How far to go with PADI

[Rick Inman]

IMO, the PADI courses worth taking are Nitrox and Rescue (assuming you have the right instructor). But you have to pony up the money for Advanced to get to Rescue. I have never taken a class I didn't enjoy and learn something from - even Advanced.

My order of classes was:

NASDS OW
SSI Refresher
PADI OW
PADI AOW
PADI ENx
PADI Rescue
GUE DIRF
IANTD Advanced Nitrox
IANTD Advanced Rec. Trimix (currently)

Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing (except DIRF sooner!).

YMMV

 

[beezwax]

Ron there are few things that everyone on this board would agree on, but I think one of them is....

I disagree and I disagree strongly....

I stand corrected.

 

[cummings66]

I think if you do some reading in the past threads you'll find a post by I believe Walter who compares the various programs and you'll see that there really is a difference in agencies. It is not all in the instructor because many of them go by the standards, and if that's all the further you go then the agencies are different.

For what it's worth I know of a PADI instructor who will put his basic OW students through a course so rigorous that a Navy Seal would be hard put to pass it. In fact he's commonly called a Scuba Nazi around these parts and after you do this course with him you end up with the OW only, yet you do the padi course materials all the way up to rescue and not only do you have to master it, during the tests if you fail it you really fail. You don't retest on another test, you don't come back later, you're done you failed. You can start over from scratch during the next class, but this one is finished for you.

A couple examples I know of, during the swim test he straps 16 lbs of lead to you and then you do the ~200 yard swim, no fins goggles or wetsuits. Just you and the swimsuit. He has you clear a mask 3 times on one breath of air, the trick is you don't know when he's going to have you do it and the mask must be 100% flooded. It could be on an exhale cycle or inhalation cycle, if you can't do it you fail.

This guy is the only instructor I know of who exceeds standards, and by doing so he's called a Nazi. He's a rarity, few instructors require that much effort for ow.

I would say the instructor makes a difference in how well you learn the material the agency pushes, some are great teachers and can tell what it takes to impart that wisdom to you, others merely read the book aloud and hope you get it. In that regards go for the instructor who's matching your needs.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm not familiar with agencies other than PADI, but I believe--and I have heard others say the same--that the Rescue course was the most valuable to them. AOW, as someone above pointed out, was little more than a pointless few extra specialty dives. Although, as others pointed out, some dive outfits will require at least AOW for deeper or otherwise more challenging dives, I really don't see how having AOW better prepares a diver for much. I left the Rescue course, on the other hand, feeling ten times more confident in my own abilities and my ability to assist others. I think I had a scuba-Nazi instructor for that one, but that only makes sense, as I think it was much better than some wimpy Rescue course that just barely meets PADI's minimum requirements. I have no plans to take the DM course, although I had the time and money; as much as it sounded like something worthy of accomplishing, in the end I decided that if I never wanted to lead dives professionally, I really didn't need it. As a purely recreational diver, my goal from here is to simply get more experience by diving, diving and more diving.