The PADI Recreational Dive Planner (RDP) metric version is a specialized tool used by scuba divers to calculate No Decompression Limits (NDL) and track nitrogen absorption across multiple dives. Unlike the imperial version, which uses feet, the metric table uses meters (m) to represent depth. 🛠️ Core Functions of the Metric RDP
The planner consists of three primary tables designed to be used in sequence: Table 1: No Decompression Limits
Finds the maximum time allowed at a specific depth for a first dive.
Assigns a Pressure Group letter (A–Z) based on depth and time. Table 2: Surface Interval Credit
Tracks how much nitrogen "off-gasses" while you are on the surface.
Assigns a new, lower Pressure Group based on your time out of the water. Table 3: Repetitive Dive Timetable
Calculates Residual Nitrogen Time (RNT) from previous dives.
Provides the Adjusted No Decompression Limit (ANDL) for your next dive. 📏 Key Metric Limits & Rules
When using the metric table, divers must adhere to specific rounding and safety rules:
Depth Rounding: If your exact depth is not on the table, always round up to the next greater depth (e.g., 11m becomes 12m).
Time Rounding: If your exact dive time is not shown, round up to the next value.
Maximum Depth: The recreational limit for most dives is 40 meters. Open Water divers are typically limited to 18 meters.
Safety Stops: Recommended for all dives at 5 meters for 3 minutes. They are mandatory if you come within three pressure groups of a limit. 🔄 Metric vs. Imperial Differences
While the planning method is identical, the values differ slightly due to rounding: Metric System Imperial System Depth Unit Meters (m) Max Depth Safety Stop NDL Example (10m/33ft) 219 minutes 205 minutes
Note: Never mix metric and imperial tables for the same dive series, as nitrogen tracking will become inaccurate. 💾 Essential Definitions
Actual Bottom Time (ABT): The total time spent underwater during a single dive.
Residual Nitrogen Time (RNT): Theoretical minutes added to a dive to account for nitrogen still in your body. Total Bottom Time (TBT): The sum of ABT and RNT ( ), used to find your final Pressure Group. The duration of that dive
How long you plan to stay on the surface before the next dive
I can then walk you through calculating your Pressure Groups and limits! Metric or Imperial? - Jump - Sail - Dive
This informative post provides an overview of the PADI Recreational Dive Planner (RDP)
in its metric table format, which is essential for planning safe, no-decompression dives. Understanding the PADI RDP Metric Table Recreational Dive Planner (RDP) was developed by Diving Science & Technology (DSAT)
specifically for recreational, no-stop diving. Unlike traditional tables, it is designed to maximize dive time for those making multiple dives in a single day. Key Components of the Table The RDP is comprised of three distinct but linked tables: Table 1 (Front): Used to determine your Pressure Group (PG) after a dive based on depth and time. Table 2 (Back): Used to calculate your new Pressure Group after a Surface Interval (SI) Table 3 (Back): Used for repetitive dive planning to find Residual Nitrogen Time (RNT) Adjusted No Decompression Limits (ANDL) Standard Rules for Metric Planning
When using the metric version of the table (measured in meters and minutes), keep these safety rules in mind: Rounding Up: Always use the exact or next greater depth and time shown on the table. Shallow Dives: Treat any dive to 10 meters or less as a 10-meter dive. Ascent Rate: Never exceed an ascent rate of 18 meters per minute. Safety Stops: Padi Rdp Table Metric Pdf
A 3-to-5-minute safety stop at 5 meters is recommended for all dives and required for any dive to 30 meters or deeper. Repetitive Dives:
Limit all successive dives to 30 meters or shallower and always plan the deepest dive first. Step-by-Step Example (Metric) Imagine you are planning a first dive to 30 minutes Find Depth: Since 17m isn't on Table 1, round up to the Find Time:
Follow the 18m column down to find 30 minutes. (If 30 isn't there, use the next higher number, such as 32). Identify PG:
Move horizontally to the right to find your Pressure Group letter. At 18m for 30 mins, your ending Pressure Group is Resources for Download
You can find the official PADI RDP Table Metric PDF through various professional and educational platforms: Direct Reference:
Standard tables are often available for review on educational sites like PADI Official:
For current medical forms and course-related paperwork, visit the PADI Downloads page How to use the PADI RDP – Part 1 - Jump - Sail - Dive
The PADI Recreational Dive Planner (RDP) Metric Table, developed by DSAT, is a tool for managing nitrogen absorption during no-stop dives up to 40 meters, utilizing pressure groups from A to Z to calculate residual nitrogen. The system consists of three tables for managing, calculating, and planning repetitive dives, requiring divers to always round up depth and time to the next greater value. View the PADI Metric RDP PDF provided by A1 Scuba Diving.
Reading Dive Tables : 5 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables
The PADI Recreational Dive Planner (RDP) metric version is a set of three tables used to calculate no-decompression limits (NDLs) and manage nitrogen levels for scuba diving. Core Tables Overview
The metric RDP is divided into three interconnected sections:
Table 1: Single Dive Planning – Provides NDLs for depths up to 42 meters and assigns a Pressure Group (PG) letter (A–Z) based on dive time and depth.
Table 2: Surface Interval Credit – Shows how your Pressure Group changes as you off-gas nitrogen during a surface interval (SI).
Table 3: Repetitive Dive Planning – Gives the Adjusted No-Decompression Limit (ANDL) and Residual Nitrogen Time (RNT) for subsequent dives based on your current Pressure Group. Critical Rules for Use
To ensure safety, you must strictly follow these table rules:
Round Up Only: If your exact depth or time is not listed, always use the next higher (deeper or longer) value.
Safety Stops: Required if you dive to 30 meters or deeper, or if your dive ends in a gray box on the table.
Descent/Ascent Rates: Maintain a steady descent rate and an ascent rate no faster than 18 meters per minute.
The "Rule of 9": It is strongly recommended to make each successive repetitive dive shallower than the one before it.
WXYZ Rule: If you end a dive in pressure groups W or X, a minimum surface interval of 1 hour is required. For Y or Z, the minimum is 3 hours. Key Planning Metrics PADI RDP TABLE - Table Met | PDF | Scuba Diving - Scribd
The sun was just beginning to crest over the Gulf of Thailand when
pulled the laminated PADI RDP Table (Metric) from his dry bag. To anyone else, it was a grid of numbers and letters—a dense PDF come to life. To Elias, it was the gatekeeper of his morning. The PADI Recreational Dive Planner (RDP) metric version
"Planning a deep one?" his dive buddy, Sarah, asked, leaning over her own gear.
"Shipwreck at eighteen meters," Elias replied, tracing his finger along the top row of the table. "I want to maximize my bottom time without pushing it."
He found the 18 in the depth column. He slid his finger across to the 56-minute mark. "If we stay down for 50 minutes, we’ll end our first dive in Pressure Group T."
Sarah nodded, checking the back of the card. "And if we take a ninety-minute surface interval?"
Elias flipped the table over. He found Group T, followed the diagonal line to the 1:30 time slot, and landed on Group E. "That puts us in Group E for the second dive. We’ll have plenty of Residual Nitrogen Time left for the reef at twelve meters later this afternoon."
They weren’t just reading numbers; they were calculating the invisible. Every minute spent under the weight of the ocean meant more nitrogen dissolving into their blood, and the RDP was their only way to track it safely.
"Remember," Elias cautioned, pointing to the safety stop rule at the bottom of the table. "Even if the table says we're clear, we're doing three minutes at five meters. No exceptions."
As the boat engine roared to life, Elias tucked the table back into his vest pocket. The digital dive computers on their wrists would do the heavy lifting once they were submerged, but the plastic RDP table remained his fail-safe—a physical map for a journey into the blue. PADI Dive Log App and Dive Site Locator | Free Download
Since this refers to a specific tool used in scuba diving (the PADI Recreational Dive Planner), this feature breakdown is designed as if we are describing the digitization and presentation of this physical table within a digital application (e.g., a Dive Log app or an Educational tool).
This table answers: "How long can I stay at this depth without decompression?"
| Section | Use | |---------|-----| | Table 1 – Endurance Limits | Maximum bottom time for a given depth (no decompression) | | Table 2 – Pressure Groups | Letter group (A–Z) after a dive, based on depth & time | | Table 3 – Residual Nitrogen Time (RNT) | Extra “virtual” bottom time due to previous dive | | Table 4 – Repetitive Dive Table | Combines RNT + planned bottom time → final pressure group |
The PADI RDP is a mathematical tool designed to help recreational divers manage their nitrogen absorption. Developed by Dr. Raymond Rogers and DSAT, it allows divers to plan dives that stay within "no-decompression limits" (NDLs).
There are two main versions of the Metric RDP:
However, the Table version (a flat, printed grid) is often required for Dive Theory exams. PDF versions of these tables are widely requested by students who want to practice their dive planning at home before taking the final exam.
The PDF arrived at dawn, folded into an email with the curt subject line: Padi Rdp Table Metric. Lela clicked it open while the kettle boiled. The first page was a grid of rows and columns—numbers, timestamps, and asterisks—neat as a ledger. At the top, in a font that looked like a hurried signature, was a single line: "Find the metric. Save the field."
Lela had been a field technician for years, measuring rice paddies for a regional agriculture collective. She knew soil by smell and satellite imagery by heart. Still, this table felt different: the columns used acronyms she recognized but arranged in combinations that suggested a code. PADI. RDP. Metric. She traced them with a finger as if they were coordinates.
On the second page, someone had annotated a few cells in pen. A circle around "0.72" in a column labeled RDP-M, a diagonal slash through "3.14" next to a note: "increase by 20% — check irrigation." The marginalia read like instructions left by someone who intended to return.
Lela packed her bag and drove out before the sun settled into the rice terraces. The PDF mapped to a cluster of plots on the edge of the valley—Padi Block 9A, 9B, and a small marshy field the locals called the RDP Hollow. The numbers she had read on-screen translated to parcels and pipes in the real world: a frequency of water pulses, a metric for soil porosity, a table of yield predictions. Each row matched a meter or a marker; each metric hinted at a fixable imbalance.
She met Rafi at the edge of Block 9A. He was mid-thirties, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and when he saw the printout he squinted as if at a map of a moon he once navigated. "Where did this come from?" he asked.
"Email," Lela said. "Someone wants us to test the RDP metric at the Hollow and tweak the irrigation." She tapped the circled 0.72. Rafi's lips went thin. "That's low. Roots won't breathe. Could be a clogged inlet or—" he shrugged toward the narrow canal, "—someone diverting flow upstream."
They followed the coordinates down a channel that had gone from concrete to mud. At the RDP Hollow, the world smelled of silt and old rain. A makeshift pipe with a rag tied around one joint leaked slow and steady. The sensor—half-sunken in a bed of algae—blipped intermittently on a screen the size of a hand. Lela remembered that number: RDP-M. The device recorded pulses of water pressure and soil moisture; the PDF did not lie.
As they worked—clearing detritus, replacing a section of pipe, coaxing flow back into a gentle, rhythmic breath—the RDP metric crawled upward. The 0.72 ticked to 0.83, then to 0.95. The table in Lela's head reordered: the field's health was not a static row but a living ledger. the Table version (a flat
"You ever wonder," Rafi said while they tightened the last clamp, "who sends these? Why the PDF and not just... call us?"
Lela wiped her hands and looked over the terraces. Farmers tended seedlings like they were secrets. "Maybe someone wants plausible deniability," she said. "Maybe they want us to find things ourselves."
Back at the collective's shack, they printed a fresh copy of the PDF and added their own notes: time, actions taken, the new RDP-M values. Lela shaded the cell in green. At the bottom she wrote, in small, precise letters: "Source unknown. Metric validated. Field stable."
That night, an anonymous reply slid into her inbox: "Good. Continue with 9C and 9D. Attach your revised table." No signature. No explanation. Just the same terse etiquette.
They followed the table for a week, each cell a waypoint to a problem—blocked drains, compacted soil, a fertilizer schedule off by a month. Sometimes the PDF led them to a person who needed a hand or to an old woman who sold turmeric and told stories about droughts. The RDP metric became a language between them and the land, a way to translate a decimal into water and seed and patience.
On the fourth day, while measuring a section flagged with an asterisk, Lela met a boy named Aran who had been watching the pumps for hours. He offered a folded scrap of paper: a child's drawing of the paddies, annotated with little hearts beside the healthiest plots. "My dad used to work here," he said. "He taught me the names of the canals. He said numbers tell part of the story, but not everything."
Lela folded the drawing into her pocket and thought of the PDF on her phone. Data mapped to land, but people carried context. The table had pointed them to issues, yes, but the fixes also required memory, gossip, and a neighborly shove. The metric was a compass; the community, the hands that turned it.
Weeks passed. The updated PDF—now annotated in several hands—traveled between phones and printed pages, a palimpsest of corrections. Lela began appending a short note to each submission: one line about weather, one about a human detail—"elderly farmer assisted" or "pump lock cuts 3x/day." The anonymous sender always replied with only "Good," and sometimes with a single extra coordinate.
Eventually, curiosity turned practical. Lela traced the email headers to a small nonprofit's server in the nearby city. Its program, she learned, combined satellite imagery, IoT sensor feeds, and local reports to generate prioritized tables of fields at risk. The PDF was its outbound dispatch: a concise set of instructions, a list of metrics, and a plea to fix what could be fixed on the ground.
When she told Rafi, he shrugged and smiled. "Numbers are cleaner than politics," he said. "But humans still do the plumbing."
One evening, months later, with the monsoon late and the valley thirsty, the PDF stopped arriving. No new tables, no new metrics. The newsletter from the nonprofit said funding had shifted; their models would be offline until further notice. Lela felt the absence in the terraces as surely as a missing pulse.
She and Rafi kept patrolling, relying now on memory and the patched-together sensor network they had made themselves. They exchanged printed tables, and the community started compiling its own metrics—rows of numbers with names written beside them. They called it the Hollow Table, then the Village Ledger. It was less perfect than the original PDF, but clearer in a way numbers alone could not be: each entry had a story attached.
Years later, a young technician found an old file labelled "Padi Rdp Table Metric Pdf" buried in an archive. He printed it and compared it with the Village Ledger. The numbers matched in many places; some had diverged. Where they differed, the ledger contained notes: "Aran planted vetiver here — reduced runoff," or "pump stolen, replaced by hand wheel." The PDF had been a compass; the ledger was a map made by hands.
Lela, older now, stood at the edge of the RDP Hollow, watching seedlings brave the sun. She had kept a copy of every PDF, every reply, every printed table. She ran her thumb over one page until the ink blurred and smiled. The metric had saved fields, yes—but it had also started a practice: people turning digital nudges into communal care.
Somewhere in an inbox, the original sender still sent PDFs when servers allowed. Somewhere in a child's pocket, a crumpled drawing reminded them of who the numbers were for. And in the paddies, the water pulsed on an old rhythm—measured, tended, and, finally, remembered.
Navigating the PADI RDP Table: A Metric Guide for Divers Whether you are a new PADI Open Water Diver or a seasoned pro, the Recreational Dive Planner (RDP)
remains the gold standard for understanding nitrogen management. While most of us rely on dive computers today, knowing how to use the metric RDP table
is a foundational skill that ensures you can plan your dives safely, even if your tech fails.
This guide breaks down the metric version of the RDP table, providing the essential steps to keep your dives within No Decompression Limits (NDLs) Why Use the Metric RDP Table?
The metric RDP is used in most of the world to track nitrogen absorption in meters and minutes. It helps you: Calculate NDLs
: Determine the maximum time you can stay at a specific depth without requiring a decompression stop. Track Pressure Groups
: Use letter designations (A–Z) to monitor residual nitrogen. Plan Repetitive Dives
: Account for nitrogen remaining in your system from previous dives. Core Rules for Using the Table Padi Rdp Table Metric Pdf [updated]