Master Diver - worth getting?

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I found the PADI Equipment Specialist course to be valuable. As a newer diver, it helped me understand how to maintain and troubleshoot my own equipment better.

I'm sure I could have accumulated the same knowledge over time by talking with the equipment techs at my LDS as well as other more experienced divers. I made the conscious decision, however, to spend a little money to get the knowledge quicker.

Absolutely. The key is the instructor. For courses like this, adding content is permissible, so if your instructor is an equipment repairing/maintaining fiend, it can be a really good course that would have taken a lot longer to acquire.

 

[lowwall]

Of course the Master Diver certification is worth it.

The owners of PADI need to feed their children too.

I'm pretty sure the Louis Dreyfus family doesn't have any problem keeping their children supplied with all the polo ponies and private jets they need.

PADI

 

[tursiops]

As for specialties, I would add sidemount to any list, especially if you have any desire to do wreck penetration as well doing dives to 40m. My list would be nitrox, sidemount, wreck, advanced wreck and deep. Any others, such as drysuit, would be location dependent.

You can do Advanced Wreck as a recreational course?

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

You can do Advanced Wreck as a recreational course?

RAID's wreck course progression is a bit different than others. Recreational is Wreck and Advanced wreck. Wreck is swimming around the wreck, noting possible hazards and even possible penetration areas with entrances and exits. No penetration is allowed.

Advanced wreck is where penetration is added and spends A LOT of time on line laying and retrieval. A big portion of that time is spent on land practicing ties and wraps.

The RAID Technical Wreck course is currently in the process of being created and should be released soon.

 

[BoltSnap]

Advanced wreck is where penetration is added and spends A LOT of time on line laying and retrieval. A big portion of that time is spent on land practicing ties and wraps.

Do you teach this course yourself?

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Do you teach this course yourself?

Not currently but I will be doing my instructor course in the next couple months. I have studied the instructor materials in advance though so that I am fully prepared for the course.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask so feel free to move it.

Just finishing my 5th PADI specialty and will soon qualify to apply for the Master Diver cert. Have any of you done so? Is it worthwhile? Any advantages to doing so?

Regards,

Bert

I can think of no reason why not to pursue this specialty as long as the "card" does not lead you to believe that you are fully qualified to dive any more or further than your actual experience, skill level and intended environmental conditions. For example, a person who receives a Master Diver cert in Bonaire with warm water and minimal equipment would not be a Master Diver in a cold water, low vis, high current, drysuit environment. Just say'n.

 

[happy-diver]

Unlike your statement man, anything that piques and maintains interest in diving is priceless

Padi is good

I think that Master Diver cert is useless

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Unlike your statement man, anything that piques and maintains interest in diving is priceless

Padi is good

I agree about maintaining interest, never did I say otherwise. However if you are going to spend money, spend money on something that will actually do something for you like give you more depth or additional skills. The Master Diver card is something you pay money for that does nothing, just pay and get a card. IMO, it should be issued for free to anyone who does rescue and 5 specialties (I believe that is the criteria). But one should have more than 50 dives to be called a Master.

Unless the diver is getting discounts from the LDS who issued the cert, I don't see the need. But like all things on a message board, this is my opinion, which you seem to frequently track down and post negatively towards.

As for your last line, I did not bash PADI (it is all caps fyi) nor did I even mention them so it seems strange and totally out of context.

 

[Ben_3]

If you have the pre requisites for MSD it can be cool to have. When someone mentions they have it, it has often sparked a conversation on what specialties they have and their experiences. I'm not a fan of the fees charged for the card but...