Need help deciding on an LA shop to do OW cert.

[Plantasia]

Hi all,
Am a would-be female diver new to the board, and am looking to get my OW cert at the end of the month/early october. I live in the Eagle Rock/South Pasadena area and was all set on getting certified with Haven's Reef, but they just recently closed for business, which sucks because they came so highly recommended; nice people too. Anyway, I've done a ton of research and have narrowed it down to these: 1) Aqua Adventures Unlimited (Burbank - close to home); 2) Eco Dive Center (Culver City – bit of a trek, but they have a lot of gear, and I liked the people there); 3) LA Scuba Diving (Van Nuys, also a bit of a trek, but I've read great things about the instructor, Steve); 4) SoCal Scuba Divers (in Silverlake – closest to home, but don't know too much about them) and 5) Sport Chalet (I know a lot of people bash them, but I heard it depends on who the instructor is)….

If anyone has any experience with any of them I'd love to hear about it! Thanks

 

[JMdiver]

Sport Chalet in La Crescenta just moved to a brand new building with a pool & the guy in charge of the scuba shop os Bob Taylor he's a good instructor. The guys at Hollywood Divers are pretty good too.

John

 

[Kevfin]

Another route would be Tom Wetzel.

He runs classes out of the Glendale YMCA.

I'd contact him and find out when his next class is.

I will be starting a new Openwater SCUBA class on September 14, 2008.
Held at the YMCA of Glendale
140 N. Louise
Glendale, CA

First day is free. It will consist on Introduction, expenses and swim evaluation.
Student must be 12 years and up.
The course is 6 to 8 weeks long.
I have 5 to 6 pool sessions, you get plenty of practice before going to the ocean.
There usually 2 to 5 instructors assisting.

Feel free to email me via this board or at
scubatomwetzel@earthlink.net

 

[Teamcasa]

Dolphin Dive in Arcadia and they have an active club as well.

 

[vyvial]

Not on the list but I second Hollywood Divers

 

[Plantasia]

Thanks all! So wow, two for Hollywood Divers! I'm intrigued. What makes them so great?

 

[desidiver]

I have got my OW and AOW through hollywood divers, Jeanne is my instructor and she is amazing. she is very particular about everything, taking EFR/CPR class with her was very good learning experience, being a Diving medical technician she taught us more than what course required.

also if you go in the shop they are a premier technical dive shop and everyone knows about stuff, so choosing right gear won't be a concern. I am relatively new to diving but when i see other people dive and the kind of mistakes they make, i am really happy that i got my certification through hollywood divers.

 

[ligersandtions]

Dolphin Dive in Arcadia is a good place, has a good dive club, and is the host for one of the local scuba meet-up groups. That's where I did my certification, and have had absolutely no problems.

That said, I would definitely look into Hollywoodivers. Having technical aspirations myself, I've found that it's a great shop and has super friendly (and extremely helpful) people.

 

[Codyjp]

for your area, I too would say Hollywood divers. There is always people saying good things about them! I don't know anything either way about the others you mentioned! As said before, find an INSTRUCTOR that you like!

 

[liuk3]

+1 for Tom Wetzel. My wife and I had a great experience with Tom Wetzel's OW class. He teaches a very thorough and rigorous course, and Tom can certify OW for PADI, NAUI, LA County, and YMCA. His class at the Glendale YMCA should be near you. He's been teaching for 30 years, and I can tell you that he really does care about his students. I would definitely get in contact with him as one of your options.