GUE Fundamentals is equivalent to?

[kevindwhite]

A buddy of mine has me pretty much convinced to go for my GUE Fundamentals certification within the next year. One of the benefits my buddy cited is that the cost of GUE Fundamentals would be less than the total cost of equivalent certifications from agencies like PADI. I also read on the GUE site that the instructor may opt to cross-certify passing students with other agencies. This begs the following question:

What level of certification or combination of certifications from other agencies (PADI, SSI, SDI,...etc) is roughly equivalent to GUE Fundamentals?

Please note I am not asking which path is the higher quality one. So no GUE vs. Everyone Else flames please.

 

[TSandM]

There really is no straight-across equivalent.

Fundies, taken in doubles with a can light, is very similar to NAUI or TDI Intro to Tech. Fundies, done in a single tank, has some components which are shared with Cavern classes -- Buoyancy, trim, and non silting propulsion -- but Fundies doesn't include any line work, and does include SMB deployment, which is not a part of Cavern.

The gas management and decompression stuff that's discussed in Fundies is not taught anywhere in the PADI instructional sequence, short of technical training.

There are isolated instructors and classes which will incude a great deal of what's in Fundies (NWGratefulDiver's AOW class is an example), but there is no actual equivalent class. You might end up with the same training from an extraordinarily good PPB class, an unusually good deep specialty or wreck specialty (for gas management and SMB deployment) and a cavern class (for propulsion techniques and trim). It's easier to take Fundies -- and you don't need an "unusually good" Fundies class to get what you expect from it!