advanced ow?

[mousek801]

ive heard many things on here about advanced open water cert being a joke and not needed. now my question to you is will it be safe to go down to say 90 feet with only a OW cert as long as i follow my tables and charts.

 

[El Orans]

I wouldn't do that.

Even though AOW isn't really that Advanced, I'd still recommend getting the cert before going deeper.

 

[Walter]

The card doesn't matter. You should not exceed your training and experience. You can get an AOW card with 1 dive to 60 feet. You can also (although, not with PADI) get an OW card with 4 (or 5 or even 6) dives to 60 feet. There's nothing magical about the card. In neither case does the diver have experience to 90 feet and in neither case would it be a good idea. OTOH, either diver would be OK diving to 65 - 70 feet and after gaining some experience (5 - 10 dives) at that depth, gradually increasing your depth in the same manner. A common sense approach is needed.

I do recommend an advanced course, but AOW isn't an advanced course.

 

[AaronR103]

I would say it depends on your comfort level as a diver. With AOW there is no class work, and no book to read, so you won't "learn" anything new before you head off to the depths. Your very first AOW cert dive can and often will be deep (mine was). Is there a difference in your knowledge from the dive you did before that? Probably not. The only difference between an AOW deep dive a non-AOW deep dive is that you have an instructor with you who is in theory able to rescue you should you not be able to control your buoyancy or don't watch your air, or whatever, but then your buddy should be able to do the same. If you are not a comfortable diver and can't multitask well or remember to check your air every few minutes and your depth even more frequently, or if your buoyancy control sucks you might want to consider doing a few more shallow dives to get your skills and situational awareness down pat. If you do decide you're comfortable, I would recommend you take an experienced buddy to help you keep an eye on things on your first time deep. IMHO

A

 

[MoonWrasse]

ive heard many things on here about advanced open water cert being a joke and not needed. now my question to you is will it be safe to go down to say 90 feet with only a OW cert as long as i follow my tables and charts.

Nope.

 

[vondo]

ive heard many things on here about advanced open water cert being a joke and not needed. now my question to you is will it be safe to go down to say 90 feet with only a OW cert as long as i follow my tables and charts.

I'll give you the opposite answer from some here. Taking AOW will not instantly make you safe to go to 90 feet if you aren't safe now. Dive some, go deeper gradually, get comfortable. Nothing magical happens at 60' or 70' or (well you get the point).

AOW, the way it is usually taught, is a chance to learn a little and to dive a few dives with an instructor. How much benefit you get out of that depends on you and the instructor.

 

[Quarrior]

Here's what AOW does for you. It gives you exposure to 5 different specialites which you can pursue in more detail on subsequent cert's if you want to.

That said, a couple of things AOW does give you the ability to work on in a controlled environment. Night diving and Deep Diving (below 70ft) are two that come to mind which I recommend.

Night diving for some can be rather disorienting and doing it in AOW is a good way to learn this skill with little chance of getting in trouble.

Deep diving (below 70ft) will give you a chance to see how depth affects you personally, again in a controlled environment.

One other that I did during my AOW was DPV diving. Talk about a giggle. That was a blast.

 

[Bubble Junky]

I would say it depends on your comfort level as a diver. With AOW there is no class work, and no book to read, so you won't "learn" anything new before you head off to the depths. Your very first AOW cert dive can and often will be deep (mine was). Is there a difference in your knowledge from the dive you did before that? Probably not. The only difference between an AOW deep dive a non-AOW deep dive is that you have an instructor with you who is in theory able to rescue you should you not be able to control your buoyancy or don't watch your air, or whatever, but then your buddy should be able to do the same. If you are not a comfortable diver and can't multitask well or remember to check your air every few minutes and your depth even more frequently, or if your buoyancy control sucks you might want to consider doing a few more shallow dives to get your skills and situational awareness down pat. If you do decide you're comfortable, I would recommend you take an experienced buddy to help you keep an eye on things on your first time deep. IMHO

A

Actually there is a book to read !! And your instructor should go through some theory with you and explain a few important factors to consider when deep diving (drop tank, reference lines, conditions etc.). So you should learn something more before you head off to the depths. And there are more differences, for example the instructor should check for any signs of nitrogen narcosis with a quick timed task at depth. That's PADI anyway.

 

[DumboDiver]

No, getting your AOW won't instantly make you advanced. You will become advanced as you gain experience.

That said, I do recommend getting your AOW because there are a lot of dive operations out there that may not let you participate on certain dives unless you have your AOW cert. The AOW cert. will give you access to many more dive sites. But, you should only dive these sites if you feel comfortable.

Keep Learning.

 

[Bubble Junky]

Check your insurance too. Some say you are insured to dive within your training only.