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> I suspect you'll get other such requests, but could you hit > the high points (cliff notes version) of the down sides of > heliox. Guess I should find the time to read "Mixed Gas" which > I bought back around xmas.... It's not in there. In fact, it's not published anywhere. When I first encountered it, I thought I was weird, but George and others have told me in private they've encountered the same thing: When breathing very low PN2 at depth, it's hard to concentrate. You feel "wired" - spastic. It's like narcosis in reverse - you're nervous and jittery. I believe this state of being is not safe, and is very unproductive beause you can't concentrate on anything. Perhaps this is some sort of pre-HPNS thing (it seems worst at depths in excess of about 250 feet), but the books will tell you that HPNS is not an issue until depths in excess of about 500 feet. But then again, I wonder what sorts of compression rates the books base their conclusions on. Maybe its just psychology -- "What the f--- am I doing here?!?!" -- a clarity of mind and ability to rationalize that the narcosis always used to mask. On one of our early trips to Christmas Island, the sharks were so intense that we would get down to 200 feet as quickly as we could - not because there were fewer sharks, but because we didn't care about them as much. Maybe it's the same sort of thing - with no narcosis, you're actually WORRIED about how deep you are..... A bit of narcosis - like 90-130 feet worth, helps you stay calm and relaxed. I believe that you can actually think more clearly when calm and relaxed. I also think you're less likely to panic. Obviously, too much narcosis can also lead to panic, and certainly impairs your ability to think clearly. In my experience, the best ratio is somewhere around 90-130 feet of narcosis, depending on how well you deal with narcosis. Now, bear in mind I say "you" (in the generic sense), only on the assumption that what I experience is similar to what most people would experience. Hope that helps, Aloha, Rich
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