How Far Down Can You Scuba Dive?

Scuba divers enjoy immersing themselves in another world: the underwater universe. Scuba training levels expand knowledge and safe diving procedures for divers to gain water experience while maintaining no-decompression limits. Each level of dive training expands from the basic open water diver level. Advanced divers can gain deep dive training and expand beyond those limits to technical diving.

  1. Significance

    • The limit for recreational scuba diving is 130 feet. Anything beyond that depth is considered technical diving. Dive tables and dive computers calculate the amount of time a diver can spend at certain depths and the amount of time required for a safety stop for no-decompression dives.

    Open Water Diver

    • Open water dive training is the first level of scuba diving and has a limit of 60 feet. Junior open water divers can safely dive to 40 feet, because there is inconclusive data on the effects of depth and compression on growing bodies.

    Deep Diver

    • Advanced open water dives are trained in deep diving techniques. An advanced diver with deep dive training has a limit of 130 feet.

    Technical and Commercial Diver

    • Technical and commercial divers have specialized training in using gas mixtures at depth. Technical divers using air are limited to 180 feet, but those diving on Trimix (a gas mixture) may dive as deep as 330 feet. Commercial divers typically dive 200 to 300 feet, using specialized equipment and diving bells.

    Considerations

    • Training and experience are primary determinants for diving planning, as well as objective (such as photography). A dive profile plans deep dives first, with subsequent shallower dives.