Info History of PADI's Enriched Air Nitrox course

[tursiops]

I was looking for something else in the old PADI Training Bulletins and found this information:

1996 EANx first offered. Prerequisites were AOW or OW plus 10 logged dives. 2 OW dives were required.

2000 Prerequisites of AOW/10 dives dropped.

2004 DISCOVER EANx offered; 32% maximum, no dives required.

2006 the 2 dive requirement dropped.

2009 Computer-based version of course offered.

 

[BoltSnap]

Prior to 1996, PADI was an extreme opponent to Nitrox and lobbied to not allow anything to do with Nitrox to participate in DEMA. PADI lobbied everyone they can reach to reject Nitrox and anything to do with use, teaching or selling of Nitrox. At one point they were successful in pushing their agenda in Grand Cayman where they spread the rumor that the local chamber there won't treat anyone who needed to go into a chamber if they were using Nitrox in their diving. I became a Nitrox instructor circa 91/92 after taking an IAND course sponsored by NAUI and taught by Dick Rotkowski. We were the first group of recreational instructors in the world who were trained to use and teach Nitrox to recreational divers at that time. We felt like outcasts because of the hostility projected by DEMA, PADI and Skin Diver Magazine towards Nitrox.

PADI did a 180 turn when they realized how much money they can make with teaching Nitrox towards the late 90's and totally forgot about their previous stand against Nitrox and started to act as if PADI invented Nitrox.

 

[Doc]

I believe PADI spearheaded all of that with the phrase, “Devil Gas”.

PADI was forced into the changes due to competition from other Cert Agencies.

PADI led the way in the mass market EAN instruction, they adopted the instructional process approved by lawyers and which made sense to their marketing model.

EAN was originally presented as a “tool” for specific applications. It quickly became universally required as part of every Agency’s desire for ‘continuing education’ and driving an easy cert for easy money.

I believe you can still ‘pass’ the on-line course by spelling it “Nitrox’ instead of ‘nitrox’.

[as major ski areas ‘banned’ Snowboards into the late 1980’s, the US Ski Assn (the Ski Team) refused to recognize their existence]

Money runs everything.

 

[tursiops]

Let the PADI hate roll on.....
Yes, they objected to it initially, just like all agencies object to stuff now and then.
But they also worked with Oceanic in about 2000 to lobby OSHA to permit Nitrox to be considered a recreational gas, to everyone's benefit.

 

[BoltSnap]

I believe PADI spearheaded all of that with the phrase, “Devil Gas”.

Yep, I remember the term "Devil's Gas" from way back then.

 

[BoltSnap]

Let the PADI hate roll on.....

There is really no hate here, just simple historical facts. It is ironic.

 

[tursiops]

There is really no hate here, just simple historical facts. It is ironic.

It is hate if you only mention the bad stuff associated with PADI. There is good stuff too, like the OSHA rule change, the widespread acceptance leading to lower costs and greater availability, and the early availability of dive tables tuned to 32% and 36%....anyone who has had to use EAD tables knows how awful that was.

 

[BoltSnap]

the widespread acceptance leading to lower costs and greater availability, and the early availability of dive tables tuned to 32% and 36%....anyone who has had to use EAD tables knows how awful that was

This has nothing to do with PADI, it was an industry thing and the changes were inevitable. PADI just caught on and rode the wave.

 

[scubadada]

I was looking for something else in the old PADI Training Bulletins and found this information:

1996 EANx first offered. Prerequisites were AOW or OW plus 10 logged dives. 2 OW dives were required.

2000 Prerequisites of AOW/10 dives dropped.

2004 DISCOVER EANx offered; 32% maximum, no dives required.

2006 the 2 dive requirement dropped.

2009 Computer-based version of course offered.

My son and I took PADI nitrox in 2002 on Grand Cayman, 2 dives required. We had just OW and about 40 dives. There were not many diving nitrox then. Now, 84% of my 2245 have been on nitrox.

My wife, in 2011, and my daughter, this year, took PADI eLearning nitrox and check out with a shop, no dives.

I took hyperbaric chamber operation with Dick Rutkowsky in 2005. He told many very interesting stories about the early days of nitrox, especially after a few beers at Sharkey's after class

 

[tursiops]

This has nothing to do with PADI, it was an industry thing and the changes were inevitable. PADI just caught on and rode the wave.

My point is the Big Dog (PADI) has more impact on widespread acceptance and thus price lowering than do the little guys. If PADI had decided NOT to provide a Nitrox cert, do you think we'd have it so available and often free the way we do now?