Deep Diver Specialty vs Advanced Open Water

[stretchthepenn]

For the Padi Deep Cert I would say waste of money. If you want to deep dives do the TDI ANDP course.
Dive operators will respect that as better training than the PADI Deep Certificate.

I disagree. The two classes cover very different things, and the Deep course is appropriate for students who aren't ready for ANDP.

For example, when I took the Deep class, I wouldn't have been ready to take ANDP. I'd been deep before, but not often, and I wasn't accustomed to getting narked, etc., and definitely not used to diving deep in challenging conditions.

After the Deep class, I then took the SM and Self-Reliant courses and started working on deep dives in the local quarry, working my way down from 100' to 130' and getting accustomed to cold, dark waters. After racking up 200+ dives in SM configuration and being used to solo diving, I was ready for ANDP.

 

[divingmb]

For me, id rather have a basic understanding of many topics over being a siloed expert in one thing, regardless of whether it's diving or not.

I know sandals negril didn't offer my wife the option to choose between deep diver specialty and advanced.

But you're not really being forced to choose between one or the other. If AOW wasn't a prerequisite for many dive boat operators or to take further training, Would people be taking it?

 

[Blackcrusader]

I disagree. The two classes cover very different things, and the Deep course is appropriate for students who aren't ready for ANDP.

For example, when I took the Deep class, I wouldn't have been ready to take ANDP. I'd been deep before, but not often, and I wasn't accustomed to getting narked, etc., and definitely not used to diving deep in challenging conditions.

After the Deep class, I then took the SM and Self-Reliant courses and started working on deep dives in the local quarry, working my way down from 100' to 130' and getting accustomed to cold, dark waters. After racking up 200+ dives in SM configuration and being used to solo diving, I was ready for ANDP.

Quite right. I am remiss as after I did my PADI OW I did the BSAC sports diving deco trained courses over a couple of years 1986-1988 in Brunei. A very different world of training in a club envirnoment than paying for short courses done in a few days. Challenging currents and variable visibility conditions were the norm in Brunei.