Posted by kelphead on March 28, 2000 at 17:21:06:
In Reply to: Nitrox- Poll question posted by MHK on March 27, 2000 at 15:45:33:
well, i'll give you my reason, but so far i like
the reasons already given.
anyway, my personal reason which i KNOW will sound
stupid to many of you is the psychological factor
of having to relearn the tables and to actually learn
formulas and math AGAIN!!! i'm done taking formal
classes (at least that's what i keep telling myself)
and i'm just not ready to jump into a 'serious' class
that is supposed to be part of my fun hobby.
i plan on taking rescue class next--not nitrox. that's
just my priority. after that, yeah, somewhere down
the line i guess i will eventually take nitrox, but
i think the case of "well, if i don't need it now,
then i won't worry about it" attitude also takes over.
sure, perhaps nitrox is a superior gas and will make
me feel better after a day of diving, etc, etc, etc.
but if i don't NEED it, i won't jump to it.
if it had been taught as part of the open water
course (yeah, right!!), then that, i believe, would
be a different story: i would definitely in that
scenario have started off using nitrox and continued
using it.
other reasons why it hasn't taken off here...????
also, and i don't mean to sound rude or impolite, but
perhaps part of it is an elitist attitude on the part
of california divers...(???). after all, there is
a long, rich history of diving here in california--even
before the merciful wetsuit--and if nitrox is a "new
fangled toy" that "resort divers" use, then perhaps
there is a deliberate distancing from such a product
due to misperception. (of course, i'm only speculating here!!)
...i hope none of you out there thinks i'm a real bone-
head for my earlier comments; i just want to enjoy
diving--not get intellectual and technical about it
(and it's the extremely technical aspect of diving
that turns me off...)
kelphead.