When you start getting into courses like the deep course, it really is more about the instructor than the agency. If you want to get a good deep class, choose a technical instructor. Or an instructor that is at least an experienced technical diver. Why? Because the chances are that you will then get an education in the realities of diving beyond 100 feet. Not an experience with a bit of extra info.Ok. With all that has been said on here I have to ask.
Is there an organization that has better curriculum than the others? And if so which one?
For AOW, would it be better to go through SSI or NAUI, ect?
Same for Deep.
I guess what I'm asking is. Is there some way to compare the course content of each organization for equivalent level of certs and pick the most comprehensive course for each cert?
An instructor that is a tech diver or instructor is going to start the class discussing all the ways that deep diving can kill you. Then they are going to tell you what you will learn to REDUCE the risk of that happening. And like all diving, all you can do is reduce the risk. It cannot be eliminated.
Any instructor for any agency can create a great deep course if they choose to.
An instructor can also offer one, if taught to minimum standards, that barely qualifies a diver to survive a deep dive on their own with a similarly trained buddy.
When I teach a deep class this is what I do.
In addition to telling a student how many ways SCUBA can kill them, we spend at least one full classroom session (2 hours or so) on gas management and dive planning. Including emergency deco training.
Not so you can do decompression dives, but so that that you can see exactly why there's no such thing as accidental deco or a little deco. Either of those is a failure of the plan and the diver.
We cover SAC and RMV, all plans are square profiles cut on tables and the plan is created and followed like a tech dive. The computer is a back up to the plan.
Gas supplies are calculated and cylinder matching is done. Every diver is taught how to use a redundant air supply that they carry the entire dive.
A session is spent on equipment and emergency procedures. If the diver doesn't have a rescue cert and did not get rescue skills in their OW or AOW class a workshop is required to give them those skills.
If I don't know the diver a pool session of a couple of dives is required to assess their buoyancy control and trim.
If done locally, they should also have drysuit experience. Our deep dive spot is 38-42 degrees on the bottom. As a general rule, I won't take a diver not diving dry for a local course.
No more than 2 divers at a time and they need to demonstrate excellent buddy awareness and skills prior to the course.
In the water, we follow all the SDI requirements in addition to the ones I have and complete all the skills to my satisfaction. Any deviation from safety protocols, disregard for safety procedures, or intentional violation of the dive plan is a failure until those issues are corrected.
Divers must demonstrate excellent buoyancy and trim, do all basic skills neutral and horizontal, shoot a DSMB, demonstrate buddy skills and perform s drills on each dive.
Complete a checklist of equipment before each dive, do a bubble check at 15-20 ft, demo an air share on demand, and demonstrate hand, light, and written communication.
Narcosis is checked for on each dive using a dive related task. Running a reel, responding to an air share request, deploying the redundant air supply, etc.
They are also tasked with creating an emergency deco profile using the tables they have cut.
We use simulated stops at 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 ft on at least two of the dives as a test of buoyancy control and following a schedule.
Safety stops are done at 20 ft if we are not doing the simulated stops.
During stops, they should not change depth by more than 2 feet. In my tech classes that drops to 1 ft.
On the last two dives, they ascend on a line created by shooting the DSMB at one of the simulated deco stops.
I may also change or add some skills based on the student and conditions. If the student is taking this a prep for a tech class, I'll add some classroom and skills to help with that.