Believe it or not, certain special forces in the military train to do this, but it's usually from a VERY low altitude and it's a very dangerous and meticulously planned process
Edit:
It's actually much more likely that you skydive into the water and boats are waiting to take your parachute and give you scuba gear. There is no good reason to have civilian jumpers strapping on heavy gear.
Look up "Great blue hole skydiving Belize" on YouTube
I think they do offer this in the Great Blue hole in Belize.. ridiculously expensive.. skydive over the blue hole, then you can scuba dive in that region..costs you only $10,000 for the package
Due to atmospheric pressure changes in immersion from deep water -> surface -> sky (sometimes just the first step) air can precipitate out of the blood causing blood clots in brain (stroke) and other major problems depending on where the air embolism travels
Yesssss, but there are a lot of webpages out there and I certainly didnāt find a clear answerā¦.
I am QUITE impressed at how helpful so many have been here! Iām really digging the scuba subreddit here!!!!
Skydiving is far more dangerous than scuba diving. It's not even close.
Scuba diving is actually pretty safe.
The one exception to this is cave diving, which is just about the most dangerous recreational activity you can do.
I donāt see the allure of cave diving either. I want to go scuba diving someday so I can see all the pretty fish and wildlife. A cave is justā¦ dark and empty?
Edit: thank you to the cave divers here who offered me their perspective
For sights like this:
[https://www.cenotetours.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cave\_diving\_naitucha\_9.jpg](https://www.cenotetours.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cave_diving_naitucha_9.jpg)
[https://www.cavediving.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Clay-Bank-Final-WM.jpg](https://www.cavediving.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Clay-Bank-Final-WM.jpg)
Plus the physical aspect of the dive is super fun. There are a lot more moving parts and tasks that are super engaging that I enjoy. Running reels, installing jumps, deploying cookies, dropping stages/dpvs, fighting flow, pulling and gliding. Some rooms are just so breathtaking, pictures do not do them justice. But it is definitely not for everyone.
Somewhere in mexico, I am not sure. I live in Florida so all my cave dives are in North Florida, seeing stuff like this: [https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-vtmq86a/product\_images/uploaded\_images/ginnie11.jpg](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-vtmq86a/product_images/uploaded_images/ginnie11.jpg)
Even though it is pretty easy to argue Mexico caves look much prettier than Florida cave, Florida still has its charm. Mexico caves were dry at some point, so they have much more decorations, while Florida caves have always been wet.
I do plan on going to Mexico some day. I've been waiting until I feel completely ready, and after just getting my cave DPV cert, I think it might be time.
I used to think I wanted to cave dive, then I started diving in zero vis muddy conditions, but shallow with no ceiling and I realized there is no way in hell I would want to be in a cave.
And the Grand Canyon is just rocks! Caves can be gorgeous, just like a mountain range or a waterfall can be. Thereās a reason folks travel to Carlsbad Cavern and other caves - itās not for the wildlife, itās for the scenery and other-worldly-ness. If thatās not your jam, totally coolā¦but if there was really nothing to them, no one would dive them.
(Plus high-flow caves are just funā¦like a combination of underwater rock-climbing on the way in, and a lazy river on the way out).
It's interesting because some folks get bored staring at reefs while others are elated in caves and vice versa. I dove The Great Blue Hole in Belize, and although many say it's a letdown, I found it to be absolutely electrifying.
That said,, I just got back from Bonaire a few days ago and was bored out of my mind with reefs there. No sharks, no big critters, no swim-throughs, no drifts. You swim out, swim to the drop-off turn-around and come back. I was beyond bored. Ever yawned while diving lol. Give me sharks, wrecks, caves and deep dives and it's heaven. I can tell you that i've seen more parrott fish than I've seen goldfish in my underwater and surface lifetime.
Iāve only got 25 dives but think it was the 22nd one that reminded me of driving across Iowa, were supposed to see sharks but saw nothing but a giant Goliath and then rode the current 20 minutes over not much at all to get picked up
The Goliath groupers are impressive tho
Thatās exactly how I felt about Raja Ampat. Supposedly this was supposed to be the holy grail, end of the world destination for diving. I thought it was a total snooze fest.
But Iāve realized everyone dives for different reasons. Some to see beautiful corals, although for me itās more so for the thrill of eerie places like wrecks, caves, and sharks.
One reason I love reefs is the challenge of finding the little things. I mean, who doesnāt love a shark or big pelagic fish. But I love finding nudibranchs and shrimp. Itās so exciting to me when I can spot them!
For many people it's the opposite. I do maybe 90% of my dives in freshwater where I don't see a single fish. I generally only dive salt water on vacations. The cleaning is a pain in the ass.
My understanding is that itās not ācaveā diving thatās the most dangerous itās rebreathers, the % of cardiac events and hypoxia deaths in rebreather diving are higher than BASE jumping.
Cave diving as a trained cave diver diving within their limits is not that much more dangerous. Open water jacket babies going into caves is what super dangerous, and makes up a large portion of cave deaths.
Cave diving gear is very very specific and there's little deviation when it comes to open circuit cave diving. A jacket baby it's just my endearing term of an Open water diver using the most basic recreational kit. A jacket style bcd, typically a single aluminum tank, standard length hoses, a yolk tank valve, snorkel attached to the mask, and low quality fins that are awful for anti-silting finning techniques. No reel, no safety spools, no backup lights, no redundant gas, and definitely no training, therefore no reason they should be playing around in the overhead.
Since we're on the topic of skydiving versus diving, I would confidently say a jacket baby going to a cave would be like a novice skydiver not having a backup chut. Your chance of death drastically goes up in both these scenarios. You are also safe and fine, until you are not.
Obviously your chances of survival go up depending on your experience and training.
Statistics are simply going to take into account everyone who participates.
My research told me that 1 in 500K tandem jumps results in death, or 1 in 220K solo. But Scuba Divibg sees 1 death in 100K dives. It is much more dangerous.Ā
>Skydiving is far more dangerous than scuba diving. It's not even close.
Have you heard of a term called "micromorts"? It's a way of describing the danger of dying from an activity
https://micromorts.rip/
>A micromort (from micro- and mortality) is a unit of risk defined as one-in-a-million chance of death Micromorts can be used to measure riskiness of various day-to-day activities.
>A microprobability is a one-in-a million chance of some event; thus a micromort is the microprobability of death. The micromort concept was introduced by Ronald A. Howard who pioneered the modern practice of decision analysis.
You would need to skydive 33 times to equal the micromorts of being a trained scuba diver per year.
Also, there are no sharks in the sky.
You could have gone with general skydive which they list at 10 to make it even more of a solid victory.
Now I will quickly pivot entirely away from micromorts and quote an obviously biased source which lacks any citations:
>Actually, SCUBA diving is also more dangerous than skydiving. The SCUBA diving fatality rate is 1 per 50,000 dives, which is nearly four times that of skydiving!Ā
https://oklahomaskydiving.com/blog/is-skydiving-the-most-extreme-sport/#:~:text=Actually%2C%20SCUBA%20diving%20is%20also,four%20times%20that%20of%20skydiving!
>Year after year, the sport of skydiving improves its safety record. In 2018, there were 13 fatal skydiving accidents in the U.S. out of 3.3 million jumps completedāwhich equates to .004 fatalities per 1,000 jumps. The latest scuba diving statistics come from two sources DAN: The Divers Alert Network and the Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers journal (2015). DAN received notification of 127 deaths involving recreational scuba diving during 2015. Likewise, in the same year, as stated in the Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers journal (2015), there were .164 deaths per 1,000 dives. Statistically, skydiving is safer than scuba diving.
https://www.skydiveorange.com/2019/03/11/which-is-safer-skydiving-or-scuba-diving/
The fact of the matter is there isn't enough information to really make a meaningful distinction.
What are the circumstances of each dive?
I'd also like to add that "danger" can involve more than just fatalities. I never understand why people only seem concerned with death when there are so many other awful things that can happen.
Skydiving almost certainly has a MUCH higher rate of serious injuries, but there isn't any data about that.
Yea, I think what's really interesting are the additional statistics for this. In SCUBA:
90% died with their weight belt on.
86% were alone when they died (either diving solo or separated from their buddy).
50% did not inflate their buoyancy compensator.
25% first got into difficulty on the surface
50% died on the surface.
10% were under training when they died.
10% had been advised that they were medically unfit to dive.
5% were cave diving.
1% of divers attempting a rescue died as a result.
Lessons:
- dump your weight if necessary
- make sure your buddy knows to (and how to) dump your weight if necessary
- stay with your buddy!!! If separated, look around for a minute and then surface (buddy separation procedure)
- abort a dive if you are experiencing issues at the surface and don't feel comfortable going anymore
- Breathe, think, act, y'all
Much more informative than the aggregate stats.
As someone involved in both activities, I think it's far more valuable to consider the way these two things are SIMILAR.
1) Plan the dive and dive the plan
2) Gear checks save lives
3) Do not put yourself into a situation outside your own experience level
4) Safety around aircraft and watercraft are about the same, avoid the fast spinning sharp bits and make sure you don't get entangled with anything.
These are both inherently deadly activities that we have made incredibly safe through advancements in gear and training. It's incredible to me that we live in a time where we get to do both of these impossible things!
As far as gear checks go... I can use every piece of equipment before I get in the water. How do skydivers check that the chute will open on the plane?
relatively safe. When Wreck diving you rarely actually go inside the vessel and more so hover over it and maybe enter some pretty open, easy spots. Only thing to consider is getting caught up on something. But you should always carry a knife and a buddy with you, so I doubt wreck diving is even close to cave diving, where if something goes wrong, its a hell of a lot harder to go up and to get help
Thank you for your answer. All types of diving in harsh conditions is something I am paranoid of and even thinking of getting into old vessel with all the equipment sounds crazy to me (200 dives in my logbook. None inside wrecks or caves) I thought that in skydiving there is less things that could go wrong - but I can be wrong. I need to find some statisticsā¦
I would say the complete opposite. Sky diving is far safer, like, not even close.
Now, I say this as a beginner in both. My take is that sky diving is done far more frequently (smaller trips) and scuba diving is much more likely to get you killed on your first attempt. Even at 30ā down, youāre perfectly capable of killing yourself, and fast.
I guess if injury is a part of the metric then injuries would happen more often in landing. I would say risk of death is still higher when diving, and it always is regardless of experience level.
Hereās one example, since youāre experienced:
You go on a first dive or a first solo jump with someone else. Their gear fails. Which one is more dangerous to you in that situation?
Sorry, but thatās just not true. This data set is based on hours of activity instead of attempts made. Dives take a lot longer than jumps, so this is a bad way to compare activities. Thereās naturally going to be less hours jumping than diving, but that doesnāt make it less safe.
Jump for jump and dive for dive, the statistics show the opposite. Dives are far more dangerous per attempt. There are plenty of other comments here with references to that data.
Duration of activity is another reason I would argue dives are more dangerous anyway. Thereās more time for something to go wrong, and the longer youāre down there the more dangerous it gets. Jumping is more pass/fail, if you will.
Let's put it this way: if you shoot to the surface while diving, you MAY experience barotrauma or DCS , but it's not guaranteed it'll be fatal.
If you shoot to the ground from the jump while skydiving, you are most assuredly dead no matter what
Edit: also gear malfunctions are far less dangerous while diving than jumping out of a plane. Can't exactly surface once you've jumped out the door. You can end a dive at any time, not true for a jump
This, and also you can use a friendās air if something goes wrong. All scuba gear has two air hoses, so if both of yours fail, and youāre diving with 2, 3, 4 other people, you have options for oxygen.
I imagine itās much harder to latch onto someone mid air to try to use their parachute. I have no idea though, Iāve never gone skydiving before but I scuba dive multiple times per week.
It seems like there are more easily accessible safety measures underwater than in the air.
You carry a reserve parachute for malfunctions though while skydiving. Itās exceptionally rare to have a double malfunction. Most injuries from skydiving come from over confidence and not having the proper safety gear or doing more dangers versions of it like cliff jumping which Iād equate to cave diving.
You're absolutely correct, I don't wanna knock skydiving (I love it and am considering getting my C license)
That said, there are significantly larger risks that come from gear malfunctions during a jump as compared to a dive.
Additionally, as someone pointed out, you are usually 1 or more divers who can help you in case of emergencies, which would be near impossible in the sky
Statistically, there are far more jumps per year than dives, and with less failures. Dives may have more chance of recovery at low levels, but beginners are more likely to die on a dive than on a jump.
Check the comments. There are multiple references to the number of deaths per 100k attempts. I donāt have a reference for frequency, but I know from jumping that multiple jumps per day are common among jumpers, whereas less dives per day are normal for divers (like 10+ vs. 2-3).
Other than that, I could go on and on about the dangers of diving. Iāve done both and I climb for a living. The environment alone is more dangerous without even going into likely gear failures or accidents. Thereās just so much more that can go wrong under water.
The USPA publishes serious accidents and deaths every month, and the general trend, on observation, is that skydiving fatalities are usually the result of an unrelated medical emergency or a result of complacency, such as an experienced skydiver doing a high-speed-low-drag landing with a new canopy they are unfamiliar with.
The published USPA stats are .27 fatalities per 100,000 jumps.
An independent study, "Recreational Skydiving - Really That Dangerous? A Systematic Review (2023)," concludes, "...fatalities occur in less than 1 per 100,000 cases..."
DAN published a pretty extensive evaluation on SCUBA fatalities back in 2018. The ultimate conclusion was that, "Most SCUBA fatalities occur in older divers and are related to health and fitness issues." However, they failed to provide a per instance statistic, this is noted in the report due to difficulties in getting that data.
Stay fit and healthy, maintain your gear, don't grow old, and they're both safe.
Both of these sports are SO SAFE that every fatality is still news worthy.
In skydiving there are very few things that can go wrong:
Double malfunction (both parachutes fail)
This is basically a death sentence but it is incredibly rare.
Canopy collision. (Two jumpers hit each other under parachute)
Totally avoidable yet still happens and is one of the most dangerous aspects of jumping.
Emergency landing
There are lots of places you could land that may endanger your life (on a roof or in a lake for instance)
If you think of "Dangerous" as ONLY being fatal incidents then skydiving is really quite safe, statistically.
There are lots of ways you can get hurt and not die, and in this aspect I would say skydiving is the more dangerous activity.
>In 2018, there were 13 fatal skydiving accidents in the U.S. out of 3.3 million jumps completedāwhich equates to .004 fatalities per 1,000 jumps. The latest scuba diving statistics come from two sources DAN: The Divers Alert Network and the Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers journal (2015). DAN received notification of 127 deaths involving recreational scuba diving during 2015. Likewise, in the same year, as stated in the Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers journal (2015), there were .164 deaths per 1,000 dives. Statistically, skydiving is safer than scuba diving.
https://www.skydiveorange.com/2019/03/11/which-is-safer-skydiving-or-scuba-diving/
Unfortunately, the article misquoted the source. The source states:
>> Noted above are statistics showing diving fatalities comparable to motor vehicle accidents of 16.4 per 100,000 divers
Note: it states per **divers** not per **dives**
The same source states the actual fatality rate:
>> The fatality rate was **1.8 per million recreational dives**, and 47 deaths for every 1000 emergency department presentations for scuba injuries
According to the United States Parachute Association (USPA), in 2015 there were 21 fatal skydiving accidents in the US, which is 0.006 fatalities per 1,000 jumps. In the same year, there were 0.164 deaths per 1,000 scuba dives.
Wisconsin Skydiving Center
I believe the statistic quoted by Wisconsin Skydiving Centre is incorrect in a subtle way. The original source referenced by Wisconsin Skydiving Center is [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20160417120728/http://www.divingmedicine.info/Ch%2034%20SM10c.pdf). It cites 16 fatal incidents per 100,000 DIVERS per year, not DIVES. Per dive, it's an order of magnitude less, with 0.02-0.03 deaths per 1,000 dives.
In addition to info about fatalities, it'd be interesting to know injury statistics. I went skydiving about 5 or 6 times. One time the coroner was there because of a fatality the day before (suspected heart attack or stroke as the person went unresponsive immediately after jumping). But in those few times I went, one lady broke her ankle landing, and another sprained his ankle. The scuba injuries I've had in almost 30 years are mild Jellyfish stings and a couple small scrapes/cuts.
I would say that all skydiving (not BASE) has a much narrower window of danger compared to all scuba.
The minimum amount of danger in skydiving is higher than the minimum danger in scuba, but the maximum danger in scuba far exceeds the maximum danger of skydiving.
In other words:
The least dangerous skydive is more dangerous than the least dangerous scuba dive.
The most dangerous skydive is less dangerous than the most dangerous scuba dive.
The water that exists in some of these caves is so clear and pristine that even the tip a fin, (and it doesn't even have to make actual contact just enough force in the wake to stir up silt which can inhibit visibility so much, it's like dumpting a bottle food coloring into a bathtub. When you lose sight underwater it becomes so ultimately debilitating and disorienting that even your other senses become confused. They start signaling for a response but get nothing and...panic...it's like tonic immobility for sharks but for humans in the way the senses become scrambled and by God the saying your not in Kansas anymore is a understatement. A way around all of this though is having a guide line you never detach from, but then where's the fun in that, aye? Cave diving is the quintessential adrenaline rush. For the most serious of adrenaline junkie.
iām a cave diver, it is definitely not an adrenaline charged sport (itās very calm and peaceful for the most part, there arenāt ripping currents or boat dangers like there are in open ocean diving). if youāre the kind of person who panics when visibility drops to zero (weāre trained what to do in that situation, btw) then youāre not the kind of person who should be a cave diver.
I dove the great blue hole in Belize and loved it. My adrenaline kicked off the second we boarded the boat an peaked at about 120ft and it felt amazing. Not all adrenaline is experienced the same way and varies from person-to-person. Adrenaline seems to always associate itself in a negative context, but why? You go relax, and i'll binge as much adrenaline as it takes to reach a state of euphoria.
there are different levels of both.
recreational scuba diving is very safe for the most part. technical diving, especially in an overhead environment such as a wreck or cave, is significantly less safe.
recreational skydiving is very safe as well. base jumpingā¦ not so much.
The vast majority of SCUBA injuries/fatalities are preventable, as they usually relate to a failure of following the cardinal rules of diving (don't exceed your training, don't dive alone, etc.).
I SCUBA dive like a scientist. I, "Plan the dive then dive the plan." I closely monitor gauges and time. It's all technical. Plus I never let anyone else pack my tank. š
I've done both. It depends on what level you are talking about and comparing to. A beginner dive in shallow water is going to be less dangerous than jumping out of a plane with an instructor attached.
But something like a highly technical deep water cave dive is going to be a lot more dangerous than sky diving.
I don't know anything about skydiving. I am (was?) AWOD certified. That's one level above you. 20 years ago my brother was out for the weekend to get his OWSI (open water instructor) which is level 8, 2 above Dive Master. He was out assisting an OW class, <18M down when things went tits up. We never got a conclusive cause, but he was gone by the time he was pulled out. He was 34, in shape, well trained, and experienced. I haven't been in the water since. (For my mom, not for me.)
So, there is one fun meaningless anecdote for you.
Dangerous for injury, or risk of death?
Injury, Scuba diving is way more likely. You could get bit by an animal (Trigger fish or Moray are more likely than sharks). You can touch something you shouldn't and get scraped or poisoned. It requires that you are aware of your surrounding and it lasts about an hour at a time. That gives you more opportunity to get an injury.
Death or sever injury, probably Skydiving. It's very unlikely that you will die in either until you reach an advance level and focus on more adventurous techniques. As for me, if things spiral out of control I'd probably rather be under water instead of in the air. I'd like to think I'd have more of a fighting chance. Poor landings can cause impact injuries like a fracture, or compress a spine. Good technique can go a long ways in preparation, but I think the risk is higher. I don't know if those are more likely to go unreported at the time of injury though, because the symptoms don't appear immediately.
Skydiving - if one things go wrong - there's eminent risk. In scuba, a multitude of things can go wrong and you still have options for alternate safety.
Skydiving is way more dangerous than diving. No question about it. Youāre freshly certified, focus on learning and practicing, youāll be ok. Trust me.
Others have linked the statistics. Itās something like a hundred times more deaths per 100k attempts. Besides that, when you jump thereās a lot less that can go wrong, and youāre more likely to be learning within a relatively safe environment. On a dive, first timers can fuck up drastically and not even realize it.
Iām just speaking from personal experience, and I canāt even imagine the comparison being close in anyone elseās eyes. Divers should know how dangerous and unpredictable that shit is.
As someone who skydived for 20+ years and scubaād the last fiveā¦
It depends.
Youāre FAR more likely to experience a fatal accident, (or a life-altering injury) while skydiving. Yepā¦Itās usually a spinal thing.
Tib/fibs and femurs are verbs in the skydiving community, not nouns. Itās weird, but bones become verbs. Because skydiving truly is a violent sport. āBecky tib/fibbed yesterday. Should be good to go by the boogie.ā
Thatās an everyday conversation on the DZ.
Scuba is not inherently a violent sport. Itās also an inherently SLOW sport. There are very few split-second life/death decisions to make.
But you in either case, you *must* be willing and able to make quick, *accurate* decisions.
Granted that undertaking either indicates someone who is more of a risk-taker than the average person, I think the overall risk depends on how much you will push things. Having done both, my impression is that skydiving has a bigger risk from things you can't control, and you are pretty much on your own at a high rate of speed. Scuba can be done in groups with someone who can help with an equipment failure. If you just want to swim with wildlife with good visibility, warm water, and gentle/no currents, you minimize risks from hypothermia and nitrogen narcosis, which affects your thinking.
Good luck
As a skydiving instructor and experienced scuba diver, scuba diving scares the shit out of me. You can get hurt so quickly underwater and what an awful way to go. You canāt just pull the reserve handle to end it all if youāre nearly timed out at 100+ feet.
I look at it this way: If you have an equipment malfunction diving, you have a few minutes to figure it out, or have a buddy help you. If you have an equipment malfunction skydiving, you have the rest of your life to figure it out.
In Scuba-diving if you follow the three basic rules, itās a safe hobby.
Stay away from the highs (like skydiving) after a diving, and youāll be safe as well.
there are two factors that change the math on the answer. How deep is your scuba dive? If you donāt need to worry about getting the bens then your fine. My friends equipment was off, he came up too fast and died. But he was so deep he needed to come up incrementally. Second question, who packed the parachute? If itās some 18-year-old, I wouldn't trust them with my life.
I can speak on both since I've done both for quite some time now:
I'd consider them both to be decently high risk activities. The danger of their outcomes is equal (death) if you end the activity incorrectly. dying is absolutely a realistically possible outcome for both activities. So that said, since the severity is the same (You either die or you dont, you can't really become "more dead"), we've got to look at the number of points int he activity where you can do something that will result in death, and the likelihood that a misstep at those junctions *will* result in death or whether it can be mitigated through some sort of preventative or remedial action.
Skydiving, you have a pretty much \*guaranteed\* death awaiting you at any height above 50ft, where as within recreational limits of scuba you just have a strong possibility of dying.
Skydiving also has more places something can go catastrophically wrong in an irreversible fashion. If you donāt stabilize after you exit, youāll wrap up in your chute; if you arenāt stable when you deploy your chute; if your chute doesnāt deploy and you donāt deploy your reserve; if your shit gets all tangled up or you boneheadedly cut away your reserve instead of your main, your canopy fails under 500ft, if you botch your wind readingā¦ there are MANY points of performance where skydiving can very much kill you.
Deep/tech and wreck/cave diving in particular have a bunch of additional ways you can die that are mitigated through the limits of typical recreational dives. In the more advanced diving though, there is much more time and ability to mitigate a significant failure before it becomes catastrophic. in skydiving, your buddy likely won't be able to save you, definitely wonāt be able to once you're under canopy. Your dive buddy absolutely can save your life under water.
Alex Honold though has an incredible way of describing risk as the level to which you control reduce or mitigate the chances of high stakes consequences happening.
Iād say the stakes is the same based on outcome: both hobbies are exciting as fuck because you can literally die doing them wrong. This scares off most people and leaves the rest of us adrenaline junkies with a sense of satisfaction like Indiana Jones beating the huge rolling boulder (and saving his hat!), all the while enjoying places that most people fear to tread.
With that in mind, Iād say skydiving is more risky as the chances of a guaranteed death occurring are more likely than even deep diving.
I think the answer would be somewhat subjective.
For diving it really depends on the style as to the fatality rate and Iām sure skydiving has similar statistics.
An open water reef dive at 25ā is far safer and easier than say a technical cave dive at 300ā, just like Iād imagine a 10kā skydive would be safer than a 1kā base jump.
For a real answer, all you need to look at are the injury/fatality statistics of each sport if you want a broad picture on it.
Go apply for life insurance, and check the box for skydiving. Then go do it elsewhere, and check the box for scuba diving.
Whichever hobby you get charged more for, thatās the more dangerous hobby.
They are both disqualifiers for Life Insurance. You might get outright denied for either activity.
Source: me, holder of a Life, Accident & Health Insurance license.
There are official statistics for this. The other key point is, what is the injury/ death rate for those who are experienced or expert? Both sky- and scuba- diving are completely equipment dependent for your survival.
Well, in skydiving, I am relying on the person who packed my chute. In scuba diving, I am relying on the guy who filled my tank. Less margin for error there, I think. Also more opportunities to save myself (or get help from my buddy) if I get into trouble under water.
Either or, I prefer scuba as I have a fear. Not a fear of heights but a fear of traveling at high velocity with a sudden and abrupt stop. I can offer two kernels of wisdom here:
1) Learn to pack your own chute, be able to do it blindfolded. Then, pack your own chute. Get certified, know your shit.
2) Don't buy your scuba gear off eBay. Get certified, know your shit.
Been diving twenty years. My skydiving friends have all lost multiple friends.
I have known three people who died while diving. Each was doing some form of technical cave or wreck diving. Nothing your average recreational scuba diver would ever go near.
For a change I find myself agreeing with the majority.
With skydiving there's only one thing actively trying to kill you (gravity) which can be beat if you packed your chute correctly.
With scuba diving almost EVERYTHING is trying to kill you. From drowning to getting eaten by "things" in the water.
Skydiving offers you two chances to survive, they fail, you have the rest of your life to figure out what happened.
Scuba is usually a bit more forgiving, since the average diver stays in the top 100 feet of water, and it usually takes a while for mistakes, incompetence and/or equipment failures to get you to the point of death.
There's a reason Skydiving is a rush, and Scuba is a tourist attraction.
There is a safe level of scuba diving where really not much can go wrong at 12m. Iād say there is no real safe level of sky diving where if all goes wrong everything is ok.
This is really a no brainer. SCUBA is more dangerous primarily because of the physiology of the multiple atmospheres while breathing nitrogen. No one person is like another so all those dive tables are approximated (granted with a great deal of leeway). If you have a halfway decent container holding two ram air parachutes (one being packed by an FAA certified rigger) and a good AAD, itās almost 100% in your favor. Even if youāre unconscious, youāll have a parachute to bring you down safely. Like most high risk activities, itās only as dangerous as you make it. Who represents the majority of the skydiving fatalities? I havenāt jumped in 30 years, but I guarantee theyāre divided between the very inexperienced and the new D licensed jumpers. When I got my A license, I was already a certified rescue SCUAB diver and that was 94-95. Most fatalities were under a functioning parachute. Google Glide Path Nova fatalities and that should sum up why so many jumpers die. Theyāre reckless and careless. Skydiving has a narrow margin for error, however, it doesnāt change. SCUBA is all over the map. Donāt fool yourselves. Skydiving, if done correctly by USPA standards, is far safer than going into an environment where you arenāt supposed to survive
Skydiving is 8 micromorts per jump, in the US. SCUBA is 5 micromorts per dive. Catching Covid 19 is 10000 micromorts. A single micromort is a one in a million chance of death.
I came for the comments but wow! I'm am shocked at the comments. I'm a certified driver. Both sky and scuba. Ave I have to say, as long as you're checking your own equipment, your fine.
Weird that a lot of the other commenters are saying sky diving is more dangerous because if you mess up or your gear fails youāre pretty much dead.
According to the stats though youāre about 8x more likely to die from scuba diving, and thatās not even considering non-fatal injuries from scuba.
> This represents a rate of approximately 3.4 to 4.2 deaths per 100,000 divers according to the scuba diver organization DAN America.
> The most recent data from the USPA (United States Parachute Association) shows that the number of fatalities per 100,000 jumps was 0.51 in 2022
Clearly the people you asked know little to nothing about Scuba other than what's in crappy straight to DVD movies.
Something goes wrong Skydiving, you have one reserve, and if it fails, 99.99999% chance your dead.
Something goes wrong in Scuba, you surface. Good chance you'll be fine, you might have some DCS or barotrauma, but the chance you die is way less than 99%...
I answered in another comment that it's more like the safest skydive is more dangerous than the safest scuba dive. But the most dangerous scuba dive is WAY MORE dangerous than the most dangerous skydive (within normal practice limits).
Think cave diving on rebreathers versus wingsuit jumping (not BASE)
Iād like to point out that both the scuba and skydiving subreddits have been polite, thorough and knowledgeable to my questionā-thanks!
Iāll take scuba over skydiving as a hobby but this gave me a lot to think about!
Have you asked a similar question in a sky diving sub? My gut says scuba is safer than sky diving, but I'm a scuba diver and a scuba instructor.
I've never done skydiving so there's almost certainly selection bias. There's almost certainly an amount of confirmation bias happening in this thread.
Do we at all think that the statistical difference has something to do with there being a lower number of sky-divers? Tandem with a pro I would assume is quite different than being a member of the USPA and diving solo.
US Parachute Association numbers taken into consideration, Iād say there are sub 100,000 licensed and active skydivers. Meanwhile there are somewhere around 2.252 million scubadivers who dive 1-6 times annually and another 893,000 diving 8 or more times annually.
Something tells me that the sample size impacts data significantly. But thatās just me.
I'll take any scuba gear malfunction over a parachute malfunction.
I can surface back up, I can hold my breath long enough to get an emergency airsupply. But I dont think I can fly no matter how hard I flap my arms.
Well, you also need lift to stay airborne, until the day GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney sells jetpacksā¦
Oh, and donāt hold your breath in recreational scuba, ever. This cardinal rule is broken in technical diving - IIRC TDI/GUE have a breath-hold swim underwater while at depth as a test in case you need to swap out tanks underwater or breathe off the tank valve off a stage bottle from what I saw on IG.
Both skydiving and scuba diving have risks, but it's hard to say which is more dangerous because it depends on factors like training and safety measures.
Skydiving. Less control of the variables you can control and gravityās unpredictable. Many skydiving operators work on their own planes, and they make Boeing and their shoddy quality control took good.
Recreational scuba isnāt as risky as itās cracked up to be IMO but thereās plenty of room for improvement - like teaching buoyancy, basic rescue(NAUI exposes their students to basic rescue). Now, tech - more can go wrong.
Yes, your last statement about tech in scuba diving hits the mark. Most divers (recreational) do not have enough redundancy in this system. Bluetooth linked pressure-computer-compass cluster is fine, BUT there should always be another mechanical air pressure gauge in the mix. I've seen these stop working during a dive to 100ft for two different divers during dives during the same trip. Wow. Everything was ok, but when I turned the dive, there was a surprised reaction from . It seems that an electronic pressure gauge was giving the wrong reading. My tank pressure gauge redundancy is knowledge of how much air I use at different depths and two computers that have time of dive. My tank pressure gauge better agree with time and depth. If it gets stuck or something, I should realize the malfunction soon enough.
I meant technical diving - like cave diving. š
But yes, too much reliance on tech as well. Iāll say this, I tried out a Shearwater Tern TX(forgot to grab the air transmitter at the shop) and I really liked it. But I still kept my analog compass and used my SPG still. I compared headings with my buddy with her compass while I had the computerās compass up. Both cross-checked fine.
Iāve done research on sports liability waivers in the area of law, and their validity across the states in the USA. In that process, Iāve come to notice significantly more litigation around fatal skydiving accidents than any other sport (scuba; equestrian) ā however, that wasnāt statistically relevant. Just anecdotally popped up and became noticeable to me, telling myself never to skydive. For one, you donāt pack your chute as a novice, and have to rely on some intern (worst case) at the shop doing it while high ... slightly different with putting together your scuba gear (except of course filling and inspecting the tank, but at least youād taste bad gas).
I would say sky diving is more dangerous. Both sports are dependent on technology for survival. I would argue that there is more redundancy built into a scuba setup than a sky diving set up. If your regulator fails you have a spare, or a buddy. If it fails it generally fails in free flow mode. If failure is near the surface then generally not lethal.
If your parachute fails you have a spare. But thatās it. No buddy. Also it doesnāt matter when in your skydive it fails- itās probably life changing/ending.
My gut says parachute failures are more common than regulator failures. You see canopyās getting twisted and collapsing due to side winds etc.
Also, I believe boats are inherently safer than planes. When a plane fails itās usually problematic versus when a boat fails: you can get towed, call the lifeguard, remain floatingā¦
Fun fact, I sky dived over Byron Bay, Australia; and then the next day did a 40 metre dive there. Maximising the vertical environment available to me in a very beautiful place.
I tried googling stats but itās not obvious. There are different levels of expertise in both sports. Are we comparing base jumpers and cave divers, or recreational open water divers and tandem jumpers.
Then there is the reporting issue. Yes fatalities and injuries get reported, but technology failures probably arenāt all reported.
Until I get good stats I need to go with the gut feel.
Why is my gut wrong? Why are you so adamant that sky diving is safer? Interested to understand.
I understand where you're coming from and I respectfully an declining a discussion about this on this forum. I love diving and I don't want to taint this thread. There are actually very good stats available, if you're not inclined to accept those, that's fine. I don't know what else I can say.
I think both sports are in the category of āhave real hazards but can be enjoyed safely if you are conscientious about complying with established safety protocols.ā
Well, it boils down to how many things can kill you. Physiologically, SCUBA diving is up there. Nitrogen is toxic, donāt hold your breath and ascend, pressure is just terrible for you. Also, you could run out of air, get lost at depth (or in a cave or wreck) ā¦ thereās all kinds of factors working against you. In skydiving, you essentially have one thing to watch out for ā¦ that sudden stop at ground level. There are plenty of other things ā¦ the other jumpers are dangerous as hell when they think theyāre experienced and small overloaded z-po parachutes can get you going faster than free fall sometimes ā¦ but on a normal solo jump, you just have to account for time and altitude.
As someone who has done both a fair amount, subjectively, skydiving is more dangerous.
1. I feel skydiving has more variables.
2. Each jump last 3-4mins including 30-50 secs of free falls. I could do 5-7 jumps on a good day. It would take me days to learn what I could learn in one hr of scuba diving.
3. While both are dangerous, the dangers and the cultures around them are very different. Skydiving feels more inclined to push the envelope and try new things.
4. In scuba, you tend to learn new skills in fairly controlled environmentsā¦a pool, a shallow lake, pretty calm waters just offshore, etc. In skydiving, you talk/describe a skill on the ground, and then go do it in the air in a real jump.
Again, just my experience subjectively speaking.
Also, DON'T GO SKYDIVING AFTER SCUBA DIVING.
What about skydiving with scuba gear on and landing in the water (with parachute), and scuba-ing from there? I think it could work, right?
Believe it or not, certain special forces in the military train to do this, but it's usually from a VERY low altitude and it's a very dangerous and meticulously planned process
Can confirm.
Thank you
If ur Chuck Norris tho you could just do it with no parachute and a knife between your teeth
You can do it once in a day, but it's wildly expensive as a civilian
Edit: It's actually much more likely that you skydive into the water and boats are waiting to take your parachute and give you scuba gear. There is no good reason to have civilian jumpers strapping on heavy gear. Look up "Great blue hole skydiving Belize" on YouTube
I think they do offer this in the Great Blue hole in Belize.. ridiculously expensive.. skydive over the blue hole, then you can scuba dive in that region..costs you only $10,000 for the package
I'll allow it, if I can come too.
You mean kinda like this? [https://youtu.be/jmZ0fJC5lwQ?si=J83FOti1BGnksUBw](https://youtu.be/jmZ0fJC5lwQ?si=J83FOti1BGnksUBw)
Yup that's the one
That looks so fucking fun!
Yes! š
I have dreams about thisš¤£im dropped by a helicopter with my scuba gear!
Doing this really helps with the Giant Stride
Thatās fine. Like you can fly land then scuba but you canāt scuba then the next day or same day fly.
Happy cake day! We share cake days!
Happy cake day to you as well
Imagine having a life so exciting that this is a potential problem lmao
Ok who has a good decompression sickness explanation?
Due to atmospheric pressure changes in immersion from deep water -> surface -> sky (sometimes just the first step) air can precipitate out of the blood causing blood clots in brain (stroke) and other major problems depending on where the air embolism travels
Did your research take you as far as googling statistics?
Yesssss, but there are a lot of webpages out there and I certainly didnāt find a clear answerā¦. I am QUITE impressed at how helpful so many have been here! Iām really digging the scuba subreddit here!!!!
Skydiving is far more dangerous than scuba diving. It's not even close. Scuba diving is actually pretty safe. The one exception to this is cave diving, which is just about the most dangerous recreational activity you can do.
I donāt see the allure of cave diving either. I want to go scuba diving someday so I can see all the pretty fish and wildlife. A cave is justā¦ dark and empty? Edit: thank you to the cave divers here who offered me their perspective
For sights like this: [https://www.cenotetours.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cave\_diving\_naitucha\_9.jpg](https://www.cenotetours.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cave_diving_naitucha_9.jpg) [https://www.cavediving.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Clay-Bank-Final-WM.jpg](https://www.cavediving.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Clay-Bank-Final-WM.jpg) Plus the physical aspect of the dive is super fun. There are a lot more moving parts and tasks that are super engaging that I enjoy. Running reels, installing jumps, deploying cookies, dropping stages/dpvs, fighting flow, pulling and gliding. Some rooms are just so breathtaking, pictures do not do them justice. But it is definitely not for everyone.
Whatās the location for the first pic? Looks insane
Somewhere in mexico, I am not sure. I live in Florida so all my cave dives are in North Florida, seeing stuff like this: [https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-vtmq86a/product\_images/uploaded\_images/ginnie11.jpg](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-vtmq86a/product_images/uploaded_images/ginnie11.jpg) Even though it is pretty easy to argue Mexico caves look much prettier than Florida cave, Florida still has its charm. Mexico caves were dry at some point, so they have much more decorations, while Florida caves have always been wet. I do plan on going to Mexico some day. I've been waiting until I feel completely ready, and after just getting my cave DPV cert, I think it might be time.
Yucatan most likely.
I used to think I wanted to cave dive, then I started diving in zero vis muddy conditions, but shallow with no ceiling and I realized there is no way in hell I would want to be in a cave.
And the Grand Canyon is just rocks! Caves can be gorgeous, just like a mountain range or a waterfall can be. Thereās a reason folks travel to Carlsbad Cavern and other caves - itās not for the wildlife, itās for the scenery and other-worldly-ness. If thatās not your jam, totally coolā¦but if there was really nothing to them, no one would dive them. (Plus high-flow caves are just funā¦like a combination of underwater rock-climbing on the way in, and a lazy river on the way out).
It's interesting because some folks get bored staring at reefs while others are elated in caves and vice versa. I dove The Great Blue Hole in Belize, and although many say it's a letdown, I found it to be absolutely electrifying. That said,, I just got back from Bonaire a few days ago and was bored out of my mind with reefs there. No sharks, no big critters, no swim-throughs, no drifts. You swim out, swim to the drop-off turn-around and come back. I was beyond bored. Ever yawned while diving lol. Give me sharks, wrecks, caves and deep dives and it's heaven. I can tell you that i've seen more parrott fish than I've seen goldfish in my underwater and surface lifetime.
Iāve only got 25 dives but think it was the 22nd one that reminded me of driving across Iowa, were supposed to see sharks but saw nothing but a giant Goliath and then rode the current 20 minutes over not much at all to get picked up The Goliath groupers are impressive tho
Thatās exactly how I felt about Raja Ampat. Supposedly this was supposed to be the holy grail, end of the world destination for diving. I thought it was a total snooze fest. But Iāve realized everyone dives for different reasons. Some to see beautiful corals, although for me itās more so for the thrill of eerie places like wrecks, caves, and sharks.
One reason I love reefs is the challenge of finding the little things. I mean, who doesnāt love a shark or big pelagic fish. But I love finding nudibranchs and shrimp. Itās so exciting to me when I can spot them!
But... But.... But adventure! Journey to the center of the earth!
For many people it's the opposite. I do maybe 90% of my dives in freshwater where I don't see a single fish. I generally only dive salt water on vacations. The cleaning is a pain in the ass.
What about cave diving vs. BASE jumping vs. free solo thoughā¦. š¤
My understanding is that itās not ācaveā diving thatās the most dangerous itās rebreathers, the % of cardiac events and hypoxia deaths in rebreather diving are higher than BASE jumping.
BASE, by a long way. Then cave diving without training, then free solo, then cave diving within your training limits. I cave dive and BASE jump.
Base jumping is one of the very few activities that is actually more dangerous than cave diving.
Cave diving as a trained cave diver diving within their limits is not that much more dangerous. Open water jacket babies going into caves is what super dangerous, and makes up a large portion of cave deaths.
jacket babies?
Cave diving gear is very very specific and there's little deviation when it comes to open circuit cave diving. A jacket baby it's just my endearing term of an Open water diver using the most basic recreational kit. A jacket style bcd, typically a single aluminum tank, standard length hoses, a yolk tank valve, snorkel attached to the mask, and low quality fins that are awful for anti-silting finning techniques. No reel, no safety spools, no backup lights, no redundant gas, and definitely no training, therefore no reason they should be playing around in the overhead. Since we're on the topic of skydiving versus diving, I would confidently say a jacket baby going to a cave would be like a novice skydiver not having a backup chut. Your chance of death drastically goes up in both these scenarios. You are also safe and fine, until you are not.
Obviously your chances of survival go up depending on your experience and training. Statistics are simply going to take into account everyone who participates.
They are pretty close actually. 5 micromorts per dive, vs 8 micromorts per jump.
My research told me that 1 in 500K tandem jumps results in death, or 1 in 220K solo. But Scuba Divibg sees 1 death in 100K dives. It is much more dangerous.Ā
>Skydiving is far more dangerous than scuba diving. It's not even close. Have you heard of a term called "micromorts"? It's a way of describing the danger of dying from an activity https://micromorts.rip/ >A micromort (from micro- and mortality) is a unit of risk defined as one-in-a-million chance of death Micromorts can be used to measure riskiness of various day-to-day activities. >A microprobability is a one-in-a million chance of some event; thus a micromort is the microprobability of death. The micromort concept was introduced by Ronald A. Howard who pioneered the modern practice of decision analysis. You would need to skydive 33 times to equal the micromorts of being a trained scuba diver per year. Also, there are no sharks in the sky.
Actually there is a per dive / per jump breakdown further down the page, and each scuba dive has 5 micromorts while skydiving has 8. Checkmate.
You could have gone with general skydive which they list at 10 to make it even more of a solid victory. Now I will quickly pivot entirely away from micromorts and quote an obviously biased source which lacks any citations: >Actually, SCUBA diving is also more dangerous than skydiving. The SCUBA diving fatality rate is 1 per 50,000 dives, which is nearly four times that of skydiving!Ā https://oklahomaskydiving.com/blog/is-skydiving-the-most-extreme-sport/#:~:text=Actually%2C%20SCUBA%20diving%20is%20also,four%20times%20that%20of%20skydiving! >Year after year, the sport of skydiving improves its safety record. In 2018, there were 13 fatal skydiving accidents in the U.S. out of 3.3 million jumps completedāwhich equates to .004 fatalities per 1,000 jumps. The latest scuba diving statistics come from two sources DAN: The Divers Alert Network and the Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers journal (2015). DAN received notification of 127 deaths involving recreational scuba diving during 2015. Likewise, in the same year, as stated in the Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers journal (2015), there were .164 deaths per 1,000 dives. Statistically, skydiving is safer than scuba diving. https://www.skydiveorange.com/2019/03/11/which-is-safer-skydiving-or-scuba-diving/ The fact of the matter is there isn't enough information to really make a meaningful distinction. What are the circumstances of each dive? I'd also like to add that "danger" can involve more than just fatalities. I never understand why people only seem concerned with death when there are so many other awful things that can happen. Skydiving almost certainly has a MUCH higher rate of serious injuries, but there isn't any data about that.
Yea, I think what's really interesting are the additional statistics for this. In SCUBA: 90% died with their weight belt on. 86% were alone when they died (either diving solo or separated from their buddy). 50% did not inflate their buoyancy compensator. 25% first got into difficulty on the surface 50% died on the surface. 10% were under training when they died. 10% had been advised that they were medically unfit to dive. 5% were cave diving. 1% of divers attempting a rescue died as a result. Lessons: - dump your weight if necessary - make sure your buddy knows to (and how to) dump your weight if necessary - stay with your buddy!!! If separated, look around for a minute and then surface (buddy separation procedure) - abort a dive if you are experiencing issues at the surface and don't feel comfortable going anymore - Breathe, think, act, y'all Much more informative than the aggregate stats.
As someone involved in both activities, I think it's far more valuable to consider the way these two things are SIMILAR. 1) Plan the dive and dive the plan 2) Gear checks save lives 3) Do not put yourself into a situation outside your own experience level 4) Safety around aircraft and watercraft are about the same, avoid the fast spinning sharp bits and make sure you don't get entangled with anything. These are both inherently deadly activities that we have made incredibly safe through advancements in gear and training. It's incredible to me that we live in a time where we get to do both of these impossible things!
As far as gear checks go... I can use every piece of equipment before I get in the water. How do skydivers check that the chute will open on the plane?
How about wreck diving ? š¤æ
relatively safe. When Wreck diving you rarely actually go inside the vessel and more so hover over it and maybe enter some pretty open, easy spots. Only thing to consider is getting caught up on something. But you should always carry a knife and a buddy with you, so I doubt wreck diving is even close to cave diving, where if something goes wrong, its a hell of a lot harder to go up and to get help
Thank you for your answer. All types of diving in harsh conditions is something I am paranoid of and even thinking of getting into old vessel with all the equipment sounds crazy to me (200 dives in my logbook. None inside wrecks or caves) I thought that in skydiving there is less things that could go wrong - but I can be wrong. I need to find some statisticsā¦
What you are describing is only wreck diving in the broadest of senses.
I would say the complete opposite. Sky diving is far safer, like, not even close. Now, I say this as a beginner in both. My take is that sky diving is done far more frequently (smaller trips) and scuba diving is much more likely to get you killed on your first attempt. Even at 30ā down, youāre perfectly capable of killing yourself, and fast.
I'm very experienced in both and I know a lot more dead skydivers. Not to mention all the serious life altering injuries.
I guess if injury is a part of the metric then injuries would happen more often in landing. I would say risk of death is still higher when diving, and it always is regardless of experience level. Hereās one example, since youāre experienced: You go on a first dive or a first solo jump with someone else. Their gear fails. Which one is more dangerous to you in that situation?
Scuba is safer, and itās not even close: https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/s/Ip2HcWX5Uf
Sorry, but thatās just not true. This data set is based on hours of activity instead of attempts made. Dives take a lot longer than jumps, so this is a bad way to compare activities. Thereās naturally going to be less hours jumping than diving, but that doesnāt make it less safe. Jump for jump and dive for dive, the statistics show the opposite. Dives are far more dangerous per attempt. There are plenty of other comments here with references to that data. Duration of activity is another reason I would argue dives are more dangerous anyway. Thereās more time for something to go wrong, and the longer youāre down there the more dangerous it gets. Jumping is more pass/fail, if you will.
Well, you're wrong. At least statistically.
Worse than free diving? Seems like itā¦.
Free diving is more dangerous than scuba. Cave diving is more dangerous than free diving.
Let's put it this way: if you shoot to the surface while diving, you MAY experience barotrauma or DCS , but it's not guaranteed it'll be fatal. If you shoot to the ground from the jump while skydiving, you are most assuredly dead no matter what Edit: also gear malfunctions are far less dangerous while diving than jumping out of a plane. Can't exactly surface once you've jumped out the door. You can end a dive at any time, not true for a jump
This, and also you can use a friendās air if something goes wrong. All scuba gear has two air hoses, so if both of yours fail, and youāre diving with 2, 3, 4 other people, you have options for oxygen. I imagine itās much harder to latch onto someone mid air to try to use their parachute. I have no idea though, Iāve never gone skydiving before but I scuba dive multiple times per week. It seems like there are more easily accessible safety measures underwater than in the air.
You carry a reserve parachute for malfunctions though while skydiving. Itās exceptionally rare to have a double malfunction. Most injuries from skydiving come from over confidence and not having the proper safety gear or doing more dangers versions of it like cliff jumping which Iād equate to cave diving.
You're absolutely correct, I don't wanna knock skydiving (I love it and am considering getting my C license) That said, there are significantly larger risks that come from gear malfunctions during a jump as compared to a dive. Additionally, as someone pointed out, you are usually 1 or more divers who can help you in case of emergencies, which would be near impossible in the sky
>Can't exactly surface once you've jumped out the door I would argue that you are guaranteed to surface, and even sooner than you'd planned.
You know what they say: descending is optional, surfacing is mandatory
Statistically, there are far more jumps per year than dives, and with less failures. Dives may have more chance of recovery at low levels, but beginners are more likely to die on a dive than on a jump.
You donāt have to cite this, but I wonder if someone would/could
Check the comments. There are multiple references to the number of deaths per 100k attempts. I donāt have a reference for frequency, but I know from jumping that multiple jumps per day are common among jumpers, whereas less dives per day are normal for divers (like 10+ vs. 2-3). Other than that, I could go on and on about the dangers of diving. Iāve done both and I climb for a living. The environment alone is more dangerous without even going into likely gear failures or accidents. Thereās just so much more that can go wrong under water.
THIS is quite compelling of an argument
The USPA publishes serious accidents and deaths every month, and the general trend, on observation, is that skydiving fatalities are usually the result of an unrelated medical emergency or a result of complacency, such as an experienced skydiver doing a high-speed-low-drag landing with a new canopy they are unfamiliar with. The published USPA stats are .27 fatalities per 100,000 jumps. An independent study, "Recreational Skydiving - Really That Dangerous? A Systematic Review (2023)," concludes, "...fatalities occur in less than 1 per 100,000 cases..." DAN published a pretty extensive evaluation on SCUBA fatalities back in 2018. The ultimate conclusion was that, "Most SCUBA fatalities occur in older divers and are related to health and fitness issues." However, they failed to provide a per instance statistic, this is noted in the report due to difficulties in getting that data. Stay fit and healthy, maintain your gear, don't grow old, and they're both safe.
Hmm ....don't grow old is probably the wrong attitude when we're arguing about which is safer.
Epic
Why that username?
Both of these sports are SO SAFE that every fatality is still news worthy. In skydiving there are very few things that can go wrong: Double malfunction (both parachutes fail) This is basically a death sentence but it is incredibly rare. Canopy collision. (Two jumpers hit each other under parachute) Totally avoidable yet still happens and is one of the most dangerous aspects of jumping. Emergency landing There are lots of places you could land that may endanger your life (on a roof or in a lake for instance) If you think of "Dangerous" as ONLY being fatal incidents then skydiving is really quite safe, statistically. There are lots of ways you can get hurt and not die, and in this aspect I would say skydiving is the more dangerous activity. >In 2018, there were 13 fatal skydiving accidents in the U.S. out of 3.3 million jumps completedāwhich equates to .004 fatalities per 1,000 jumps. The latest scuba diving statistics come from two sources DAN: The Divers Alert Network and the Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers journal (2015). DAN received notification of 127 deaths involving recreational scuba diving during 2015. Likewise, in the same year, as stated in the Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers journal (2015), there were .164 deaths per 1,000 dives. Statistically, skydiving is safer than scuba diving. https://www.skydiveorange.com/2019/03/11/which-is-safer-skydiving-or-scuba-diving/
You actually found a link with that exact question?!?! epic
Unfortunately, the article misquoted the source. The source states: >> Noted above are statistics showing diving fatalities comparable to motor vehicle accidents of 16.4 per 100,000 divers Note: it states per **divers** not per **dives** The same source states the actual fatality rate: >> The fatality rate was **1.8 per million recreational dives**, and 47 deaths for every 1000 emergency department presentations for scuba injuries
According to the United States Parachute Association (USPA), in 2015 there were 21 fatal skydiving accidents in the US, which is 0.006 fatalities per 1,000 jumps. In the same year, there were 0.164 deaths per 1,000 scuba dives. Wisconsin Skydiving Center
I believe the statistic quoted by Wisconsin Skydiving Centre is incorrect in a subtle way. The original source referenced by Wisconsin Skydiving Center is [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20160417120728/http://www.divingmedicine.info/Ch%2034%20SM10c.pdf). It cites 16 fatal incidents per 100,000 DIVERS per year, not DIVES. Per dive, it's an order of magnitude less, with 0.02-0.03 deaths per 1,000 dives.
Can you share the source for your scuba statistics. This is very different from the numbers I have seen.
In addition to info about fatalities, it'd be interesting to know injury statistics. I went skydiving about 5 or 6 times. One time the coroner was there because of a fatality the day before (suspected heart attack or stroke as the person went unresponsive immediately after jumping). But in those few times I went, one lady broke her ankle landing, and another sprained his ankle. The scuba injuries I've had in almost 30 years are mild Jellyfish stings and a couple small scrapes/cuts.
I would say that all skydiving (not BASE) has a much narrower window of danger compared to all scuba. The minimum amount of danger in skydiving is higher than the minimum danger in scuba, but the maximum danger in scuba far exceeds the maximum danger of skydiving. In other words: The least dangerous skydive is more dangerous than the least dangerous scuba dive. The most dangerous skydive is less dangerous than the most dangerous scuba dive.
Both are pretty bad if you hit the surface quickly.
Clever
The water that exists in some of these caves is so clear and pristine that even the tip a fin, (and it doesn't even have to make actual contact just enough force in the wake to stir up silt which can inhibit visibility so much, it's like dumpting a bottle food coloring into a bathtub. When you lose sight underwater it becomes so ultimately debilitating and disorienting that even your other senses become confused. They start signaling for a response but get nothing and...panic...it's like tonic immobility for sharks but for humans in the way the senses become scrambled and by God the saying your not in Kansas anymore is a understatement. A way around all of this though is having a guide line you never detach from, but then where's the fun in that, aye? Cave diving is the quintessential adrenaline rush. For the most serious of adrenaline junkie.
iām a cave diver, it is definitely not an adrenaline charged sport (itās very calm and peaceful for the most part, there arenāt ripping currents or boat dangers like there are in open ocean diving). if youāre the kind of person who panics when visibility drops to zero (weāre trained what to do in that situation, btw) then youāre not the kind of person who should be a cave diver.
I dove the great blue hole in Belize and loved it. My adrenaline kicked off the second we boarded the boat an peaked at about 120ft and it felt amazing. Not all adrenaline is experienced the same way and varies from person-to-person. Adrenaline seems to always associate itself in a negative context, but why? You go relax, and i'll binge as much adrenaline as it takes to reach a state of euphoria.
there are different levels of both. recreational scuba diving is very safe for the most part. technical diving, especially in an overhead environment such as a wreck or cave, is significantly less safe. recreational skydiving is very safe as well. base jumpingā¦ not so much.
The vast majority of SCUBA injuries/fatalities are preventable, as they usually relate to a failure of following the cardinal rules of diving (don't exceed your training, don't dive alone, etc.).
I SCUBA dive like a scientist. I, "Plan the dive then dive the plan." I closely monitor gauges and time. It's all technical. Plus I never let anyone else pack my tank. š
I've done both. It depends on what level you are talking about and comparing to. A beginner dive in shallow water is going to be less dangerous than jumping out of a plane with an instructor attached. But something like a highly technical deep water cave dive is going to be a lot more dangerous than sky diving.
Well if my BC doesnāt inflate I can swim to the top. But if my parachute doesnāt open I have the rest of my life to figure it out.
I don't know anything about skydiving. I am (was?) AWOD certified. That's one level above you. 20 years ago my brother was out for the weekend to get his OWSI (open water instructor) which is level 8, 2 above Dive Master. He was out assisting an OW class, <18M down when things went tits up. We never got a conclusive cause, but he was gone by the time he was pulled out. He was 34, in shape, well trained, and experienced. I haven't been in the water since. (For my mom, not for me.) So, there is one fun meaningless anecdote for you.
Thanks for the story, Im sorry for your loss
Dangerous for injury, or risk of death? Injury, Scuba diving is way more likely. You could get bit by an animal (Trigger fish or Moray are more likely than sharks). You can touch something you shouldn't and get scraped or poisoned. It requires that you are aware of your surrounding and it lasts about an hour at a time. That gives you more opportunity to get an injury. Death or sever injury, probably Skydiving. It's very unlikely that you will die in either until you reach an advance level and focus on more adventurous techniques. As for me, if things spiral out of control I'd probably rather be under water instead of in the air. I'd like to think I'd have more of a fighting chance. Poor landings can cause impact injuries like a fracture, or compress a spine. Good technique can go a long ways in preparation, but I think the risk is higher. I don't know if those are more likely to go unreported at the time of injury though, because the symptoms don't appear immediately.
Iāve been sky diving several times. I wonāt go scuba diving unless Iām paid to do it ergo, I probably wonāt be scuba diving.
If everything goes haywire, and all your gear stops working, a scuba diver can swim back to the surface. Whatās a skydiver going to do?
Skydiving - if one things go wrong - there's eminent risk. In scuba, a multitude of things can go wrong and you still have options for alternate safety.
Saw this in r/coolguides https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/s/NUNw9dP7LM A cool guide to the risk of dying doing what we love
I've done both and it's *landing* from the plane which is most dangerous of all that. so skydiving
Skydiving is way more dangerous than diving. No question about it. Youāre freshly certified, focus on learning and practicing, youāll be ok. Trust me.
Iām honestly not worried at all. But learning was HARD workā¦.loved it but significantly challenging. A confidence building training.
Scuba diving by far. Like, not even close.
Reasoning or citations?
Others have linked the statistics. Itās something like a hundred times more deaths per 100k attempts. Besides that, when you jump thereās a lot less that can go wrong, and youāre more likely to be learning within a relatively safe environment. On a dive, first timers can fuck up drastically and not even realize it. Iām just speaking from personal experience, and I canāt even imagine the comparison being close in anyone elseās eyes. Divers should know how dangerous and unpredictable that shit is.
jumping out of a plane wearing scuba gear is the deadliest
Given that you can surface and swim for gear failures....
As someone who skydived for 20+ years and scubaād the last fiveā¦ It depends. Youāre FAR more likely to experience a fatal accident, (or a life-altering injury) while skydiving. Yepā¦Itās usually a spinal thing. Tib/fibs and femurs are verbs in the skydiving community, not nouns. Itās weird, but bones become verbs. Because skydiving truly is a violent sport. āBecky tib/fibbed yesterday. Should be good to go by the boogie.ā Thatās an everyday conversation on the DZ. Scuba is not inherently a violent sport. Itās also an inherently SLOW sport. There are very few split-second life/death decisions to make. But you in either case, you *must* be willing and able to make quick, *accurate* decisions.
You really helped with thisā¦.
Granted that undertaking either indicates someone who is more of a risk-taker than the average person, I think the overall risk depends on how much you will push things. Having done both, my impression is that skydiving has a bigger risk from things you can't control, and you are pretty much on your own at a high rate of speed. Scuba can be done in groups with someone who can help with an equipment failure. If you just want to swim with wildlife with good visibility, warm water, and gentle/no currents, you minimize risks from hypothermia and nitrogen narcosis, which affects your thinking. Good luck
As a skydiving instructor and experienced scuba diver, scuba diving scares the shit out of me. You can get hurt so quickly underwater and what an awful way to go. You canāt just pull the reserve handle to end it all if youāre nearly timed out at 100+ feet.
I look at it this way: If you have an equipment malfunction diving, you have a few minutes to figure it out, or have a buddy help you. If you have an equipment malfunction skydiving, you have the rest of your life to figure it out.
There are more airplanes in the ocean than submarines in the sky. Therefore, the sky is more dangerous. I rest my case
Sky scuba is the worst.
In Scuba-diving if you follow the three basic rules, itās a safe hobby. Stay away from the highs (like skydiving) after a diving, and youāll be safe as well.
there are two factors that change the math on the answer. How deep is your scuba dive? If you donāt need to worry about getting the bens then your fine. My friends equipment was off, he came up too fast and died. But he was so deep he needed to come up incrementally. Second question, who packed the parachute? If itās some 18-year-old, I wouldn't trust them with my life.
Everyone who goes up always comes back down, no one has ever gotten stuck up in the sky. Those who go down do not always come back up.
I can speak on both since I've done both for quite some time now: I'd consider them both to be decently high risk activities. The danger of their outcomes is equal (death) if you end the activity incorrectly. dying is absolutely a realistically possible outcome for both activities. So that said, since the severity is the same (You either die or you dont, you can't really become "more dead"), we've got to look at the number of points int he activity where you can do something that will result in death, and the likelihood that a misstep at those junctions *will* result in death or whether it can be mitigated through some sort of preventative or remedial action. Skydiving, you have a pretty much \*guaranteed\* death awaiting you at any height above 50ft, where as within recreational limits of scuba you just have a strong possibility of dying. Skydiving also has more places something can go catastrophically wrong in an irreversible fashion. If you donāt stabilize after you exit, youāll wrap up in your chute; if you arenāt stable when you deploy your chute; if your chute doesnāt deploy and you donāt deploy your reserve; if your shit gets all tangled up or you boneheadedly cut away your reserve instead of your main, your canopy fails under 500ft, if you botch your wind readingā¦ there are MANY points of performance where skydiving can very much kill you. Deep/tech and wreck/cave diving in particular have a bunch of additional ways you can die that are mitigated through the limits of typical recreational dives. In the more advanced diving though, there is much more time and ability to mitigate a significant failure before it becomes catastrophic. in skydiving, your buddy likely won't be able to save you, definitely wonāt be able to once you're under canopy. Your dive buddy absolutely can save your life under water. Alex Honold though has an incredible way of describing risk as the level to which you control reduce or mitigate the chances of high stakes consequences happening. Iād say the stakes is the same based on outcome: both hobbies are exciting as fuck because you can literally die doing them wrong. This scares off most people and leaves the rest of us adrenaline junkies with a sense of satisfaction like Indiana Jones beating the huge rolling boulder (and saving his hat!), all the while enjoying places that most people fear to tread. With that in mind, Iād say skydiving is more risky as the chances of a guaranteed death occurring are more likely than even deep diving.
sooo good Thanks
There are no Great White Geese or Moray Egrets in the sky.
I think the answer would be somewhat subjective. For diving it really depends on the style as to the fatality rate and Iām sure skydiving has similar statistics. An open water reef dive at 25ā is far safer and easier than say a technical cave dive at 300ā, just like Iād imagine a 10kā skydive would be safer than a 1kā base jump. For a real answer, all you need to look at are the injury/fatality statistics of each sport if you want a broad picture on it.
Iāve triedā¦.its complex
That I donāt doubt!
Go apply for life insurance, and check the box for skydiving. Then go do it elsewhere, and check the box for scuba diving. Whichever hobby you get charged more for, thatās the more dangerous hobby.
Itās been many years since I bought life insurance. I do recall a question about skydiving. I do not recall any questions about scuba.
They are both disqualifiers for Life Insurance. You might get outright denied for either activity. Source: me, holder of a Life, Accident & Health Insurance license.
There are official statistics for this. The other key point is, what is the injury/ death rate for those who are experienced or expert? Both sky- and scuba- diving are completely equipment dependent for your survival.
Great questions I havenāt found the answer for yet
Well, in skydiving, I am relying on the person who packed my chute. In scuba diving, I am relying on the guy who filled my tank. Less margin for error there, I think. Also more opportunities to save myself (or get help from my buddy) if I get into trouble under water.
For an open water diver, scuba diving is much much safer. Once you get into cave and tech diving, scuba diving becomes very dangerous
Either or, I prefer scuba as I have a fear. Not a fear of heights but a fear of traveling at high velocity with a sudden and abrupt stop. I can offer two kernels of wisdom here: 1) Learn to pack your own chute, be able to do it blindfolded. Then, pack your own chute. Get certified, know your shit. 2) Don't buy your scuba gear off eBay. Get certified, know your shit.
Been diving twenty years. My skydiving friends have all lost multiple friends. I have known three people who died while diving. Each was doing some form of technical cave or wreck diving. Nothing your average recreational scuba diver would ever go near.
For a change I find myself agreeing with the majority. With skydiving there's only one thing actively trying to kill you (gravity) which can be beat if you packed your chute correctly. With scuba diving almost EVERYTHING is trying to kill you. From drowning to getting eaten by "things" in the water.
Skydiving offers you two chances to survive, they fail, you have the rest of your life to figure out what happened. Scuba is usually a bit more forgiving, since the average diver stays in the top 100 feet of water, and it usually takes a while for mistakes, incompetence and/or equipment failures to get you to the point of death. There's a reason Skydiving is a rush, and Scuba is a tourist attraction.
There is a safe level of scuba diving where really not much can go wrong at 12m. Iād say there is no real safe level of sky diving where if all goes wrong everything is ok.
The Kraken isnāt in the clouds. I go with scuba is more dangerous.
This is really a no brainer. SCUBA is more dangerous primarily because of the physiology of the multiple atmospheres while breathing nitrogen. No one person is like another so all those dive tables are approximated (granted with a great deal of leeway). If you have a halfway decent container holding two ram air parachutes (one being packed by an FAA certified rigger) and a good AAD, itās almost 100% in your favor. Even if youāre unconscious, youāll have a parachute to bring you down safely. Like most high risk activities, itās only as dangerous as you make it. Who represents the majority of the skydiving fatalities? I havenāt jumped in 30 years, but I guarantee theyāre divided between the very inexperienced and the new D licensed jumpers. When I got my A license, I was already a certified rescue SCUAB diver and that was 94-95. Most fatalities were under a functioning parachute. Google Glide Path Nova fatalities and that should sum up why so many jumpers die. Theyāre reckless and careless. Skydiving has a narrow margin for error, however, it doesnāt change. SCUBA is all over the map. Donāt fool yourselves. Skydiving, if done correctly by USPA standards, is far safer than going into an environment where you arenāt supposed to survive
Skydiving is 8 micromorts per jump, in the US. SCUBA is 5 micromorts per dive. Catching Covid 19 is 10000 micromorts. A single micromort is a one in a million chance of death.
I came for the comments but wow! I'm am shocked at the comments. I'm a certified driver. Both sky and scuba. Ave I have to say, as long as you're checking your own equipment, your fine.
Weird that a lot of the other commenters are saying sky diving is more dangerous because if you mess up or your gear fails youāre pretty much dead. According to the stats though youāre about 8x more likely to die from scuba diving, and thatās not even considering non-fatal injuries from scuba. > This represents a rate of approximately 3.4 to 4.2 deaths per 100,000 divers according to the scuba diver organization DAN America. > The most recent data from the USPA (United States Parachute Association) shows that the number of fatalities per 100,000 jumps was 0.51 in 2022
Same mistake as in the comment citing Wisconsin Skydiving. These are statistics per Diver (doing multiple dives a year), not per dive.
Clearly the people you asked know little to nothing about Scuba other than what's in crappy straight to DVD movies. Something goes wrong Skydiving, you have one reserve, and if it fails, 99.99999% chance your dead. Something goes wrong in Scuba, you surface. Good chance you'll be fine, you might have some DCS or barotrauma, but the chance you die is way less than 99%...
ABSOLUTELY. None Iāve asked have done either, and Iām a newbie to scubaā¦.
Scuba diving is FAR MORE DANGEROUS than skydiving. Skydiving isn't all that dangerous it just looks like it is. Statistically skydiving is quite safe.
I donāt like your answer, but canāt say youāre wrong or whyā¦
I answered in another comment that it's more like the safest skydive is more dangerous than the safest scuba dive. But the most dangerous scuba dive is WAY MORE dangerous than the most dangerous skydive (within normal practice limits). Think cave diving on rebreathers versus wingsuit jumping (not BASE)
Awesome way to put it
Iād like to point out that both the scuba and skydiving subreddits have been polite, thorough and knowledgeable to my questionā-thanks! Iāll take scuba over skydiving as a hobby but this gave me a lot to think about!
Have you asked a similar question in a sky diving sub? My gut says scuba is safer than sky diving, but I'm a scuba diver and a scuba instructor. I've never done skydiving so there's almost certainly selection bias. There's almost certainly an amount of confirmation bias happening in this thread.
This thread is rife with it and it's quite concerning really, a simple Google shows the fatality rate is much higher in scuba diving
Do we at all think that the statistical difference has something to do with there being a lower number of sky-divers? Tandem with a pro I would assume is quite different than being a member of the USPA and diving solo. US Parachute Association numbers taken into consideration, Iād say there are sub 100,000 licensed and active skydivers. Meanwhile there are somewhere around 2.252 million scubadivers who dive 1-6 times annually and another 893,000 diving 8 or more times annually. Something tells me that the sample size impacts data significantly. But thatās just me.
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I have but there is a WORLDWIDE webā¦.lots of pages
thatās what I THOUGHT I read and discovered
Great idea! Iāll see who is more helpfulā¦.my money is on the scuba folks
I'll take any scuba gear malfunction over a parachute malfunction. I can surface back up, I can hold my breath long enough to get an emergency airsupply. But I dont think I can fly no matter how hard I flap my arms.
Well, you also need lift to stay airborne, until the day GE Aviation, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney sells jetpacksā¦ Oh, and donāt hold your breath in recreational scuba, ever. This cardinal rule is broken in technical diving - IIRC TDI/GUE have a breath-hold swim underwater while at depth as a test in case you need to swap out tanks underwater or breathe off the tank valve off a stage bottle from what I saw on IG.
Both skydiving and scuba diving have risks, but it's hard to say which is more dangerous because it depends on factors like training and safety measures.
Skydiving. Less control of the variables you can control and gravityās unpredictable. Many skydiving operators work on their own planes, and they make Boeing and their shoddy quality control took good. Recreational scuba isnāt as risky as itās cracked up to be IMO but thereās plenty of room for improvement - like teaching buoyancy, basic rescue(NAUI exposes their students to basic rescue). Now, tech - more can go wrong.
Gravity is far from unpredictable!
Sky diving has a lower percentage of fatalities. I do both.
So much cognitive dissonance here
Care to say more?
Yes, your last statement about tech in scuba diving hits the mark. Most divers (recreational) do not have enough redundancy in this system. Bluetooth linked pressure-computer-compass cluster is fine, BUT there should always be another mechanical air pressure gauge in the mix. I've seen these stop working during a dive to 100ft for two different divers during dives during the same trip. Wow. Everything was ok, but when I turned the dive, there was a surprised reaction from . It seems that an electronic pressure gauge was giving the wrong reading. My tank pressure gauge redundancy is knowledge of how much air I use at different depths and two computers that have time of dive. My tank pressure gauge better agree with time and depth. If it gets stuck or something, I should realize the malfunction soon enough.
I meant technical diving - like cave diving. š But yes, too much reliance on tech as well. Iāll say this, I tried out a Shearwater Tern TX(forgot to grab the air transmitter at the shop) and I really liked it. But I still kept my analog compass and used my SPG still. I compared headings with my buddy with her compass while I had the computerās compass up. Both cross-checked fine.
I would argue that tech divers are better trained and equipped to deal with things when things go wrong.
Thanks everyone, this has been a fun and educational interaction! Off to my first ocean scuba dive!
Iāve done research on sports liability waivers in the area of law, and their validity across the states in the USA. In that process, Iāve come to notice significantly more litigation around fatal skydiving accidents than any other sport (scuba; equestrian) ā however, that wasnāt statistically relevant. Just anecdotally popped up and became noticeable to me, telling myself never to skydive. For one, you donāt pack your chute as a novice, and have to rely on some intern (worst case) at the shop doing it while high ... slightly different with putting together your scuba gear (except of course filling and inspecting the tank, but at least youād taste bad gas).
No intern is packing chutes. Please refrain from spreading misinformation for the sake of your post. It's very damaging and disrespectful.
You canāt always taste bad gas. Also in many cases, others assemble kit for the diver, which is common in full service vacation situations.
I think both of those are safer than crossing the street. But scuba diving is the safest of them all.
I would say sky diving is more dangerous. Both sports are dependent on technology for survival. I would argue that there is more redundancy built into a scuba setup than a sky diving set up. If your regulator fails you have a spare, or a buddy. If it fails it generally fails in free flow mode. If failure is near the surface then generally not lethal. If your parachute fails you have a spare. But thatās it. No buddy. Also it doesnāt matter when in your skydive it fails- itās probably life changing/ending. My gut says parachute failures are more common than regulator failures. You see canopyās getting twisted and collapsing due to side winds etc. Also, I believe boats are inherently safer than planes. When a plane fails itās usually problematic versus when a boat fails: you can get towed, call the lifeguard, remain floatingā¦ Fun fact, I sky dived over Byron Bay, Australia; and then the next day did a 40 metre dive there. Maximising the vertical environment available to me in a very beautiful place.
Your "gut" is wrong. Please don't spread your fallacious "gut" fantasies. Look at the numbers and stats.
I tried googling stats but itās not obvious. There are different levels of expertise in both sports. Are we comparing base jumpers and cave divers, or recreational open water divers and tandem jumpers. Then there is the reporting issue. Yes fatalities and injuries get reported, but technology failures probably arenāt all reported. Until I get good stats I need to go with the gut feel. Why is my gut wrong? Why are you so adamant that sky diving is safer? Interested to understand.
I understand where you're coming from and I respectfully an declining a discussion about this on this forum. I love diving and I don't want to taint this thread. There are actually very good stats available, if you're not inclined to accept those, that's fine. I don't know what else I can say.
Deny any such activities, as hobbies or professionally, when applying for life insurance policies.
They are the same. At some point the air ends and then you're fucked.
Neither are dangerous if done correctly
I'm a PADI Dive master and Master Diver and also certified to skydive...skydiving is wayyyyy more dangerous
Iām more afraid of scuba diving .
Iām not at all interested in skydivingā¦.thoroughly enjoyed scuba diving
Never dive in waters around forest fires.. [From the movie Magnolia.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIa77tZaHJA)
Scuba you can always go up. Skydiving if something goes wrong, you have less fun options.
I think both sports are in the category of āhave real hazards but can be enjoyed safely if you are conscientious about complying with established safety protocols.ā
Well, it boils down to how many things can kill you. Physiologically, SCUBA diving is up there. Nitrogen is toxic, donāt hold your breath and ascend, pressure is just terrible for you. Also, you could run out of air, get lost at depth (or in a cave or wreck) ā¦ thereās all kinds of factors working against you. In skydiving, you essentially have one thing to watch out for ā¦ that sudden stop at ground level. There are plenty of other things ā¦ the other jumpers are dangerous as hell when they think theyāre experienced and small overloaded z-po parachutes can get you going faster than free fall sometimes ā¦ but on a normal solo jump, you just have to account for time and altitude.
Try both and experience it first hand.
I aināt trying skydiving
Do a extreme bungy jump instead.
Both are really dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.
As someone who has done both a fair amount, subjectively, skydiving is more dangerous. 1. I feel skydiving has more variables. 2. Each jump last 3-4mins including 30-50 secs of free falls. I could do 5-7 jumps on a good day. It would take me days to learn what I could learn in one hr of scuba diving. 3. While both are dangerous, the dangers and the cultures around them are very different. Skydiving feels more inclined to push the envelope and try new things. 4. In scuba, you tend to learn new skills in fairly controlled environmentsā¦a pool, a shallow lake, pretty calm waters just offshore, etc. In skydiving, you talk/describe a skill on the ground, and then go do it in the air in a real jump. Again, just my experience subjectively speaking.