A1 or Underwater Phantaseas?

[rye_a]

I have recently moved to Denver and since it is time to service my regulators I am trying to decide whether to make Underwater Phantaseas or A1 my LDS of choice. I am down to these two because both are PADI shops and I plan to get my rescue certification very soon and probably become a divemaster at a later date, and because both service Aqualung regs. UP is much closer to my home, but I have been a customer at A1 before and it seems like a nice shop with a pleasant and knowledgable staff.

Does anyone have thoughts or opinions about these shops?

 

[georoc01]

A1 is a top 5 PADI training site in the US and I have used them for all of my service with good success. I have not used UP as I live on the other side of town. My other shop is Flat Irons Scuba, which I also would recommend.

I did my rescue last year with Louise at A1 and she was great. They have the ultimate rescue program, which also includes the DAN courses and the EFR course bundled as one. It gets you the DES designation too. If you are looking to go the DM route, I would recommend doing the ultimate rescue, as it gets you more experience with O2, and other medical training above just EFR and Rescue.

 

[mblake]

Another happy A1 customer. My SO and I just finished their ultimate rescue program. Wow, it was a blast. We really enjoyed it. They used different instructors for some of the DAN and EFR classes. We got to practice in their pool on our own. We really enjoyed their facilities.
We have been in many classes with differnent instructors and DMs and they really seem to enjoy them elves and share their enthusiasim with the students.
We are taking their equipement class next month.

 

[BigBubbaJ]

I did my Open Water and AOW with A1.

I think UP south has a better pool, but other than that I think A1 is a great shop.

They can service ALL my gear, from my oceanic 1st and 2nd, to my Dive Rite backup 2nd and my ScubaPro SPG. For repairs and service you can't go wrong with A1.

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Hands down another vote for A1, we always have our equipment serviced there. We've never had any problems with our equipment and their entire staff is awesome. I've always found UP to be too dark and dreary inside compared to A1's shop.

 

[RonFrank]

I generally send out my regs for service, but for training, I've mostly used A1, and have been very happy with them. They have some great instructors, and the facilities are well maintained, and pleasant.

I have no experience training with UP, but have heard good things about them as well.

 

[charlieo]

I generally send out my regs for service, but for training, I've mostly used A1, and have been very happy with them. They have some great instructors, and the facilities are well maintained, and pleasant.

I have no experience training with UP, but have heard good things about them as well.

Ron,
Where do you send them.
Frank

 

[Draq]

One of my sons and I did our OW classes at UP. My wife and other son did their OW classes at A1. I did my Nitrox class at A1. I have a slight preference for A1 because I think they have a better assortment and slightly better prices on gear and especially those little accessories that I seem to need before a trip. They have also been more flexible about letting me hop in the pool to try something out. I think they may have more instructors with greater experience and possibly a better service department. Also, there was a time when there were some weird personal or personnel issues at Up and they had instructors leaving rapidly and others openly grumbling about the shop to customers. That may be resolved now, I don't know.

I shop at both but have actually bought more expensive stuff from Scubatoys than both of the locals. As you can probably tell, I don't buy into the "be true to your school" thing I hear from some divers concerning a particular local shop.

Location is a big issue, as I am much closer to UP, but my son and I are planning on doing our rescue course in the next year or so and it will probably be at A1. A1 has a better, longer and more widespread reputation, if that matters.

 

[rye_a]

One of my sons and I did our OW classes at UP. My wife and other son did their OW classes at A1. I did my Nitrox class at A1. I have a slight preference for A1 because I think they have a better assortment and slightly better prices on gear and especially those little accessories that I seem to need before a trip. They have also been more flexible about letting me hop in the pool to try something out. I think they may have more instructors with greater experience and possibly a better service department. Also, there was a time when there were some weird personal or personnel issues at Up and they had instructors leaving rapidly and others openly grumbling about the shop to customers. That may be resolved now, I don't know.

I shop at both but have actually bought more expensive stuff from Scubatoys than both of the locals. As you can probably tell, I don't buy into the "be true to your school" thing I hear from some divers concerning a particular local shop.

Location is a big issue, as I am much closer to UP, but my son and I are planning on doing our rescue course in the next year or so and it will probably be at A1. A1 has a better, longer and more widespread reputation, if that matters.

Thanks Draq. Hopefully I'll be in the rescue course with you this spring.

 

[Dr. Mark]

Both shops are very good. You can't go wrong with either. Now, so that you know my bias up front, I will tell you that I have been an instructor at UWP for 8 years. I was a customer there for 7 years before that too. I really like the way that the retail staff at UWP gets to know their customers. When you come in the shop the second time, they usually remember your name and it feels like you are going to see old friends. You can depend on the service department to meet your needs and the instructors are really great! (ow!, I hurt my shoulder patting my back). Even though I don't work in the retail or service shop, we would love to have you as customer and I can guarantee that we will take the time needed on the instruction side.

UWP has a club that does local activities too. For instance last Saturday we went bowling as a group. It was a great time and I got to know some more divers a little better.