AOW course

[scubadada]

Years ago many dive operators would be OK with an OW cert diver doing more challenging dives after a check out dive to confirm they were squared away. More recently with insurance and liability and more public knowledge about dive casualties, the norm is to require certifications, waivers, medical disclosures, number of dives minimums - especially in litigious jurisdictions like the US. To avoid disappointment, ask the dive operator before arrival.

Generally they will want:

Nitrox Cert required for nitrox fills
AOW Cert will unlock up to 100 ft/30 m and maybe some challenging dives e.g. drift, fast current, guided cenote tour, etc..
Deep Cert will unlock up to 130 ft/40 m

If it's been >12 months since the last dive, many operators want to see a dive refresher course, or will require you to pay to take one with them

I have never encountered a dive operator that wanted to see the specialty certs: Boat, Night, Shore, Drift, Wreck cert for those respective types of recreational diving

I got my AOW and Deep certification in 2004. The AOW certification has been requested many times. No operator or liveaboard has ever asked for the Deep certification.

I have used my DPV certification a few times to rent a scooter without having to do a guided DPV dive first.

 

[TostitoBandito]

Never had any operation ask for my AOW cert or require it for dives all over the Caribbean, Fiji, Thailand, and in the US. By the time I went and got my AOW after 50 dives or so, I'd already logged multiple dives in the 120-130 foot range. Honestly the only reason I got AOW is because I wanted Nitrox and the instructor let me get it as part of an AOW class for the same price. I know there are a handful of very specific countries where they consistently ask for AOW, I guess I just haven't been to any of them yet. Outside of those specific cases, in my opinion the main benefit of AOW is maybe opening some doors in the 50-100 dive range, but once you get past 100 dives the odds of anyone gatekeeping you on an AOW cert are very slim.

It's possible some places might have asked to see my AOW card if I had fewer logged dives. AOW isn't really very relevant if the diver already has like 100+ dives in a variety of locations/conditions. In my experience, most of the divemasters and dive operations I've dove with tend to only care about OW/Nitrox to make sure you have the minimum legally required and then evaluate your capabilities with their eyes as to what you can actually do. I'm sure there's plenty of complete garbage divers out there with AOW cards, just as there are plenty of great divers without them.

 

[DCN]

We are doing AOW (Padi) this summer, we'll have around 90 dives by the time we do it. We're only doing it since it may open a few doors for future dive trips, and the fact that we have already paid for it, but we aren't too sure if we will learn a lot of new things. The GUE AOW is on a different level, and we might do that at a later point in time.

 

[boulderjohn]

Time to dust off an old favorite.

 

[landphil]

AOW used to be something you’d work up to; and my AOW was more of a series of challenging dives than a class. But the way dive ops work now, that AOW is a prerequisite to being allowed to do all of their dives. So, you’ll want to check that box as soon as you can early in your dive training. You might not get as much out of the class as some people with a little more dive experience. But AOW and nitrox open up the full range of rec limit dives

 

[boulderjohn]

The ScubaBoard debate about if and when to take AOW has gone on as long as there has been a ScubaBoard. I think it is useful to look at the origin of the course.

The first real certification program was LA County's. They essentially copied a course created by the nearby Scripps Institution for Oceanography. This led to some of its leaders creating the first real nationwide agency, NAUI. At that point, there were two levels of certification--diver and instructor. LA County became concerned that a large number of divers were getting certified and then stopping diving altogether. They reasoned that a course that featured a few more helpful skills but mostly offered a variety of different dive experiences might pique some interest and keep people diving. That was the purpose of their new advanced course, and soon after that, NAUI adopted it, too. Other agencies came along later.

When they created the course, it was the most advanced course possible except for instructor, so it made sense to call it "advanced." Today, divers can choose from a wide variety of much more advanced classes, so the name no longer makes sense. But I believe that is that name that is causing the problems. People argue divers should wait until they are skilled enough to live up to the level implied by that name, when that was never, ever the purpose of the class.

I got certified in a not-so-great OW class in Puerta Vallarta, and I felt I needed more. I then went to Cozumel and took the AOW immediately. It was a good decision. I had a great instructor who raised my diving skills up significantly, so with a grand total of 9 dives, I was far, far ahead of where that dive total would suggest. I could have slowly learned those skills on my own over the years and then complained about the fact that I had to take an AOW class I no longer needed, but I instead chose to dive those years with a good skill base and improve from there.

 

[NothingClever]

I've had open water for the past 20 years is there a reason to go for advance open water or are other certs more useful?

Why the rush?

You might want to give it a full quarter century between courses.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Often due to insurance requirements, many dive shops/dive ops require AOW certification for divers to participate in dives that go deeper than the training limits established for OW courses of instruction (18M/60FT).

Because of the above insurance imposed depth restriction, it is often recommended that one obtain their AOW as it often includes instruction/experience for deeper diving down to between 30M/100FT and the recreational limit of 40M/132FT (depending on the agency).

@poko21

Many operators set their own minimum requirements. Also training is always a good thing. You wrote you have been certified for over 20 years but only show less than 50 dives under your avatar. How many dives do you do a year?

OW is certified to the recreational depth limits of 40m. This is why DAN insurance at the basic level covers all divers to 40m and you can get covereage to deeper depths.

Many dive shops promote the myth that OW certified divers are not allowed to dive deeper than 18m in order to sell courses. When my son had his honeymoon in Hawaii he was told that as he was OW he could not do certain dives as no AOW. One he showed his DC with a couple hundred dives and his DAN insurance the operator said sure no problems. They just assummed OW meant no diving experience.

So dive Ops can require you to have certs you may not have now to dive with them.

 

[Blackcrusader]

OW certification, at least used to certify a diver down to recreational limits...around about 130 ft as I recall. You had the theory from OW, just needed the experience and confidence.

Always has and still does.

 

[Centrals]

@poko21

Many operators set their own minimum requirements. Also training is always a good thing. You wrote you have been certified for over 20 years but only show less than 50 dives under your avatar. How many dives do you do a year?

OW is certified to the recreational depth limits of 40m. This is why DAN insurance at the basic level covers all divers to 40m and you can get covereage to deeper depths.

Many dive shops promote the myth that OW certified divers are not allowed to dive deeper than 18m in order to sell courses. When my son had his honeymoon in Hawaii he was told that as he was OW he could not do certain dives as no AOW. One he showed his DC with a couple hundred dives and his DAN insurance the operator said sure no problems. They just assummed OW meant no diving experience.

So dive Ops can require you to have certs you may not have now to dive with them.

This is PADI's standard:
OW never ever certified to 40m, it is only to18m.
In the old days, AOW is certified to 40m but has changed to 30m many yrs ago.
One dive shop operating practice has no meaning to the others. Many operators had lost their licence for various reasons.
DAN insurance does not prove the bearer is a certified diver!! Anyone can borrow a computer so the dive history logged has no meaning.