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In a bid to keep up with the Jones's, or in this case Gordon Henderson, I have also just done my nitrox certification :-) (See Nitrox, Buhlmann, ... around Aug 16). Of course I claim coincidence, but would you believe that? Anyway during and after the course we got onto consumption rates. I have always had a relatively low consumption rate and not worried about it. However, the course instructor, a respected 1st class diver, expressed concern about my consumption rate and CO2 build-up. [As an aside: he also warned me about being careful of the max O2 exposures - most people apparently don't worry about them because they can't carry enough gas to reach them]. I use about 10L/min (surface equiv). He immediately asked if I suffered headaches or tiredness following dives, which I sometimes do. However, I had always attributed this to the cold water we dive in (3-10oC/37-50oF) and the physical effort used in getting access to some of the entry points. My regular buddy has a consumption rate almost identical to mine and another friend has a rate of around 8L/min. It turns out we all suffer the same problem. I don't hold my breath and I don't try to breathe slowly. I have seen texts advocating trickling the air out to control consumption. I don't do this. In fact I often completely forget that I am breathing through a regulator. I tend to be a heavy, deep breather and I just breath underwater as I would anywhere. Any comments or similar problems? Alan
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