Video 4 - Gradient Factor Low (Based off Andy Davis’s Article)

Hello everyone, welcome back to our channel. Today, we're going to dive deep into an important concept that gets overlooked quite often, the Gradient Factor Low, specifically on a Shearwater dive computer. This might sound a bit technical to some, but I promise to keep it simple and easy to understand.
In a nutshell, the Gradient Factor Low is all about the saturation level of the leading tissue in your body during the deepest part of your dive. It's a crucial setting that determines your first decompression stop during an ascent. GF Low has nothing to do with the slowest tissues, they are very likely not yet involved (I made an error saying that in the he video btw). It means the supersaturation of the LEADING tissue during your ascent, and you stop when the leading tissue reaches the x% (Low GF setting) of its M value. But don't worry, I will break it down further for you in this video.
Towards the last minute and a half of this video, I have an awesome illustration and explanation of the Gradient Factor Low, taken from a video by Dr. Simon Mitchell titled "Decompression Controversies". It's a fantastic resource which I highly recommend you to check out. I have included the link to Dr. Mitchell's full video in the description below. You can watch it by clicking • DECOMPRESSION CONTROVE... .
All of the information that I am going to share with you today is based on the comprehensive article titled "Shearwater Dive Computer Settings: Become A Power User!" by Andy Davis. This article is a treasure trove of information for anyone looking to understand their dive computer settings better. Again, the link to this article is in the description below. You can access it directly by clicking scubatechphili....
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[@CyprienArmand]

Very interesting! Garmin have the same presets (and values for those presets) for conservatism, and I usually stick to them. I use low when doing shallow dives (max 40ft), and medium if I go on a cruise for instance (I do deco dives). I'll also make a longer safety stop towards the end of the cruise. As someone else commented, if I have the time and the gas, might as well use it.

[@sammoyers905]

Damn! So you had your high GF set at 70%, and still got a DCS hit! Or have you adjusted to this more conservative level since your DCS hit?

[@phgachoud]

Note that there's a subtlety on the peregrine, it doesnt allow you to set your GF manually unless you define more than one gas... so you have to define more than one nitrox (even if you have 2 times air)... then you can go and set your GFs. And BTW I would have appreciated to have a playlist with all those videos instead of having to look for them :). Anyways thx a lot Woody for taking the time to make those videos. I'm recently reading 'deep into deco' from Asser Salama and really recommend this book to enhance your knowledge of decompression theories and history, its not such a technical book, its really simplified, even if you are a recreational diver. And BTW Woody, you mention in a previous video that ZH-L16C doesnt have conservatism, in fact it already does, B/C versions of ZH-L16 are more conservative variants. I quote the p.22 section of Salaman's book second edition: 'The original ZH-L16 algorithm was found to be a bit aggressive in the middle compartments, so Buehlman proposed a model variation called ZH-L16B to make it slightly more conservative. This variation is recommended for planning dives (cutting tables). He also proposed another considerably more conservative variation called ZH-L16C, which is more convenient for real-time using in dive computers.' Don't get me wrong, am an advertiser of conservatism, so don't make me say ZH-L16C is conservative enough for you guys, people get bent even with pretty decent conservatisms as Woody is an "unfortunate" example, as many say, if you like diving, spending some more time in the water is in most circumstances not gonna harm you (unless you're cold for ex...).

[@DIVETALKPLUS]

Thanks for this comment and info! Great stuff!