Is this sidemount course over the top?

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

How many hours do spend in mod1 class for classroom

It is a full day after e-Learning/knowledge reviews are completed. Then "classroom" sessions at the dive site prior to every dive.

 

[berndo]

ProTec, Mexico: 5 day, $340/day

Wow, that's nuts. Might the a brand thing, I reckon.

I wonder if insurance cost in Mx are as high as in the States. I guess that would explain some of the difference in price.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Wow, that's nuts. Might the a brand thing, I reckon.

I wonder if insurance cost in Mx are as high as in the States. I guess that would explain some of the difference in price.

Cave instructors have always been a bit more expensive than OW tech instructors. Mexico used to be a bit cheaper than US prices, but it seems that $300 a day is becoming normal there too, as I checked a couple of shops I know and they are all around that range.

 

[berndo]

Cave instructors has always been a bit more expensive than OW tech instructors.

Sidemount it not a cave class though. It's not a tech class either and it's that difficult either. I understand that an instructor in the US needs to charge more due to the high insurance cost but 340 bucks for a basic SM class in Mx, I find rediculous. That's 1700 dollars.
CCR class is 4 to 5 days. Sidemount is much easier and requieres way less knowlege.
Just saying... some of these prices are getting crazy.

 

[Underwater Tourist]

Wow, that's nuts. Might the a brand thing, I reckon.

I wonder if insurance cost in Mx are as high as in the States. I guess that would explain some of the difference in price.

They used to be 250$ / day for training 2 years ago. But raised prices twice over the past 2 years. If you do sm + cavern with Protec, it’s mostly a 1-2 day course, 1st day to set up the gear and play around with it in carwash, 2nd day to fix little things, and probably do some cavern stuff already during the second half of the 2nd day. So pretty much what manateediver described

 

[Underwater Tourist]

Sidemount it not a cave class though. It's not a tech class either and it's that difficult either. I understand that an instructor in the US needs to charge more due to the high insurance cost but 340 bucks for a basic SM class in Mx, I find rediculous. That's 1700 dollars.
CCR class is 4 to 5 days. Sidemount is much easier and requieres way less knowlege.
Just saying... some of these prices are getting crazy.

My guess is that nobody really comes to them to do an OW sm corse, 99% of people who go to Protec either learn sm for cave or tradition from doubles to sm for cave. So it might simply be not be worth their time to teach ow sm to 1% of their students at a different price

 

[Manatee Diver]

Sidemount it not a cave class though. It's not a tech class either and it's that difficult either. I understand that an instructor in the US needs to charge more due to the high insurance cost but 340 bucks for a basic SM class in Mx, I find rediculous. That's 1700 dollars.
CCR class is 4 to 5 days. Sidemount is much easier and requieres way less knowlege.
Just saying... some of these prices are getting crazy.

Protec's course length is due to it being a bit more than a normal sidemount course, as they include a lot of cave drills in that.

And it is crazy that Mexico's instruction prices are on parity with Florida's prices. It used to be that going cave diving in Mexico was cheaper. Now at least for the professional's time they are equal.

I agree five days for an OW SM course seems long to me. You would need to combine both Tech Sidemount, and Advanced Sidemount to get that sort of course length. And those courses are rarely combined except for extremely experienced cave divers.

 

[berndo]

Protec's course length is due to it being a bit more than a normal sidemount course, as they include a lot of cave drills in that.

So what? I think it's ridiculous... but than I also think it's ridiculous when people pay 500 bucks for a pair of pants. I hope they at least pay their staff well, especially the mexican locals.

 

[Manatee Diver]

So what? I think it's ridiculous... but than I also think it's ridiculous when people pay 500 bucks for a pair of pants. I hope they at least pay their staff well, especially the mexican locals.

I also hope that the money is getting spread around among the locals too.

But I agree it seems a bit long, but there are plenty of instructors in RM, so you can easily find one that will teach to whatever standard you desire. I don't complain too much and just vote with my feet.

 

[Norwegian Cave Diver]

I have been trained and cave dive out of Protec Tulum. They are a first class shop with great attitudes and highly skilled instructors. If you think beyond a Sidemount class… your next class to take would be Cavern. They will be long days with teaching skills and refining those skills and then more skills to learn and refine. I believe they are worth the price because they are preparing you for diving in a cave. I will be there October 19th for a month. Looking forward to every day.