas reserves. For those of you not familiar, we must be able to leave an emergency reserve of gas in our tanks in case we need to ascend while sharing air with a buddy. Most call this reserve rock bottom or minimum gas. Either way, every diver should be able to calculate how much gas to leave in reserve for an out of gas emergency. It’s easier than you may think. Let’s take a look. [Read more...]

Understanding Tank Factors

By | Training

Duane Johnson - Tech Instructor

Duane Johnson - Tech Instructor

“Tank factors? Aren’t those things people should consider when purchasing a tank? Things such as size, color and buoyancy characteristics?” This was asked by an employee at a local dive store when he overheard me talking about dive planning. It didn’t really surprise me at the time as not many people have heard the term tank factor. The truth is, tank factors are a critical part of planning our dives and divers should have an understanding of what they are in order to plan their dives properly. [Read more...]