Using Air Faster Than Your Buddy?

You finish a beautiful dive around the Gili Islands and look at your pressure gauge.

You have 50 bar remaining. Your buddy still has 90 bar, and the Divemaster appears to have barely used any air.

Does that mean you are a bad diver?

No.

Air consumption varies considerably between divers. Body size, depth, experience, physical effort, current, equipment, buoyancy, stress and even how interested you are in what you see can all influence how much gas you use.

It is natural to want to improve, but air consumption should never become a competition.

The objective is not to return to the boat with more air than everyone else. The objective is to breathe normally, monitor your pressure, communicate honestly and complete the dive with a safe reserve.

Your pressure gauge provides safety information. It is not a scorecard.

Why Do Some Divers Use More Air Than Others?

Every diver is different.

A larger person will generally need more breathing gas than a smaller person because they have a larger lung volume and their body requires more oxygen. This does not automatically mean that the larger diver is less efficient or less experienced.

Air consumption can also be influenced by:

• Body size and lung volume
• Depth
• Physical fitness
• Swimming speed
• Current and waves
• Stress or anxiety
• Water temperature
• Buoyancy and trim
• Excessive weighting
• Equipment configuration
• Experience and recent diving activity
• How much physical work the diver performs

DAN notes that recreational divers’ breathing rates can vary widely depending on body size, stress and workload.[1] Comparing your remaining pressure directly with another diver therefore tells you very little unless you used identical cylinders and followed the same depth profile under similar conditions.

Even then, you are still comparing two different bodies.

Depth Makes a Major Difference

Divers often assume that they used more air because they were nervous or inefficient. Sometimes the main explanation is simply depth.

The deeper you dive, the greater the surrounding pressure. Your regulator must provide breathing gas at the pressure of the surrounding water. This means every breath taken at depth uses more gas from your cylinder than the same-sized breath at the surface.

At approximately 10 metres, the surrounding pressure is about twice the pressure at the surface. At 20 metres, it is about three times the surface pressure. At 30 metres, it is approximately four times greater.

A diver breathing 15 litres per minute at the surface would use the equivalent of approximately:

• 30 litres per minute at 10 metres
• 45 litres per minute at 20 metres
• 60 litres per minute at 30 metres

SSI explains that gas consumption increases with depth and that physical effort raises a diver’s breathing rate.[2] DAN uses the same relationship when teaching divers how to calculate their Surface Air Consumption rate and estimate the gas required for a dive.[3]

This is why a deep dive normally uses more air than a relaxed shallow dive, even when the diver’s breathing pattern feels exactly the same.

It is also why moving a little shallower can sometimes extend a dive without requiring the diver to do anything unnatural with their breathing.

Workload Increases Air Consumption

Swimming against a current requires more effort. More effort means the body needs more oxygen and produces more carbon dioxide. The diver must breathe more to meet this demand and remove the additional carbon dioxide.

The same can happen when a diver:

• Swims too quickly
• Uses their hands constantly
• Struggles to maintain depth
• Carries too much weight
• Fights to remain horizontal
• Chases the guide or marine life
• Uses an inefficient finning technique
• Has poorly positioned equipment
• Becomes separated and rushes to catch the group

DAN explains that greater exercise and greater depth both increase breathing-gas requirements.[4]

If you are swimming hard at 25 metres while your buddy is relaxed at 18 metres, comparing the two pressure gauges is meaningless. You have not completed the same dive physiologically, even if you entered the water together.

Stress Can Empty a Tank Surprisingly Quickly

Breathing often becomes faster when a diver feels nervous.

This is common among:

• Newly certified divers
• Divers returning after a long break
• Divers using unfamiliar equipment
• Divers making their first current dive
• Divers descending into deep or blue water
• Divers who have difficulty equalizing
• Divers worried about using too much air

The last example can create a frustrating cycle.

The diver notices that their pressure is dropping, becomes concerned, starts thinking constantly about breathing and becomes less relaxed. Their breathing rate then increases further.

Trying too hard to save air can have the opposite effect.

The best response is usually not to force your breathing. Slow down, establish neutral buoyancy, move a little shallower if appropriate, stay close to your buddy and guide, and allow your breathing to settle naturally.

Never Hold Your Breath to Save Air

Some divers try to make their air last longer by pausing for an unnaturally long time between breaths. Others begin skip-breathing: inhaling, holding the breath and then exhaling.

This is not a safe or effective solution.

Holding your breath can allow carbon dioxide to accumulate. An increased carbon-dioxide level can contribute to headache, breathlessness, anxiety and a feeling that you cannot get enough air. It may also create an even stronger urge to breathe.

Most importantly, scuba divers must never hold their breath while ascending. As the surrounding pressure decreases, gas inside the lungs expands. If it cannot escape, the expanding gas can damage lung tissue and potentially cause an arterial gas embolism.[5]

The safer approach is to maintain continuous, relaxed breathing.

SSI recommends a deep, balanced and rhythmic breathing pattern while diving.[2] Do not try to take the smallest breaths possible. Breathe normally and comfortably.

Efficient breathing is relaxed breathing—not restricted breathing.

Why More Diving Can Improve Air Consumption

Air consumption often improves as divers gain experience.

This does not happen because experienced divers develop smaller lungs or need less oxygen. It happens because many unnecessary movements, worries and corrections gradually disappear.

With more diving experience, you may become better at:

• Assembling and using your equipment
• Descending without stress
• Equalizing early and comfortably
• Establishing neutral buoyancy
• Maintaining a horizontal position
• Using your fins efficiently
• Reading the current
• Staying close to your buddy
• Monitoring depth and gas without anxiety
• Communicating with the guide
• Anticipating changes during the dive
• Remaining calm when a minor problem occurs

A beginner may inflate the BCD, rise too far, dump too much air, sink, kick upward and inflate again. Every correction requires movement and attention.

An experienced diver often makes much smaller adjustments. They use their breathing for fine buoyancy control, remain streamlined and allow the water to carry them during a drift dive.

The result is less physical work and usually lower gas consumption.

Consistency matters

Making ten dives during one holiday can produce more improvement than completing ten dives over several years.

When divers take long breaks, each new trip may begin with a period of readjustment. They must become comfortable with the equipment, buoyancy, breathing and underwater environment again.

Regular diving helps these skills become automatic.

This does not mean you need hundreds of dives before you can become efficient. Some divers develop excellent control quickly, particularly when they receive focused coaching. Others need more time.

The number in your logbook is less important than what you practise during those dives.

Simply making more dives while repeating the same inefficient habits may produce only limited improvement. Experience is most valuable when it is combined with feedback and purposeful practice.

Perfect Buoyancy Can Make a Major Difference

One of the best ways to improve air consumption is to improve buoyancy.

A diver who is correctly weighted and neutrally buoyant does not need to kick constantly to remain at the same depth. They do not need to inflate and deflate the BCD repeatedly, and they are less likely to contact the bottom or reef.

Good buoyancy reduces unnecessary effort.

It also helps the diver become more relaxed because they feel in control of their position. Less effort and less stress can both contribute to more efficient breathing.

How poor buoyancy wastes air

Poor buoyancy can increase gas use in several ways:

1. Repeated BCD adjustments: Every unnecessary inflation uses gas from the cylinder.
2. Constant swimming: A negatively buoyant diver may kick continuously to avoid sinking.
3. Vertical positioning: A vertical diver creates more resistance when swimming forward.
4. Uncontrolled depth changes: Moving deeper increases gas consumption because of the greater ambient pressure.
5. Stress: Feeling unable to control depth can increase the breathing rate.
6. Excessive weighting: Carrying too much weight often requires more air in the BCD, creating additional drag and larger buoyancy changes.
7. Contact avoidance: A diver approaching the reef without control may suddenly kick, use their hands or inflate the BCD aggressively to avoid contact.

Good buoyancy is therefore not only about looking comfortable underwater. It affects safety, gas efficiency and environmental behaviour.

The SSI Perfect Buoyancy Specialty

The SSI Perfect Buoyancy specialty is designed for divers who want focused coaching rather than hoping their buoyancy will improve automatically over time.

During the specialty, divers can work on:

• Correct weighting
• Weight distribution
• Neutral buoyancy
• Trim and body position
• Streamlining
• Controlled ascents and descents
• Hovering
• Using breathing for fine buoyancy adjustments
• Efficient movement
• Maintaining position without touching the bottom
• Protecting the reef through better control

SSI recommends the Perfect Buoyancy specialty for divers who want additional buoyancy knowledge and repeated practical exercises.[6]

At Oceans 5 Gili Air, buoyancy is closely connected to our conservation philosophy. A diver can understand marine conservation, avoid deliberately touching coral and participate in beach clean-ups—but without adequate buoyancy control, their fins or equipment may still damage the reef.

Perfect buoyancy makes responsible intentions effective underwater.

It can also make diving feel completely different. Instead of constantly correcting your position, you can relax, observe marine life and move with much less effort.

For many divers, improved air consumption becomes a natural result of that increased control.

It should not be the only reason to complete the specialty, but it can be a valuable benefit.

Good Trim Reduces Resistance

Trim describes a diver’s position in the water.

A diver in a balanced horizontal position presents a smaller surface area in the direction of travel. This reduces resistance and makes movement more efficient.

A diver in a vertical or head-up position creates more drag. They may need to kick harder to move forward, and part of every kick pushes them upward rather than forward. They then release air or stop kicking, begin to sink and repeat the process.

Equipment positioning also matters. Hanging gauges, alternate air sources and accessories create drag and can damage the reef.

Improving trim does not require a single equipment configuration for every diver. Body shape, exposure protection, cylinder type and equipment choices all affect balance. Moving weights or adjusting cylinder position can make a significant difference.

This is another advantage of professional buoyancy coaching: the instructor can observe what is happening rather than expecting the diver to diagnose their own position underwater.

Slow Down and Let the Guide Set the Pace

Scuba diving is not a race.

Swimming quickly usually means:

• Greater physical effort
• Faster gas consumption
• Less time to notice marine life
• A greater chance of losing your buddy
• More difficulty maintaining buoyancy
• More disturbance to the environment

Around the Gili Islands, many dives are drift dives. When conditions are suitable, the current does much of the work. Divers can maintain position, avoid unnecessary finning and allow the reef to pass beneath them.

Stay behind or beside the guide as instructed during the briefing. Do not repeatedly swim ahead and then fight the current to return.

A slower diver often sees more.

Honest Gas Reporting Is Essential

Some divers feel embarrassed to tell the guide that they have used more air than the rest of the group. They may display the wrong number, wait too long to report their pressure or hope that nobody asks again.

This creates a safety risk.

Your Divemaster needs accurate information to decide:

• Whether to continue along the planned route
• Whether to move shallower
• When to turn
• When to deploy the surface marker buoy
• When to begin the ascent
• Whether a buddy team should end the dive

Using air faster is not a problem. Hiding it is.

At Oceans 5, divers are divided into small groups with a maximum of four certified divers per guide. Grouping divers by experience, air consumption and interests makes it easier to create a pace and profile appropriate for everyone.

Tell your guide before the dive if you know that you normally consume gas quickly. This information helps us plan; it does not create a negative judgment.

A Larger Tank Can Be a Practical Solution

Training and experience can improve efficiency, but divers do not all have the same physical gas requirements.

A larger, experienced diver may naturally consume more air than a smaller buddy. Even with excellent buoyancy and relaxed breathing, the difference may remain.

In this situation, using a larger cylinder can make sense.

Oceans 5 offers 15-litre tanks for divers who would benefit from additional gas. The current supplement is IDR 50,000 per tank.

A larger cylinder is not a substitute for monitoring gas or following the dive plan. It simply provides a larger supply and can help buddy teams with different consumption rates enjoy a similar dive time.

There is no shame in choosing the cylinder that best matches your needs.

Fitness Can Help—but You Do Not Need to Be an Athlete

Good general fitness can support relaxed diving, especially in current or when surface conditions require additional effort.

However, the relationship between fitness and air consumption is not always simple. A highly muscular athlete may still consume more gas than a smaller, less athletic diver. Anxiety, technique, depth and buoyancy can have a greater influence during a particular dive.

Useful areas of fitness for divers include:

• Cardiovascular endurance
• Leg and hip strength
• Core stability
• Mobility
• Comfort in the water
• The ability to recover after physical effort

The goal is not to become the strongest person on the boat. It is to avoid unnecessary exhaustion and remain comfortable within your personal limits.

If conditions require more effort than you are comfortable with, inform the guide. Changing the site or dive plan is better than trying to prove that you can keep up.

Practical Ways to Improve Your Air Consumption

If you want to use your gas more efficiently, focus on the complete dive rather than only your breathing.

Before the dive

• Dive regularly when possible.
• Complete a refresher after a long break.
• Tell the guide about your experience and normal gas consumption.
• Choose the correct cylinder size.
• Check your weighting.
• Secure loose equipment.
• Listen carefully to the dive briefing.
• Understand the planned depth, current and route.
• Avoid rushing while preparing equipment.

During the dive

• Breathe continuously and rhythmically.
• Never hold your breath.
• Descend slowly enough to remain comfortable.
• Establish neutral buoyancy early.
• Maintain a streamlined position.
• Keep movements slow and deliberate.
• Avoid using your hands for balance.
• Stay close to your buddy and guide.
• Let the current carry you when appropriate.
• Move shallower when instructed.
• Check your pressure regularly.
• Report your gas honestly.

After the dive

• Compare your consumption with your previous dives, not another person’s.
• Consider the depth and conditions before judging the result.
• Ask your guide for feedback on buoyancy and trim.
• Record cylinder size, starting pressure, ending pressure, depth and time.
• Identify one specific skill to improve on the next dive.
• Consider completing the SSI Perfect Buoyancy specialty.

Progress is easier to see when you compare similar dives over time.

Compare Yourself with Yourself

There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve your air consumption.

Using gas more efficiently can lead to more relaxed dives, longer bottom times within safe limits and better compatibility with your buddy. It can also reflect improvements in buoyancy, trim and overall comfort.

But pressure remaining at the end of a dive does not define the quality of the diver.

A diver who surfaces with 70 bar after following the plan and communicating honestly has completed a better dive than someone who surfaces with 100 bar after holding their breath, hiding their pressure or ignoring their buddy.

More diving can help. Regular experience allows you to become calmer, reduce unnecessary movements and develop better awareness.

Focused training can help even more. The SSI Perfect Buoyancy specialty gives you the opportunity to work directly on weighting, trim, control and efficient movement with professional feedback.

At Oceans 5 Gili Air, we would rather help you become comfortable and controlled than tell you simply to “breathe less.”

Relax. Maintain your buoyancy. Stay close to your buddy. Report your pressure honestly and enjoy the dive.

Your air consumption will often improve naturally as the rest of your diving improves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it normal to use more air than my buddy?

Yes. Body size, depth, workload, stress, experience, fitness and cylinder size can all affect gas consumption. Two divers should not expect to finish every dive with identical pressure.

Does using more air mean I am a bad diver?

No. It may indicate areas that can be improved, such as buoyancy or relaxation, but some people naturally require more breathing gas. Safe monitoring and honest communication are more important than having the lowest consumption.

How can I reduce my air consumption safely?

Dive regularly, improve buoyancy and trim, slow down, avoid unnecessary movement, remain streamlined and breathe continuously in a relaxed rhythm. Do not restrict your breathing.

Will more diving improve my air consumption?

It often does. Regular diving can increase comfort, reduce stress and make equipment use, buoyancy and movement more automatic. Focused practice and instructor feedback usually produce better results than merely collecting dives.

Can the SSI Perfect Buoyancy specialty help?

Yes. The specialty focuses on weighting, neutral buoyancy, trim, streamlining and efficient underwater movement. These skills can reduce unnecessary effort and may therefore improve air consumption.

Should I hold my breath to save air?

No. Holding or skip-breathing can contribute to carbon-dioxide accumulation. Holding your breath during an ascent can cause serious lung injury. Maintain continuous, relaxed breathing.

Does diving deeper increase air consumption?

Yes. The regulator supplies gas at the surrounding pressure. As depth and pressure increase, each breath removes more gas from the cylinder.

When should I tell the Divemaster how much air I have?

Report your pressure whenever requested and at the limits agreed during the briefing. Never delay or give an inaccurate reading because you feel embarrassed.

Can I request a 15-litre tank at Oceans 5?

Yes. Oceans 5 offers 15-litre tanks for an additional IDR 50,000 per tank. Tell the team in advance so the correct equipment can be prepared.

Will nitrox make my tank last longer?

No. Nitrox changes the proportion of oxygen and nitrogen in the cylinder, but it does not significantly change how quickly you breathe the gas. Nitrox can offer decompression-related benefits when used correctly, but it is not a solution for high gas consumption.[7]

References

1. Divers Alert Network. “Tank Valves and Out-of-Air Emergencies.”
   https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/tank-valves-and-out-of-air-emergencies/
2. Scuba Schools International. “Developing Proper Breathing Patterns.”
   https://training.divessi.com/course/open-water-diver/owd-peg/owd-peg-2024-09-17/29-developing-proper-breathing-patterns
3. Divers Alert Network. “Estimating Your Air Consumption.”
   https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/estimating-your-air-consumption/
4. DAN World. “How Much Air Do You Really Need?”
   https://world.dan.org/health-medicine/health-resource/smart-guides/13-ways-to-run-out-of-air-how-not-to/how-much-air-do-you-really-need/
5. Divers Alert Network. “How to Avoid Rapid Ascents and Arterial Gas Embolism.”
   https://dan.org/safety-prevention/diver-safety/divers-blog/how-to-avoid-rapid-ascents-and-arterial-gas-embolism/
6. Scuba Schools International. “Five Tips to Improve Your Buoyancy.”
   https://www.divessi.com/ru/blog/blog/5-tips-om-je-drijfvermogen-te-verbeteren-8869.html
7. Divers Alert Network. “Nitrox.”
   https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/nitrox/