New to Scuba, and completely LOST!

[krawlings]

One more joke about "wreck diving specialty":

A dive boat charter has three groups of OW students on it with three different agencies: PADI, NAUI and SSI.

On the way back from the trip where everybody already got certified, the captain announced that the boat is sinking and be prepared to abandon ship in 30-minutes. He already put out a Mayday call but nobody will be able to get to the boat before it sinks.

The SSI instructor gathered up the divers and told them to get suited up again and get the gears ready for abandon ship. He said that upon abandoning ship, they will all stay together as a group and tether to each other, deploying SMB, streamer dye and get mirrors ready for attracting airborne rescue vehicles.

The NAUI instructor gathered up the divers and told them to get suited up but leave the BC/tanks behind. Only snorkel, fins, mask and weight belt. Upon abandoning ship, they will all gather up and swim for shore. Along the way, they will practice rescue techniques if somebody were to get cramped.

The PADI instructor gathered up the divers and announced that in 30-minutes there will be a wreck diving specialty course available if they were to want to participate and it'll cost $100 per person.

That was GOOD but I Think that joke should have gone down with the boat.

 

[fnfalman]

That was GOOD but I Think that joke should have gone down with the boat.

Damn, I got no love.

 

[Coconut Divers]

The most IMPORTANT thing in Scuba Diving is a good Dive Instructor ! Not the Agency ! If you feel comfortable and save you will enjoy and learn at the same time.

Leif Meinert
Coconut Divers Cancun

 

[jIM STEELE]

One more joke about "wreck diving specialty":

A dive boat charter has three groups of OW students on it with three different agencies: PADI, NAUI and SSI.

On the way back from the trip where everybody already got certified, the captain announced that the boat is sinking and be prepared to abandon ship in 30-minutes. He already put out a Mayday call but nobody will be able to get to the boat before it sinks.

The SSI instructor gathered up the divers and told them to get suited up again and get the gears ready for abandon ship. He said that upon abandoning ship, they will all stay together as a group and tether to each other, deploying SMB, streamer dye and get mirrors ready for attracting airborne rescue vehicles.

The NAUI instructor gathered up the divers and told them to get suited up but leave the BC/tanks behind. Only snorkel, fins, mask and weight belt. Upon abandoning ship, they will all gather up and swim for shore. Along the way, they will practice rescue techniques if somebody were to get cramped.

The PADI instructor gathered up the divers and announced that in 30-minutes there will be a wreck diving specialty course available if they were to want to participate and it'll cost $100 per person.

any card will get you on the boat as long you pay

 

[FinnMom]

I've read time and again and agree completely that it's all about the instructor, not the agency. Find a qualified instructor with whom you feel also comfortable, someone with whom you can even enjoy the process of becoming a certified diver.
Diving is incredibly fun and learning to do it should be too. If that's not happening or doesn't look likely, keep shopping.

 

[boulderjohn]

As for mask, fins, and snorkel...

You can certainly buy mask and snorkel right away with no concerns that you will regret the purchase later, provided you take your time and get what you really want. I still use a mask I purchased in 1999, and many people can beat that longevity by a long shot.

Mask: I used to tell students that the first decision to make with a mask was low volume v. high volume, but that decision is getting to be less and less important, as far as I can see. Companies are pretty much all going to low volume masks, which is the correct answer to the question, IMO. Once that is decided, the most important thing about a mask is its fit. Do not choose your brand ahead of time! It is possible that the brand you decide you want does not have a single model that fits you the way it should! Any good quality mask by any decent manufacturer (not a department store brand in a clamshell case) at any price range will work. Just make sure you have good help getting the right one for you.

Snorkel: The question you want to ask yourself is what you are going to do with it. If you are actually gong to do a decent amount of snorkeling, then a good semi-dry to dry snorkel will do fine. If you are planning to use it as an emergency device while scuba diving, then go with anything. In fact, go with something that you can stow and keep out of the way when it is not being needed for snorkeling. The shop I use has recently started using a very simple snorkel that is so flexible it can be tied in a knot, perfect for stuffing into a pocket when not in use.

Fins: Fins are the one piece of this trio that you might have second thoughts on later. There are many different designs, and they work differently. I could write a treatise on how a diver should select the fin that best meets the individual's diver's needs, but that would take too long. If you have a good shop, the person helping you should be able to tell you why one fin meets the needs of one kind of diver and another meets the needs of another kind of diver. The fins I use now will probably not be the fins you will like best, so be sure to go with what is right for you. Be wary of being pushed into the most expensive ones unnecessarily. The most expensive ones I know would not be right for me, but they may or may not be right for you. The problem is that they last a long, long time, so the diver you will be in 5 years might not be the diver you will be in the next year. Accept it that you may change fins in a couple of years, and don't worry about it too much.

 

[Steve_C]

Mask: Do you wear glasses? Then get a prescription mask. (Mine even has bifocal lenses). In scuba diving you not only have to look at stuff in the distance but also close up and you have to read gauges. If you need prescription, then that impacts on the mask. Make sure that the mask fits your head shape/size.

After many years of snorkeling I tried a prescription mask. Made a big difference. Also quickly got a bifocal one for diving as soon as my OW was done.

 

[boulderjohn]

Mask: Do you wear glasses? Then get a prescription mask. (Mine even has bifocal lenses). In scuba diving you not only have to look at stuff in the distance but also close up and you have to read gauges. If you need prescription, then that impacts on the mask. Make sure that the mask fits your head shape/size.

After many years of snorkeling I tried a prescription mask. Made a big difference. Also quickly got a bifocal one for diving as soon as my OW was done.

Good point. If you are going to have a mask adjusted for prescription, that makes a difference in the kind of mask you choose.

 

[TSandM]

It's important to know how to gauge mask fit, because one of the most common mistakes I see in our students is buying a mask that doesn't fit and leaks. Many people think you check mask fit by putting the mask on your face and inhaling to create suction, and see if the mask will stay on. The problem with this is that enough suction will cause even a fairly ill-fitting mask to remain in place. Doing things this way will only weed out the very WORST options.

A better strategy is to put the mask on your face, and press gently on it to exhaust a small amount of air. Hold your breath, and see if the mask falls off. If it does, it doesn't fit. A really good mask fit will allow the mask to remain on your face for quite some time (certainly as long as you would like to hold your breath!)

My personal belief is that you should buy the simplest and least expensive snorkel the shop has, UNLESS you intend to do a great deal of snorkeling. Snorkels with large structures at the end of them to keep them water-free tend to twist, and can also contribute to mask leakage.

Be careful with fins. The price of fins ranges from fairly inexpensive (under $100) to ridiculous (over $200). Profit margins are highest on the expensive ones, so shops tend to push them, sometimes quite hard. In my opinion, for your certification class, you want a relatively inexpensive paddle fin that isn't horribly floppy. You may well decide, if you take up diving actively, to get something different down the road. Many of us end up owning multiple sets of fins (I have six).

 

[tphelps]

With that, the subject of this post pretty well sums it up. I am completely new to scuba diving, though I am no new to the idea. I have spent countless hours reading and researching the ins and out of scuba diving and have finally decided to go through with getting my certifications and purchasing my own dive equipment. That being said, I have ran into a bit of a problem. My husband who will also be getting his certs with me has a good friend who is currently certified through the I.D.E.A agency and had referred my husband to his instructor for us to get our certs though. Because we are friends with this guy the instructor quotes us at 70$/person to get our open water dive cert. We would be responsible for our own equipment and paying for the charters to do your 4 exit water dives. Though I love the price I am no really sure how I feel about being certified through I.D.E.A. I have read multipul thread on here other sites stating that they have never had an issue dive shops/charters/ect recognizing their certs, but whenever I read anything about getting certified in scuba the only agency that are refered to are ones like P.A.D.I, N.A.U.I, and S.S.I. Eventually I would like to be able to get my Advanced Open Water Cert, Wreck Diver Cert, and maybe even my Rescue Diver Cert but no where on any site have I seen that I.D.E.A offers any course like that. I know that all three of the others previously listed DO in fact offer classes for them. Does anyone know if I would be able to be certified in more than just the Open Water Diver if I go through with the I.D.E.A cert? Most P.A.D.I classes, are about 400$/person which is quite a bit more but if I am going to be able to further my education pretaining to diving then it would be well worth the money. BUT if I can still do that through I.D.E.A then that will probably be the route I go.

Next, I have read that most angency wont let you jump from Cert to Cert with out completely their training. Example: I get my I.D.E.A cert and then decide that I want to be P.A.D.I certified, do I have retake P.A.D.I's course? Or can I like cross certifications?

Hello and welcome to diving! I understand where you are coming from so I hope this helps you.

First, I am a PADI instructor but I'll try to give you an unbiased answer (until the end .
The most important factors regarding a certification agency is quality of education, attentive instructors and worldwide recognition. (I may have left some out incase someone else wants to add to that list). I have been diving for 4 years and teaching for 1 year and this is the first time I have heard of IDEA. This could be a potential problem in the future because if you go to a dive shop with this cert, they may be like me and say "huh? thats an organization?" In my experience, you get what you pay for $$. For example, I wouldnt buy a $50 regulator at a swap meet. This is an extreme case and may not apply to you because your instructor buddy is offering you a great price.

To answer your question about the PADI advanced cert, that is possible. You can do a crossover, but your instructor needs to file your cert to PADI and see what that qualifies you to. But in some organizations it is very hard to, you may have to re-do a course so I would ask that agency's instructor before hand. Ok now my PADI pitch, hehe: the Professional Association of Diving Instructors in the largest organization for SCUBA certifications. PADI has over 6,000 dive shops worldwide in 160 countries, and we also issue close to 1,000,000 certifications a year (from all courses). That being said, PADI has an extreme variety of courses you can take from Open Water, specialty courses, tec or going Pro. Here is more info: About PADI

Different organizations will appeal to different appeal. My advice is to talk to your instructor and get a "sales pitch" from them too, what are the benefits of going through IDEA? How will the course be laid out? What is the time frame? Will your certification be recognized from around the world? Is the potential to do continuing education courses? Then also talk to your local PADI and NAUI stores and see which one appeals the most to you. Meet and talk to your potential instructor - do you like them? Maybe you can sit in on a class?

For me personally, I originally picked PADI to do my open water because they were the most popular, offered the most courses and I liked my instructor. Now that I have more experience, I still find that PADI is the preferred organization that I like to teach from. I hope this helps, please feel free to send me a PM if you have more questions. Best of luck, happy bubbles!