I read a lot of discussions about gas planning for this and that, and under those cirumstances, or with these buddies. I think we all try to be reasonable and conservative, and the fear is that even diving thirds is too aggressive, if you have a catastrophic loss of all of your gas at the turn point.

I'm just a baby cave diver, having been at this for five years, and only coming up on about 100 dives past Full Cave. But I have never dipped in my reserve gas for anything, not even 50 psi. I've carried a lot of gas in and out of caves unbreathed (thank goodness I only pay for what I use!). So I wonder a little when people start adding even more conservativism to the guidelines I was taught, and I think maybe I need to hear some stories.

So tell me what happened that made you use some of your reserve gas. Lost? Equipment failure? Medical issue?