Nitrox cert company,

[Aviyes]

My Nitrox course (NAUI) is about 16 hours of classroom time and includes 4 dives (over two days). The students must demonstrate their ability to plan their dives and their nitrox mix based on depth/MOD/Best Mix. They must also demonstrate efficiency with using dive tables and dive computers (we provide dive computers for the students in all of our courses in addition to dive tables) for planning and executing the dives using the mix they need to use based on their intended depth. The student must show mastery of their working knowledge of calculating "Best Mix," "MOD," "EAD," and the rest of the concepts presented in the course.

In my view, not requiring dives in the openwater for the nitrox course is like not requiring dives in openwater for the entry level scuba course. I believe that the students must show their ability to use all of the concepts they learned in the course, any course, in the planning and execution of their dives in openwater conditions using these concepts. Anything else is just trying to push more people through the mill in the shortest time possible with the least effort for the least cost and most profit (to the agency and instructor) all which I abhor and certainly disagree with entirely.

Or trying to make them into tech divers, when all they want to do is rec dive. What the hell takes you 16 hours of classroom time to cover? That is equivalent to the lecture time for 1 semester credit at most universities. Do you have them take turns reading the manual out loud?

 

[ls1dreams]

Is there really that much to learn about nitrox? I mean in the end isn't it basically... make sure you set your computer to the right oxygen % and don't exceed MOD?

I feel like nitrox should just be bundled with an open water course for free.

 

[diversteve]

The negative is not that it is online. The problem is it is online only, with no hands on analysis and no instructor interactions. .

No, the Problem in this case is it's a scam run out if a PO Box..

it comes around here every few yeasrs:

Online Nitrox Course, any difficulty in using the C card?
Online Nitrox and SDA??
Onlinescubalessons/Aquatrophics/SDA/David Holt
OnlineScubaLessons.com is a SCAM!!!

 

[ls1dreams]

No, the Problem in this case is it's a scam run out if a PO Box..

it comes around here every few yeasrs:

Online Nitrox Course, any difficulty in using the C card?
Online Nitrox and SDA??
Onlinescubalessons/Aquatrophics/SDA/David Holt
OnlineScubaLessons.com is a SCAM!!!

I don't see anything wrong with it being run out of a PO Box. The main issue is that the cert has to be respected by enough shops to make it useful.

 

[tursiops]

I don't see anything wrong with it being run out of a PO Box. The main issue is that the cert has to be respected by enough shops to make it useful.

Even more fundamental is the cert needs to give its holders enough info that they won't kill themselves. There is no evidence it does this. Here is PADI's alert:

 

[PfcAJ]

Is there really that much to learn about nitrox? I mean in the end isn't it basically... make sure you set your computer to the right oxygen % and don't exceed MOD?

I feel like nitrox should just be bundled with an open water course for free.

No.

Doing without understanding isn’t education. There’s way more to learn than just those two things.

 

[ljpm]

From what I can see the only reason not to take this course is because PADI has told their affiliates not to honor the C-card and not to provide fills. PADI has 2 main reasons they may want to do this; 1. as the dominant organization they wish to maintain standards, and 2. use their market position to limit competition. One reason is acceptable and one is not (quite possibly a violation of competition laws). I have checked out the web page and here is a list of the modules for the Nitrox course;
Module 1
Review of Scuba & Intro to Nitrox The history of Enriched Air Nitrox
What is Nitrox?
Review of Basic Scuba Diving Concepts
What is Pressure?
What about Air consumption?
How long I stay underwater on a tank of nitrox?
Decompression Sickness (The Bends)
Review the Dive Tables

Module 2
Underwater Sciences - Physics Dalton's Law of Physics
Oxygen Toxicity
Partial Pressure - Nitrox I
Partial Pressure - Nitrox II
The Advantages of Nitrox over Air
Nitrox for Decompression stops

Module 3
Nitrox Dive Planning Equivalent Air Depths
Maximum Exposure Time Limits
Nitrox I Dive Tables
Nitrox II Dive Tables

Module 4
Nitrox Scuba Equipment Cylinder Markings
Nitrox safe scuba equipment

This appears to be a pretty comprehensive course. It appears to be comparable to the PADI course I completed; except for having to have my LDS demonstrate how to use an O2 sensor (which you can find online).

aside from PADI refusing to accept it, can anyone find fault with the program?

 

[boulderjohn]

I have no idea how good their nitrox course is. It could be excellent. PADI's main problem is not with the nitrox course--it is with the OW academic program. The company has for a long time maintained that ALL scuba agencies will accept their academic training INSTEAD OF the agency's own training. It used to say in the clearest possible language that you could take their online academic course and then walk into any agency, show them your certificate of completion, and be given credit for that part of the course. That is, of course, pure horse pucky. They used to have a lost of shops in multiple states that they referred to "partners" who had agreed to accept their training. I called the shops in Colorado, and not one of them had ever heard of them, and they said they would absolutely not accept it.

They then changed the wording carefully so that it did not make those claims explicit--they just implied that the course work would be accepted by any agency. They kept the list of shops, but this time they did not specifically call them partners and did not explicitly say those shops would accept their training. Again, it was just implied.

I did not check the current wording.

The owner used to be a NAUI instructor, but that agency expelled him.

 

[HantsDiver]

The owner used to be a NAUI instructor, but that agency expelled him.

Why? It takes a fair amount to be expelled.

 

[ljpm]

I have no idea how good their nitrox course is. It could be excellent. PADI's main problem is not with the nitrox course--it is with the OW academic program. The company has for a long time maintained that ALL scuba agencies will accept their academic training INSTEAD OF the agency's own training. It used to say in the clearest possible language that you could take their online academic course and then walk into any agency, show them your certificate of completion, and be given credit for that part of the course. That is, of course, pure horse pucky. They used to have a lost of shops in multiple states that they referred to "partners" who had agreed to accept their training. I called the shops in Colorado, and not one of them had ever heard of them, and they said they would absolutely not accept it.

They then changed the wording carefully so that it did not make those claims explicit--they just implied that the course work would be accepted by any agency. They kept the list of shops, but this time they did not specifically call them partners and did not explicitly say those shops would accept their training. Again, it was just implied.

I did not check the current wording.

The owner used to be a NAUI instructor, but that agency expelled him.

I completely agree with you about the open water coursen. And any other course that require in water experience, pretty much all courses. After reading their web page that their course work would be accepted by other shops was enough for me never to deal with them.

If someone was to provide their own nitrox course without being affiliated to a training agency would it be accepted on its merits or rejected because they don’t belong to the in crowd?