faitha40•4d agoProlific Poster

Overheard a supervisor say deep stops are a waste of time

I was sitting in the galley on a dive boat off Louisiana last week and heard a supervisor telling a new guy that deep stops are just a way to waste bottom time. Said he never does them and has never had a problem. That got me thinking because every training manual I have ever read says they help with offgassing. I have been doing them for years on my deeper wrecks around 150 to 180 feet. But I have also seen plenty of old school guys who skip them and seem fine. Is there any real data on this or is it just personal preference? Has anyone else run into this kind of talk on the job?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_moore4d ago

I mean, I get what you're saying about the old school guys never doing them, and that's fair-they've got the track record. But the whole 'deep stops are a gimmick' point feels like it ignores that training agencies update their stuff based on actual studies, not just to sell more courses. I've been doing them on my deeper dives, like 150 to 170 feet, and I swear I feel less tired at the end of the day compared to when I skip 'em. Sure, the Navy data is there, but a lot of those studies are on super short, repetitive dives with different gas mixes, not what a sport diver's doing on a wreck. Idk, maybe it's just me, but I'd rather take a few extra minutes at depth than risk a hit that could end my season.

carter.hugo4d ago

Deep stops are a total gimmick pushed by training agencies to sell more courses and gear. I've been diving since the 90s and never used them on anything from 60ft reef dives to 200ft wrecks, and I've never had a single hit or felt any difference in how I felt after a dive. The whole idea that a quick pause at 50% of your depth does anything for offgassing is based on computer models that don't match real world experience. Those old school guys you mentioned have thousands of dives under their belts without deep stops, and they're still alive and diving fine. The real data from places like the Navy and commercial diving ops actually shows that deep stops can increase bubble formation in some cases because they make you stay deeper longer. Bottom line is the human body is way more forgiving than the internet says, and if your gas limits are conservative enough, deep stops are just a waste of time.