Online Nitrox Certification

[oly5050user]

I'm gonna chime in here. I took the PADI Nitrox online course. As soon as I was done, I felt like I had been completely ripped off. I paid essentially double what it would have cost to have taken it in person. Sure I learned all the important aspects of Nitrox, and felt absolutely well enough informed. It just cost way way too much. I would highly recommend finding a local dive shop, and have them give you the course.

Can work out to be more expensive due to time it takes instructor to goo over presentations.

 

[TheHuth]

Of course it can. Thats why I would call around and find a good price. I believe I paid $250 to do mine online. Then I found out the shop that I went to to show me the analyzer would have only cost $200 had I of gone directly to them. Then I spoke to my instructor and he would have done it for $100 flat.

 

[Lorenzoid]

@rek_diver 's point seems reasonable. Still, I wouldn't say it justifies not going through the full course, including the exercise of analyzing a tank. Good habits should be ingrained from the very start of one's diving career. If one starts doing deeper/longer dives, the habits start to become more important.

 

[rek_diver]

Yes it does happen ..improper mix at fill station, depth beyond mod..happened here in NY to a store owner years ago. He was diving for lobster, used wrong mix at depth, dead.

@oly5050user can you clarify if this diver was on a single tank when this accident occurred?

 

[ljpm]

I'm gonna chime in here. I took the PADI Nitrox online course. As soon as I was done, I felt like I had been completely ripped off. I paid essentially double what it would have cost to have taken it in person. Sure I learned all the important aspects of Nitrox, and felt absolutely well enough informed. It just cost way way too much. I would highly recommend finding a local dive shop, and have them give you the course.

I agree completely with TheHuth. I paid for the on-line course thinking it was in place of having to take the course at my LDS. WRONG. Seems I had to take the course with them as well. I paid almost as much for the 'course' with the LDS as I did for the on-line. Since I had taken the on-line course the LDS portion consisted of sitting in on a course for those who didn't take the online course followed by a 5 minute instruction on how to use the analyzer. I don't think my LDS distinguishes between those who have taken the online and those who haven't.

 

[kelemvor]

You know, I don't think I can recall ever being asked for my nitrox card. I always bring it just in case but I can't recall being asked for it. Not that I'm suggesting you don't need a card but I'd be kind of surprised to see a shop complaining about which agency issued a nitrox card... if they even asked to see the card.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. All the agencies should ditch the whole concept of a "nitrox certification". They should add one or two pages to their regular scuba diver course and be done with it. The only reason not to is that their instructors won't get the $75 or so that they charge for the course.

 

[TheHuth]

I got asked in Hawaii.

 

[HantsDiver]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. All the agencies should ditch the whole concept of a "nitrox certification". They should add one or two pages to their regular scuba diver course and be done with it. The only reason not to is that their instructors won't get the $75 or so that they charge for the course.

Most instructors get nothing like $75 for it... And some including myself will do it for costs plus a drink if someone asks and is a decent type of person.

One or two pages wouldn't cover it. You need the instructor to have an analyzer. You need the instructor to have a couple of different blends to analyze. You need to teach the person to correctly label their cylinders. You need to really bang home how to calculate the MOD. You need to make sure they can do it themselves. It takes a couple of hours. But most OW students won't want to pay the extra. Those that do want to pay the extra are happy to do it seperately. It's also perfectly possible for an instructor to combine OW and nitrox if the student it willing to pay the fee. But many don't want to.

 

[rek_diver]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. All the agencies should ditch the whole concept of a "nitrox certification". They should add one or two pages to their regular scuba diver course and be done with it. The only reason not to is that their instructors won't get the $75 or so that they charge for the course.

While they're add it they should ditch the whole "deep" and "wreck" and "solo" and "rescue" diver certifications and just add a few chapters to the OW manual. The only reason not to is that the instructors won't get paid enough.

 

[oly5050user]

@oly5050user can you clarify if this diver was on a single tank when this accident occurred?

I understand he was sidemount or independent doubles