Been tracking my air consumption for a month and the numbers shocked me

I started logging my SAC rate after every dive using a simple spreadsheet. After 22 dives at different depths around Port Townsend, I found out I use 25% more air when I'm not perfectly neutral. The difference came from having to kick harder to hold depth because my trim was off by just a few degrees. Has anyone else run the numbers and found something that surprised them about their own habits?

3 comments

3 Comments

riley4315d ago

Just a few degrees off and 25% more air? That's insane. Gonna check my trim next dive for sure.

barbarah1915d ago

Exactly. I had a buddy who shaved his whole profile down to neutral trim and dropped his SAC rate by nearly 30 percent over a month. He went from burning through air in 15 minutes on a 60-foot wreck to comfortably staying 25 minutes with the same tank pressure. It's wild how something as simple as a fin pivot or a slightly raised knee can mess with your hydrodynamics. You don't even feel it down there but your tank sure does.

emma_dixon7015d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy Kevin used to blow through a full AL80 in like 12 minutes on a simple reef dive. He finally listened to someone at the shop and spent one whole Saturday in a pool just fiddling with his weight distribution and finning technique. Within two weeks he was down to a 22 minute dive on the same tank, same depth. Dude was basically swimming like a human drag chute before and had no idea. Now he's militant about his trim, checks it before every drop.