Certification is costly

[TMHeimer]

I was talking about this with a newer diver guy I just met online two nights ago. He received my calendar in the mail and it has some images from a wreck I kinda found and haven't disclosed the location. It's not super deep, but it's beyond that magical "recreational limit" line. He's logged 100 dives or so and is eventually wanting to dive some of our deeper (200+) wrecks. He'd spoken to a couple of shops about how to get from "there to here" and was floored by the cost of the training, let alone the gear. He has a somewhat modest job where he's never likely to earn more than "just enough".

I suppose diving has never been cheap, but it just seems like there are so many classes now, all designed to boost the coffers of the major training organizations. Ya I'm old, but I took a "Basic SCUBA" course, then an AI after a few hundred dives, became and instructor shortly after and taught for 20-odd years. Somewhere along the way after I'd retired from teaching, other instructor friends "granted" advanced nitrox and solo to me, since I'd been using it and diving like that for decades. The rest we figured out on our own, including trimix. Forty Seven years and 6000 dives later, I just keep plugging away.

I'm not suggesting this is an ideal scenario, but perhaps something in the middle. This sport is slowly withering away and I think a HUGE part of that is because it's become a rich persons activity. For a young person to get serious about it, it just requires massive sums of money. There is a great deal of competition for recreational dollars from all sectors and I think diving is slowly but surely pricing itself out of existence. In my dive town, Tobermory, we have done from four shops to one. Because Tobermory is home to a national marine park, diver visits are tracked, and they're a fraction of what they were 30 years ago.

I guess I'm just a cynical old bastard, but some of the courses are just BS, and seem like they're designed to fix the problems that were left from the previous training. Peak Buoyancy comes to mind. Why isn't that just part of an entry level program? Oh right, because the "basic" programs cover "just enough" to get a new diver in over his head.... Why train 'em , when you can just keep charging them.

Anyway, I'll shut up.

I agree with you that there should be no need for such specialties as PP Buoyancy. I also have bemoaned the fact that at least with PADI, there is no serious rescue training in the OW course-- that's really old stuff.
But, I don't necessarily think it's way too expensive for even a young person today to get into diving. Where I used to assist, I would say the vast majority of OW students were in fact maybe late teens to 30ish. To be "safe" I would think you'd have to do Rescue. Everyone on SB always says every diver should do that. So, the cost is OW, probably AOW, EFR (CPR) and Rescue. These are one time costs. Yes you can add Nitrox and a whole other bunch of courses that really can be less useful than Nitrox, but you don't have to. And you can buy all equipment used, one way or another. I got two AL tanks on Kijiji (our "Craig's list" here in N.S.) for $90 CAD and they've passed visual many years as well as hydro. It doesn't have to be incredibly expensive, especially if you just dive locally.

 

[Marie13]

Drinking and smoking is costly

Give that up and you’ve suddenly got a lot more cash for diving.

 

[Tracy]

Give that up and you’ve suddenly got a lot more cash for diving.

That was exactly what I did. I quit smoking and bought a rebreather with the savings. I needed it as my SAC tripled when I quit smoking.

 

[Still Kicking]

I paid in excess of $800.00 for eLearning, OWC, Drysuit and Nitrox Computer certification. The cost included 4 paid pool sessions. I had to buy a different BCD, Mask and Fins using 3 of the 4 pool sessions without any skills training. I am paying $50.00 for 2 hour weekly pool session not knowing how I have to pay before I can begin open water training.

Not knowing the total cost of pool sessions and the length time it will take is disturbing. It’s like throwing money to the wind not knowing where it will land. Other than this I have no complaints.

You need to have an honest talk with your instructor about what you need to do to get certified and work out a plan to get there, if possible. It sounds as though you have some physical challenges which may or may not be surmountable. You should understand what you have to do to complete the class and then see if it is something that you CAN do and if you WANT to do it.

They need to bd honest with you but you need to be honest with yourself about what you are willing to put in.

If it's a question of basic fitness and leg strength you might be better off doing regular walks, jogging, bike riding etc -- which you can do on your own for free -- or go to a public pool or join a gym. Come back when you are strong enough to start the class.

I presume they are working with you in good faith and not just stringing you along, but indefinite $50 pool sessions before you start a class doesn't seem like a good path. Hard to say without knowing the exact details but you should know what the expectations are and have a way to get there.

 

[Wibble]

If you're looking at diving in a benign, warm, clear, shallow location "follow-the-leader" style diving, then it's cheap. Do yer PADI, rent all the kit with the dive and off you go.

If you're doing anything outside of these idyllic conditions, be prepared to pay for more training -- and don't forget to factor in the practice time.

Once you're into cold water, poor visibility, deeper diving (e.g. 30m/100ft and deeper), tides, wrecks.... then you need to be far more self-reliant, so you must invest to get the return.



Diving is incredibly cheap compared with other hobbies and pastimes - sailing needs a boat and annual costs that would buy a rebreather every year!

 

[Still Kicking]

First BCD was an Aqualung Axiom that was too big for me, the original mask I bought leaked and the original fins were too long for my comfort.
I bought a drysuit rather than using a shop rental which did not fit properly.

I started out with PADI July, 2020, the instructor did not know anything about dive computers.

Who sold you the unsuitable gear and advised you to buy a drysuit before you were even ready to start OW? These people did not have your interests at heart.

Hard to believe there are instructors out there who don't know anything about computers (not that there's anything wrong with teaching tables).

 

[Marie13]

Who sold you the unsuitable gear and advised you to buy a drysuit before you were even ready to start OW? These people did not have your interests at heart.

Hard to believe there are instructors out there who don't know anything about computers (not that there's anything wrong with teaching tables).

In some places there aren’t a lot of rental drysuits, so if you want a good fit, you have to get your own. If OP’s going to dive locally in cold water, it’s a decent choice.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I paid in excess of $800.00 for eLearning, OWC, Drysuit and Nitrox Computer certification. The cost included 4 paid pool sessions. I had to buy a different BCD, Mask and Fins using 3 of the 4 pool sessions without any skills training. I am paying $50.00 for 2 hour weekly pool session not knowing how I have to pay before I can begin open water training.

Not knowing the total cost of pool sessions and the length time it will take is disturbing. It’s like throwing money to the wind not knowing where it will land. Other than this I have no complaints.

I don't think $800 is too bad for all 3 certs. Gear is gear, you'll always need something else. Used is a good option for a lot of things. I don't think you made a mistake by buying a drysuit if you actually plan on diving a lot.

I just got the family cert this past summer. Total was $275 / person + rental and quarry admission. I'm located in the Northeastern US. Now I definitely got what I paid for as in it really wasn't worth what I paid, but we were after the card and I had all my sons do it together. We had a great time, but I knew going in they would need a lot of work when they were done. Everybody needs work after class, hell I still need plenty of work.

I personally paid ~ $500 (rentals included) + quarry fees a few years ago for just my OW cert. It was another $500 for nitrox and AOW, but I didn't know what I didn't know. If I had it to do over, I never would have gotten AOW, what a waste of time (my personal opinion).

Why do you need more pool sessions? Why can't you do the OW checkout dives and be done with it? You don't have to do the skills perfectly, in reality a 1/2 assed attempt is good enough for PADI.

 

[Still Kicking]

In some places there aren’t a lot of rental drysuits, so if you want a good fit, you have to get your own. If OP’s going to dive locally in cold water, it’s a decent choice.

Yes but not before he is ready to start the class surely? He may never start a class. (Hopefully he will.)

 

[Marie13]

Yes bu not before he is ready to start the class surely?

I got OW and drysuit at the same time. It’s not that unusual in colder locations with local diving to do OW and drysuit at the same time. I bought a drysuit at the same time. I didn’t fit into the rentals.