Open Water Padi vs Rescue Course NAUI

[krfoote]

I Took my OW course through One PADI agency and my AOW course through another Padi Agency. Both of the courses were adequate, I thought, but i wasnt real fond of the instructors or the structure of the class.

I dont have a LOT of experience with round 20 dives of my own since the AOW certification but i havent taken any Specialties because i was not that comfortable with the agency or the instructors that i had and Now i am thinking of taking my rescue course and some of my specialties through a NAUI agency, i know i wont be required to start from scratch but are the certifications with PADI also good with NAUI?

Also is it best to get the specialties out of the way before the rescue course?

My goal is to become a divemaster and possibly an instructor but i dont know the best course to take with the option that are available, from my experience its more about the instructor than PADI VS NAUI or anything else, Am I Wrong?

 

[japan-diver]

First: If you want to take your Rescue course with NAUI than your OW from PADI would be accepted as meeting the prerequisites for the course. (NAUI does not require AOW for Rescue certification) I believe that every diver should take a Rescue course and I think that seems to be a good next step in your diving education.

There are differences within the NAUI and PADI programs- NAUI teaches rescue of an unconscious diver in the OW portion of its program, NAUI also teaches in water rescue breathing at the OW level and requires more skin diving skills than PADI. There are more differences than the instructor in the programs. Research ask questions interview instructors before paying for classes- make sure you are getting what you want before you pay for it.

If you are looking at becoming an instructor you want to find the agency that best suits your teaching style and has standards you agree with. The NAUI program is more flexible and allows you as the instructor to add content to your class that the PADI program does not. I believe the NAUI materials are some of the best in the business - no adds or marketing in our text books.

Specialty classes should only be taken if there is a certain area that you are interested in learning more about and the instructor has expertise in that particular area. I see too many people collecting useless cards that have taught them nothing because the class was taught by an instructor that had very little knowledge of the subject. I have been a full time scuba instructor for over 15 years (NAUI Course Director 17952). As an example NAUI says I am able to teach the photography specialty course- I never had as I am not an expert in underwater photography I let my photo pros teach that course. The best u/w photo instructor I have ever seen is not even a dive instructor and his classes don't get you a card- but they give you the knowledge to be a better photographer. Specialty classes (or any scuba class) should be about the knowledge not the card- interview the instructor and see exactly what he/she is bringing to the table and how the class will make you a better diver if what they are teaching does not met your goals then find an instructor who does.

My suggestion think about what your goals in diving are and find classes/seminars that can allow you to achieve them. Divemaster is a class that should only be taken by those wanting to work in the industry as a Divemaster- if you are just looking to improve skill or knowledge in diving than there are many better courses than DM.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Japandiver is right. Choose what best fits your needs, style, ethics, and morals. If you want to turn out skilled, competent, and safe divers from the get go, choose an agency that allows you to do that. As for specialties I chose the ones that I felt would most benefit me and later students when it looked like I would become an instructor. Like jd and his photography I only teach courses that I feel truly qualified to teach and have sufficient knowledge of. I also will not teach courses that do not interest me. I do like to look at fish but really do not care what every one is. Therefor if someone wants to ID fish I refer them to an instructor who is passionate about it and knows their stuff. Frankly a student could go to Borders or Amazon and buy a book on fish identification and go dive and learn more than I could teach them. So why take their money and give them an inferior course?

 

[Damselfish]

Specialties aren't needed for Rescue and aren't something to "get out of the way." They're classes to take when a particular one will do you some good.

It may be mostly the instructor, and it's true PADI OW and AOW get dumped on a lot. But, the PADI Rescue class actually has a pretty good reputation. So if it's convenient or whatever, and you can find an instructor you like better than the ones you've had so far, then you may still want to consider it.

 

[JonBath]

Personally I found the PADI rescue course the best course PADI offers. Its a major leap in quality from the previous two courses, really changing the focus away from just looking after yourself into looking after others underwater and a fantastic stepping stone from AOW to Divemaster. In terms of improving your confidence and own capabilities the observable difference between a PADI rescue diver and AOW is very noticable. It's also pretty fun which is always good.

Personally even though I'm a PADI member I wouldn't recomend the specialities too much. You don't need them for Rescue or DM and you'd be better off finding a diver who's passionate about things like naturalism, photography or videography and getting them to show you how its done than people who are qualified to teach them but frankly have no more knowledge about them than you and are simply selling the course to make a quick buck. At least make sure that your instructor has plenty of experience in those activities before you buy the course. The exceptions are courses that give you real certifiable skills such as deep or nitrox specialities which are incredibly useful. If you're interested in going up to Instructor level then it might be a good idea if you want to add your Master Scuba Diver rating to your CV, which always looks good to employers.

Final thoughts are like so much in diving, it depends greatly on your instructor, my rescue instructor was fantastic, a GUE tech instructor on the side, so I spent most my rescue scenarios simultaneously being taught cave-diveresque buoyancy control and back finning. Some of the instructors I've worked with since, haven't been so knowledgeable. But all things considered the Rescue course, with a good instructor, is an absolute blast and one of the best courses you'll do with PADI.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Just a little touch-up on your dive vocabulary; There is only one PADI agency, one NAUI agency, one SDI agency, etc. You took you OW through a PADI affiliated dive shop and your AOW through a different PADI affiliated dive shop. If a dive shop is a 5-Star PADI dive shop they can only teach PADI courses. A non 5-Star shop could also be a NAUI or SSI shop (or nearly any other agency affiliated shop).

Many think it's the instructor that makes the difference, not the agency. If a student asks my employer for a PADI class they might very well get me as an instructor; if the student asks for an IANTD class they might very well get me as an instructor. Will the student be a different diver taking one class or the other? Not in my opinion; there are small differences in the way the classes are organized but my certified divers typically end up with the same dive skills no matter which agency.

 

[Rogersea]

I Took my OW course through One PADI agency and my AOW course through another Padi Agency. Both of the courses were adequate, I thought, but i wasnt real fond of the instructors or the structure of the class.

I dont have a LOT of experience with round 20 dives of my own since the AOW certification but i havent taken any Specialties because i was not that comfortable with the agency or the instructors that i had and Now i am thinking of taking my rescue course and some of my specialties through a NAUI agency, i know i wont be required to start from scratch but are the certifications with PADI also good with NAUI?

Also is it best to get the specialties out of the way before the rescue course?

My goal is to become a divemaster and possibly an instructor but i dont know the best course to take with the option that are available, from my experience its more about the instructor than PADI VS NAUI or anything else, Am I Wrong?

Sorry you did not enjoy your class, where did you take your OW and AOW? PADI Advanced is an experienced based course designed to expose you to different experiences and activities underwater, to assist in building your confidence and keeping u active in the sport..

In my years as a diving instructor, I found the quality of the class is usually a direct result of the experience level and instructional abilities of the instructor....

I have been listening to the NAUI vs PADI crap for many years, mostly good natured ribbing but not always, since PADI has become so successful in marketing their product they become an instant target... Since you are contemplating becoming an Instructor do a lot of research into both organizations and include SSI in your cosideration....

There are some PADI standards and proceedures that I dont agree with but IMHO the good fars outweighs the bad...

Cheers,
Roger

 

[Rhenry]

You are partly right; the instructor plays a big part of the dive experience. The other part is the course, agency and area.
Background: I started out in the PADI OW program, but was not real happy with the information and the video part. I decided to transfer to NAUI. I was impressed at the difference, the material was 100% more extensive the PADI and much more content. In addition safety and recue were stressed. I was much more comfortable with this program compared to the PADI program. I went on to take the advanced course with PADI, partly because of time and availability. I was happy with the program as ¼ of their program was the same as the NAUI OW program in the classroom portion. The dives were nice as we did get to do a few “specialty” dives that were designed to experience, but not become a specialist. Overall a different program then I thought. I went on to take the rescue diver program back to NAUI, I looked at the PADI program (they do provide college credit) but was somewhat disappointed in the content. The NAUI had much more and went deeper then the PADI program. PADI is not better or worse but different then the NAUI approach. I feel NAUI goes more into the books and media then PADI. PADI did have a lot of PADI advertisement that I did not like, but they also had a lot of humor as well. The NAUI was no advertisement and more content, and you keep the material, with PADI you must return the media.
Overall i liked NAUI for the content, the PADI for the collage credit. The instructor I had were different for each course, I did note that the NAUI instructors added content to the program and in a sense encouraged you to go to your comfort zone and limits in a controlled environment. That is the main reason I would go to the NAUI program, instructor and program content. PADI was nice and quick but limited in content.

 

[Rogersea]

Sounds like you have made your decision,:cool3: good luck with your future vocation or avocation.... I was curious and asked in my original post where did you take your courses??

 

[krfoote]

I have decided on NAUI for the flexibility in the program and the instructor is more flexible to my schedule.
thanks for all the good information everyone.