Description
Program Details
The PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty Course, also often referred as “Nitrox”, is PADI’s most popular specialty scuba diving course. If you, as a diver, want to bring your underwater adventures to the next level, then you should consider following this course. It has plenty of benefits. It makes your dives safer, gives you more time to stay down longer, and to have more energy after rinsing out your gear.
You can sign up to the PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty Course if you are a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver and at least 12 years old. Note that in some regions the minimum age is older than 12 years.
So let’s start with the basics. What is exactly enriched air or nitrox?
It all comes down to what is in your tank. A standard tank is filled with compressed air, identical to what we breathe on land which is approximately 79 % nitrogen and 21 % oxygen, with trace amounts of other gases. Enriched air has more oxygen and less nitrogen than air does, so you have extended no stop times for a given depth because you absorb nitrogen at a slower rate. Nitrox tanks have mostly an oxygen content of 22 – 40 %, with 32 % and 36 % being the standard mixes.
Less nitrogen is, for the most part, a good thing. Nitrogen is enemy number 1 when it comes to decompression sickness. Nitrox is different from standard compressed air, but it doesn’t taste, feel or smell any differently.
During this course your instructor will teach you why diving with air that has higher oxygen and lower nitrogen content gives you more bottom time.
What will you learn:
- Techniques for getting more dive time by using enriched air nitrox.
- To manage oxygen exposure.
- To analyze oxygen content in your scuba tank.
- To set your dive computer for diving with enriched air nitrox.
- Enriched Air diving equipment considerations.
- How your body reacts to breathing varying oxygen levels at different depths.
You will practice how to use oxygen analyzers and special cylinder decals and you will learn to understand the concept behind the calculations.
Diving with enriched air allows you to dive longer, safer, with less fatigue and with shorter surface intervals as already mentioned above.
This course can be completed in one day and consists of a practical session and 2 dives.
Most modern diving equipment and dive computers can be used with enriched air and your PADI instructor will let you know if you need additional gear in order to enjoy enriched air diving.
The manual and the certificate are not included in the price.
If you love diving as much as we do and if staying down longer and getting back in the water sooner sounds appealing, then don’t hesitate to become an enriched air diver and enroll the PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty Course at our diving center with one of our experienced instructor. You will be amazed at how enriched air expands what you are able to do while diving. You have more time to explore and pursue your favorite underwater activities like making pictures and video.
