How about this?? Nitrox c-card without a single checkout dive

[Rick Murchison]

We chose the one without dives because it was $50.00 cheaper per person,

Hmmm... $50 for a two tank dive sounds reasonable even without an instructor along to enhance the experience.
You do intend to buy two dives, right?
So what's the real price difference?
Rick

 

[dl348]

Rick, it was $50.00 per person, times 2, therefore $100.00 total.
The dive shop wanted to do the checkout dives on a weekend we both could not get away from work, plus the training facility is 1.5 hours away from our home (3 hr. total). :10: :10:
Plus, in this example we don't need someone to "enhance our experience" as you put it, breathing nitrox thru a reg is not any different than breathing air thru one.

When my wife and I dive, we like to be on OUR schedule, not somebody else's. :10:

 

[seco divemaster]

http://www.coralspringsscuba.com/tdi_tech/tek_n2o2_door.htm

This is unbelievable

The naui course is only three hours long and done in a class room setting the only thing thats hard is learning how to get the right mix and the test is only 20 questions

 

[kwesler]

I am interested in knowing how many dives folk had under their belts b4 getting nitrox certification...that may illuminate the value of having more supervised dives...

 

[djanni]

Pretty cool huh? Can even do it right on-line for only $99.00. Hard to beat that price.

http://www.coralspringsscuba.com/tdi_tech/tek_n2o2_door.htm

This is unbelievable

 

[adurso]

I am interested in knowing how many dives folk had under their belts b4 getting nitrox certification...that may illuminate the value of having more supervised dives...

Almost 30 years of diving, well over a thousand logged dives, hundreds more that were not logged...geezer gas is a wonderful thing though...

 

[kwesler]

So Adurso, with that much experience, how do you feel about requiring dives as part of nitrox certs?

 

[adurso]

So Adurso, with that much experience, how do you feel about requiring dives as part of nitrox certs?

On one hand additional dives would not have done anything for me (not that I am not always willing to learn something new), on the other hand for those with limited diving experience any dive with an instructor present would enhance the diver's knowledge, on the gripping hand both diving and non-diving courses are available and each individual must make the decision as to which would benefit them the most.

 

[Dragon2115]

I am interested in knowing how many dives folk had under their belts b4 getting nitrox certification...that may illuminate the value of having more supervised dives...

Five, well seven when we had actually earned the certification. And come to think of it our instructor did "enhance our experience" on the two checkout dives. He pointed out a seahorse on one and nudibranch on the other that we would have otherwise missed. Didn't learn a damn thing about nitrox while we were underwater though.

What we learned from the class we learned on land. Planning dives, working equations, modifying plans, analyzing tanks, and understanding risks, that's where the real learning took place. If you have to get to the boat to learn about contingency planning or modifying the dive plan based on conditions then you're already a day late and a dollar short. You should have learned that before you ever set foot on the boat.

 

[MB]

Rick, it was $50.00 per person, times 2, therefore $100.00 total.

So local dives cost $55 per person = $110 without experience enhancement OR instruction.

...we don't need someone to "enhance our experience" ...

Sounds like you folks have aquired some great learning in your vast experience. (Your profile did say less than 50 dives, right?)

When my wife and I dive, we like to be on OUR schedule, not somebody else's.

Fair enough. If there's nothing to learn, there's no sense adjusting a schedue for it!