How to categorize beginner, intermediate, advance diver?

[redrover]

What I’m interpreting anemone is asking is how to better judge what classifies a dive that is considered beginner, intermediate and advanced. Is this correct anemone?

I’m following this thread because I was hoping for some help with my interpretation of the question. So far all I can do is hope the folks that take me to a site are correct in judging my capabilities. I feel this is my responsibility as well and wanting a better grasp of what makes a site beginner, intermediate or advanced.
It’s not that big of a deal for me at the moment because while according to one post my almost all black makes me pretty far up the ladder but then, what is the break down on number of D rings? It seems my attempt at humor was misleading radinator and NWGratefulDiver. Since the icons didn’t work, I will try words to explain; that was a joke, humor directed at self, I am not, I repeat not an advanced diver. I am a novice, beginner, noob with very little experience.

I’m just guessing anemone for you, but I think we get the point that the number of dives can be misleading and there are probably few divers that can’t learn something. We can figure out the idiot proof (Intro to Dive) and technical (Andrea Doria) but what are the in betweens?

 

[wedivebc]

I don't think they got it Dave...
Rick

Glad you did though

 

[Quero]

Well, we know that's how it REALLY is. I was making a joke.
Only about the colors, though. Everything else is right on target.

:yourkiddi You don't say!

L'il ole me would NEVER have guessed! :angel_smi

So does that mean I have to toss my new red Mares X-vision mask? :17: (Would be a cryin' shame, it's do darned cute!)

 

[Mwright15]

Humm... Sounds like you're saying that you really don't know if someone is an advanced diver or not until things go sideways. Or at least until you have drilled with them under real conditions.

Does sound like that, surely it's better if things don't go wrong...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I don't think they got it Dave...
Rick

Of course I did Rick ... but I was talking, generally, about recreational open-circuit scuba divers ... not someone on a rebreather.

Scuba diving is such a broad subject that someone can find a way to refute anything that anyone says in here. But that doesn't get to the point of answering the question.

So rather than start a digression, I decided to ignore the comment ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[adurso]

And don't forget that beginner/intermediate/advanced are also relative to the divesite and gear configuration. A very experienced warm water diver is still a beginner when making his first drysuit dive.

New gear makes a big difference in skills, I am a diver, I do not worry about other nomenclature and learn something every time I dive. With this in mind I present the following for your edification: picture this; new spring straps, new BC, new computer, new 7mm wetsuit, new 5mm cheater with hood. Different characteristics all around, descend on first dive, oops not enough weight, get more weight turn into a dirt dart, clouds of silt abound, 12 year old hangs effortlessly in water column laughing herself silly, tells everyone about it, next dive crowds watching for what might happen next.....took me 3 more dives to get myself straight....every day is different....

 

[Charlie99]

Sounds like you're saying that you really don't know if someone is an advanced diver or not until things go sideways.

Then again, one of the skills of an advanced diver is taking care of the little things before they escalate into problems. A skilled craftsman makes things look easier than they are.

 

[paolov]

limited to recreational dives:

begginer - frequent use of hands during the dive to correct position or to move through water, quickly depletes air in tank. gear - old and tattered (rental), sleeps during SI, dry throat after dive, masks gets fogged up

intermediate - good buoyancy, ends dive with more than 500 psi in tank, own gear, doesnt get dry throat during dive and pees comfortably on during dive

advanced - hoover motionlessly with long interval between breath exhalation, a mix of very old and new gear, with safety baloon and reel, ends dive with more than 1,000psi , no dry throat, poos without anyone knowing (joke) :biggrimja

 

[blueeyes_austin]

I have to say that I disagree with the initial posts on this thread. If I could only choose one data point in evaluating the skill level of a diver before diving with them, it would be the number of logged dives they have completed. I'd certainly assume that an open water diver with 1000+ dives is a better diver than a newly minted DM with 80! Or a diver who has 150 logged dives to be a better diver than an "advanced" card holder with 20. Now, experience may show these assumptions to be wrong from time to time...but the experience is the way to bet in the absence of additional information.

 

[mossym]

I have to say that I disagree with the initial posts on this thread. If I could only choose one data point in evaluating the skill level of a diver before diving with them, it would be the number of logged dives they have completed. I'd certainly assume that an open water diver with 1000+ dives is a better diver than a newly minted DM with 80! Or a diver who has 150 logged dives to be a better diver than an "advanced" card holder with 20. Now, experience may show these assumptions to be wrong from time to time...but the experience is the way to bet in the absence of additional information.

100 dives in less than 50 ft of crystal blue water, no weights, shorty, 200ft of viz..

50 dives in 40F water, less than 10ft of viz, thick wetsuit or drysuit, 30lbs of weight,

who's the better diver?