PADI? A necessity?

[Doc Sparty]

Wow! You all really came through for me with the bootie issue so now I have one final question before I book my scuba class. I have the choice of 2 very good dive shops here at home. One of these shops is a PADI 5 star shop while the other is not. Should I go with a PADI shop? Why? The other, non-PADI shop is a very active shop with good equipment and their own pool for instructional classes. Let me know. I've looked at the PADI web site but am still not convinced that the other non-PADI shop is not up to 'snuff'. Again, thanks in advance.

Doc Sparty

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

PADI is just one of many training agencies, and while they are the largest, that does not mean it is necessary to train through them or that they are any better than any other agency. What matters far more than the agency is the instructor. Unfortunately not having been certified you don't know what questions to ask. I suggest you let us know where you are at and then divers from that area can give you a better insight into who might give you the best instruction.

Edit: I just figured out you are in New Orleans by looking at your other posts. Anyone from that area that can recommend a good dive instructor/shop?

 

[Daveo957]

If you have a better feeling about the "other" shop def. go with it. The agency dosent matter all that much, its the shop, the people and the instructors.

 

[Thalassamania]

Considering an open water class? Please read this.

 

[Web Monkey]

Wow! You all really came through for me with the bootie issue so now I have one final question before I book my scuba class. I have the choice of 2 very good dive shops here at home. One of these shops is a PADI 5 star shop while the other is not. Should I go with a PADI shop? Why? The other, non-PADI shop is a very active shop with good equipment and their own pool for instructional classes. Let me know. I've looked at the PADI web site but am still not convinced that the other non-PADI shop is not up to 'snuff'. Again, thanks in advance.
Doc Sparty

First, "PADI-5 Star" is a marketing term and has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the instruction you will receive. You'll never see a "PADI 1-Star" shop.

Second, there are dozens of certification agencies that are at least as "legitimate" as PADI and that will give you a card that is valid in just as many places. Virtually all C-cards are valid almost everywhere.

Do a search on the board here and you'll come up with a ton of information.

Also, if you just mention the name of the places you're thinking about, chances are good people here have already used them and may be able to help you with your decision.

Picking a SCUBA training facility is very difficult because it can only be evaluated properly after you've been through it, while by definition, it needs to be selected before you go through it.

Aside from anything else, this issue tends to favor agencies that do lots of marketing, while not really having an adverse effect on agencies that don't do a great job.

If you do a lot of marketing, you get a lot of students and make a lot of money. If you don't do a great job teaching them, nothing much happens because most will hardly ever dive again, and nobody will hear about it, and the vast majority will have nothing to compare it to.

Choose your school carefully, since a good school will go a long way towards making you a good diver, which will also make you a happy diver.

Terry

 

[nolatom]

Doc,

You're from New Orleans? If so, the shop I know is Caribbean Dive Shop, which is the PADI outfit here. I certified with them, then did AOW and Rescue, and have nothing but good to say about them. i think they give good training and don't cut corners on instruction. They use the Tulane pool, which is 10 or 12 feet deep and is fine. In my limited experience, it seems to me their divers tend to stay out of trouble, and tend to be the ones assisting other divers who ran into trouble.

The saying you'll hear, which is true, is "it's not the agency, it's the instructor". You wouldn't go wrong if you chose them.

Having said that, the other 2 shops in this area, Harry's (who have their own pool) and Adventure Quest (who cater a little more to the tech divers, though not exclusively), have good reputations too. I just don't have any first-hand experience with them.

 

[jarhed]

most certification agencies provide similar open water classes, but PADI is the largest "for profit" agency. Although I generally root for the underdog, PADI also has the best and most robust support structure. It is very easy to replace a lost card, or look yourself up in databases on line. this is very usefull when you loose your card on vacation.

My wife lost her SSI card and SSI did not have her in their data base nor were they efficient at getting her a replacement card after verifying her logbook.

She did advanced qualifications with PADI just to get into their system to avoid future hassles.

Just a data point for consideration.

John

I don't have alot of info on NAUI.

 

[pupdiver]

If you post the names of the shops you are considering, people here probably have experience with them. You may also get in touch with some instructors in your area who might offer to help you.

 

[Tigerman]

Theres a nice post here about a possible approach to finding a good shop/class/instructor

 

[Daveo957]

harrysdiveshop.com