Do PADI crew packs expire?

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Sue J

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Have been given an unused PADI OW crew pack by someone who bought it but was unable to use it due to medical reasons. Would like for my daughter to be able to use it but want to make sure it's acceptable. It's from 2009 and does not have a hologram sticker or PIC form/envelope. Can the PIC be purchased separately?
 
If it doesn't have the hologram, I don't think PADI will accept it. Others may chime in with a more definitive answer.

I was enrolled in the Divemaster program, did all the course work and was doing my internship, and then I had a motorcycle wreck. That detailed my progress by 1-1/2 years while healing. When I was cleared to come back, my course was no longer valid and wouldn't be grandfathered in. Now I'm starting over from scratch with the SDI Divemaster program.


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During the transition phase I had two DMs that started with old materials and finished once the new stuff was out. We were able to make an annotation on the paperwork about it and there was no problem. Bear in mind that was during transition which was a while ago. That won't fly these days. Lucky for you that it was free. If you had paid for it you'd have been ripped off. You absolutely can't buy a hologram separately. That would totally negate the purpose of the hologram in the first place.
 
Are you asking about the Open Water Diver Crew pack or the Divemaster Crew pack?
The OW course doesn't require a hologram sticker only the Divemaster application does.
The Open Water Diver requires a PIC envelope which does not expire and can be purchased separately or the shop may use PIC Online.
 
The hologram is for Pro training.

Manuals get updated periodically. Standards require the students be trained with the most recent publication. I know there were updates in 2010 and in 2011, and there is a big update to the OW course coming out in January, details to be announced in November.

Pic cards can only be purchase by the instructor or dive shop and most only use the electronic versions now which are purchases under a specific shop or instructor number.

I would discuss your materials needs with the dive shop or instructor who will be training your daughter.
 
I mentioned the hologram because I believe it's used in place of the PIC in some international locations where PADI's had problems with fraud. Thanks for the responses everyone.
 
The short answer is that yes, they do. The standard is that a student must have a personal set of current training materials. The "most current" OW manuals are from 2010 and onwards, so technically anything before that is invalid.

There is a crossover period for all courses before which the new material becomes absolutely mandatory, so if you had a 2009 manual then you would have been able to use this in 2010 up to a point (I forget the dates) but then it is effectively obsolete. Changes were made to specifically incorporate dive computer usage into the "new" course, and so therefore if your manual doesn't cover that, then for sure it's no longer valid.

I know that's not an answer that a lot of people want to hear but regardless of personal opinion, PADI (and other agencies) do change to meet the demands of current technology and dive practice, hence the requirement for current training material. 2009 is already 4 years old and there were some fairly significant alterations to the course since then. More are forthcoming over the next year.

Regarding the hologram for DM crewpacks which is off topic but has been brought up - this is only since the 2010 changes to the DM program. Prior to this the hologram was issued with the instructor manual, which was not at the time required for DMs. Since this is now freely available to download for certified professionals, the hologram itself does not expire. The old instructor manual is out-of-date but can be easily updated and then downloaded at no charge after certification. Completely different circumstances to "current" training materials (as in the OW or DM manual, for example).

Cheers

Crowley
 

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