PADI Advanced Open Water: Did you learn anything new?

[tursiops]

More recently, I actually took AOW. It was surprising to me that the program had completely changed. Pick your topics at random and do them, and ignore the rest. It's now like a collection of mini specialty courses, but you don't have to take ones that make you safer.

It seems like there is a misunderstanding here. Long ago, AOW had three required dives (deep, nav, night) and two electives from a medium-sized list that included wreck, drift, search and recovery, etc. Now only two dives are required (deep and nav) and there are three electives from a somewhat larger list. So, just what is it that has changed?

 

[Snoweman]

I got basics of underwater navigation in my OW class. I got to practice it in my AOW class.

 

[NAM001]

I did OW a long time ago. Back then I looked at doing AOW but couldn't afford it. I did get the book, though. It looked to me then that AOW was a logical progression of OW, dealing with things people needed to know to dive, like navigation, but wouldn't have been able to get into in the much more basic OW course.

More recently, I actually took AOW. It was surprising to me that the program had completely changed. Pick your topics at random and do them, and ignore the rest. It's now like a collection of mini specialty courses, but you don't have to take ones that make you safer.

This new thing doesn't seem good to me. If people want to specialize, they can do so with a specialty course. But there's a lot of basic information OW leaves out, because it's busy teaching people to equalize and whatnot, and it seems like AOW should complete that basic training.

Rescue Diver was good. All three seem to me the foundation for being a prepared beginner.

May I add that there is some politics to the course as it is given. When you go to a boat for an overnight or a liveaboard. there are certain dives that are almost always done. they are night and deep. navigation is seldom needed and you dont get hurt misusing your compass. Again these experience dives do not qualify you to dive deep or at night. the loop hole is that you did do it and you had a instructor dign off on it and a boat will then let you do the dives. That is a money maker for boats.

 

[NAM001]

I got basics of underwater navigation in my OW class. I got to practice it in my AOW class.

good,,,,,,, navigtion is not hard going is a straight line is hard. knowing distance traveled is hard. to say a platform is located at the cross of east of the big tree and north of the barn is a cake walk. learing contour and waypoint navigation is a tremendous nav technique.

 

[pauldw]

It seems like there is a misunderstanding here. Long ago, AOW had three required dives (deep, nav, night) and two electives from a medium-sized list that included wreck, drift, search and recovery, etc. Now only two dives are required (deep and nav) and there are three electives from a somewhat larger list. So, just what is it that has changed?

PADI's AOW manual from the early eighties is 234 pages long. The first quarter of it goes into dive physics and biology in greater depth than OW. There is nav, but it includes natural navigation, not just compass. There's limited visibility and night diving. There's search and there's boat and there's deep diving. And it's ALL the class; there isn't any picking and choosing.

What I'm saying is, analogize to school: you take your general education classes that give you a broad understanding, and then you pick your electives. AOW used to be enhancement of the basics. Now it's electives, and those can be things like fish ID or fiddling with your GoPro. I'm not a SCUBA expert. By I am an expert student, and I know which version of the course--the old way or the new way--taught me more things that will keep me alive.

Specialties can wait until after Rescue Diver. Basics, then expand. (This obviously assumes that OW by itself is too basic to really cover the basics.)

PW

 

[NAM001]

PADI's AOW manual from the early eighties is 234 pages long. The first quarter of it goes into dive physics and biology in greater depth than OW. There is nav, but it includes natural navigation, not just compass. There's limited visibility and night diving. There's search and there's boat and there's deep diving. And it's ALL the class; there isn't any picking and choosing.

What I'm saying is, analogize to school: you take your general education classes that give you a broad understanding, and then you pick your electives. AOW used to be enhancement of the basics. Now it's electives, and those can be things like fish ID or fiddling with your GoPro. I'm not a SCUBA expert. By I am an expert student, and I know which version of the course--the old way or the new way--taught me more things that will keep me alive.

Specialties can wait until after Rescue Diver. Basics, then expand. (This obviously assumes that OW by itself is too basic to really cover the basics.)

PW

Im not sure all yo usay is correct. It may be as fast as things change. the books talk about these different dives but teh elective portion is which exposure dives you do. you read about boat night dep etc but you pick deep night and a couple others to get your reguired exposure quota met. YOu pick the exposure dives that support teh local diving habits. if diveing is walk in in your area you probably wold not want to do a boat dive to get your AOW.

 

[pauldw]

Im not sure all yo usay is correct. It may be as fast as things change. the books talk about these different dives but teh elective portion is which exposure dives you do. you read about boat night dep etc but you pick deep night and a couple others to get your reguired exposure quota met. YOu pick the exposure dives that support teh local diving habits. if diveing is walk in in your area you probably wold not want to do a boat dive to get your AOW.

Yeah, I agree as far as the actual dives. But it seems like the book went into more depth on review and enhancement of the basics than the current one does, and maybe the focus of the course was different?

 

[NAM001]

Yeah, I agree as far as the actual dives. But it seems like the book went into more depth on review and enhancement of the basics than the current one does, and maybe the focus of the course was different?

I have no doubt about that. the change every year. Just have to keep in mind that the book represents what the current thought is regarding what is necessary to do the dives. For instance in a nitrox class you used to have to know how to calculate MOD. now you just have to know what it is.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

That was back in the good old days that you love so much. It is not done today, nor for the last many years. There is no longer a "narc test" of any kind in AOW.

THAT IS COMPLETELY FALSE. Ha sorry for the all caps messing with you. But you sir are wrong. In my AOW padi i took about 6 months ago they did math tests at 60 feet then again at the bottom at 100 feet deep. WAY way way back in april of 2018

 

[NAUI Wowie]

quite often the instructor will do something like have you open a combination look on the surface and time you. then have you do it again at say 90 ft. it takes longer becasue you are under the influence and you do not know it. You will probably not see any difference at 60 ft but just the same it is an eye opening dive to make yo aware of forces you do not know is there. If you did the compass you probably failed bad. I look at AOW as a class to knock the wind out of the sails of those OW divers that think they can do anything becase the recovered their reg and replaced their mask at 15 ft.. It is a class that makes you think more than just jump in and blow to the surface when something goes south. Normally i find people that take pictures,,,, and when they get on the boat they do not remember where or why they took the pictures. NARCED. All the exposure dives are not to make you qualified to do them but to expose you to the environment issues such as dark and loosing orientation. compass and swimmiing circles,, gaging distance . AOW done right is a valuable class expecially when the OW class was nothing more than bare minimum. Bottom l;ine is that whether it is the OW or AOW class it is the instructor that determines the quality.

I havent bought an underwater camera or a gopro yet. Im too new at 30 dives. I know what I dont know, read too many stories of new divers running out of air while taking pics or vids and been on liveaboards with multiple divers running off haywire or swimming into coral for the next pic or vid. You lose total awareness and can end up very deep or alone.
If I ever get a gopro itll be if I can just attach it to my bcd start it and forget it. Maybe later when im experienced ill worry about all the fancy pics.