noshow
Contributor
Here, here... heed this advice.
Drysuit course needed?
- Thread starter ScoobieDooo
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Here, here... heed this advice.
OP
ScoobieDooo
Guest
I found a used copy of the book on www.abebooks.com and ordered it, for reference. Sure can't hurt to learn all I can prior to taking a course, if I decide to go that route.
Thanks for all the good info and advice...
Thanks for all the good info and advice...
kelpmermaid
Contributor
to have the training and decide to do things differently. It is another thing to be too cheap to seek appropriate instruction when one's personal safely is inolved. Taking a class is not necessarily about the "C" card - hopefully, it is about learning something.
Funny...My dry suit students usually spend 2 hours or more in the pool. Most are fairly wore out when their done. None have ever complained about the value of the course. If a student had a valid argument that the course was a wast I guess I would give them their money back.
Did you take a dry suit class? Why do you say it is a wast of money?
nickjb
Contributor
Mike, I think most regulars know that your courses usually go a little beyond the PADI minimum requirements.
A friend of mine did their open water which included a drysuit orintation course. It was pretty minimal to say the least.
The key to any good course is a good insructor.
A friend of mine did their open water which included a drysuit orintation course. It was pretty minimal to say the least.
The key to any good course is a good insructor.
is pretty much the same as it is with anything else you want instruction in.
If you don't know what you need to know, then you also don't know if an instructor is "good", because you have no way to judge them other than their printed credentials.
I would recommend Mike's OW class to someone, but that's because I'm a diver with some experience and from what Mike tells us here I can discern that he likely will produce a quality diver in his course.
However, as a non-diver, all I could judge is that Mike thinks the other guys are idiots, and of course, they all say HE is an idiot. I lack the knowledge to discern who is being truthful, and who is blowing smoke up my tail.
This is THE problem with evaluating an instructor. All you have is recommendations from others who have taken classes from that person. And since you lack the experience to discern whether the recommendations mean anything (or are a matter of personal approval rather than instructional capability) you've got a problem...
If you don't know what you need to know, then you also don't know if an instructor is "good", because you have no way to judge them other than their printed credentials.
I would recommend Mike's OW class to someone, but that's because I'm a diver with some experience and from what Mike tells us here I can discern that he likely will produce a quality diver in his course.
However, as a non-diver, all I could judge is that Mike thinks the other guys are idiots, and of course, they all say HE is an idiot. I lack the knowledge to discern who is being truthful, and who is blowing smoke up my tail.
This is THE problem with evaluating an instructor. All you have is recommendations from others who have taken classes from that person. And since you lack the experience to discern whether the recommendations mean anything (or are a matter of personal approval rather than instructional capability) you've got a problem...
Since I have alot to learn about teaching my intent isn't to brag about my classes but to get divers to shop for a good instructor rather than conclude it is the class that isn't any good. Ánything can be self tought but that doesn't mean it's the best way. A blanket statement that suggest a class is a wast may prove dangerous for some.
noshow
Contributor
My comments are by no means directed at the competency of any instructor but at the content of the course; I want to make this point clear. I did in fact take the PADI dry suit specialty course and i stilll stand by the fact that is was the biggest waste of 200 Canadian dollars (or whatever it was) I have spent since starting diving second to my atomic split fins which raped me for $250 Canadian dollars, (and then ended up on ebay).
The content in that course is not much to chew on. How to control air in your feet, different suit types, how to vent your suit in an emergency and the thing I have a personal problem with is diving your suit for bouyancy. That last point aside and not to get on a debate about it, I still stand by the fact that for the anout of money I spent, I could do a couple dives with experienced divers and get some tips and learn to dive it that way (and properly). Mike I am sure you are an excellent teacher and probably better than most, who knows it is the content of that course which precluses me for recommending it without it weighing on my conscience. If it were my friend, sister, brother, co-worker, etc... I would tell them the same thing.
I didn't know any differnt when I took and completed my course. I was happy and was shaking hands. Now I wish I had read a post like this and sought out some dive buddies to show me the way to dive my dry suit. (well I guess I did.... after the fact)
fortunately I had read some material before inquiring, and knew what to ask.
My decision to get in a pool and work on it myself, then do a few weenie dives before trying anything significant - essentially "teach thyself" - was a direct consequence of EVERY local class wanting to teach me to dive the suit for buoyancy.
Fortunately I already knew I was unwilling to do that.
My decision to get in a pool and work on it myself, then do a few weenie dives before trying anything significant - essentially "teach thyself" - was a direct consequence of EVERY local class wanting to teach me to dive the suit for buoyancy.
Fortunately I already knew I was unwilling to do that.
There isn't any majic or rocket science to any of this. Part of what formal dive training is supposed to provide is practice under supervision. An experienced buddy who is also an experienced supervisor and teacher can do everything an instructor can. However just as there are instructors whos credentials we may not be able to trust there are many experienced buddies that are not so experienced.
Finding a "good" instructor is hard without a good definition of what "good" means. The only suggestion I can make is to find out what you should learn and try to find out if the instructor teaches it. The question then becomes who do you ask because you will get different answers from different sources.
An instructor should also be able to give you the benefit of their experience. Not all instructors are experienced though. This may be a clue as to at least one question we should ask of an instructor. I teach a PADI dry suit class. The standards say we use the suit for buoyancy control. However I also dive double 104's so I don't hesetate to tell/teach the techniques I use.
I took a dry suit class and later strapped on a set of double 95's and almost killed myself trying to use the suit for buoyancy control.
Finding a "good" instructor is hard without a good definition of what "good" means. The only suggestion I can make is to find out what you should learn and try to find out if the instructor teaches it. The question then becomes who do you ask because you will get different answers from different sources.
An instructor should also be able to give you the benefit of their experience. Not all instructors are experienced though. This may be a clue as to at least one question we should ask of an instructor. I teach a PADI dry suit class. The standards say we use the suit for buoyancy control. However I also dive double 104's so I don't hesetate to tell/teach the techniques I use.
I took a dry suit class and later strapped on a set of double 95's and almost killed myself trying to use the suit for buoyancy control.
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