PADI AOW Certification: A Really Dumb Question

[Randallr]

Hi, all - here’s a stupidly basic question. Next month will mark my 35th anniversary of my PADI Open Water Certification. I never bothered to get AOW, and it never made a difference. I’ve been doing deep dives (100-120’), night dives, wreck dives almost from the beginning. Recently, some dive shops have gotten skittish about my not having an AOW card; one LDS wouldn’t let me dive the Spiegel Grovei in Fla., and made me bring my entire dive log stretching back decades to prove I’d done equivalent wreck dives before. So to avoid future such hassles, I’m figuring on getting my AOW cert.

In reviewing PADI’s literature, it looks like AOW just consists of five different accompanied dives - a wreck, a night dive, a deep dive etc. There doesn’t appear to be any classroom work, or a test, or anything. If I’m reading it right, AOW is pretty much “An Introduction to the Rest of Diving for Newbie Divers.” Is that all there is? Am I missing something or misreading it?

 

[caruso]

You aren't missing anything. I've pursuaded several divers to get their AOW specifically because Florida Keys Dive Ops make a big deal out of having AOW to do the wrecks. In some cases they will allow a wreck dive without it but you'll pay for a DM in the water and have to show proof of a recent dive to depth. It's a lot more hassle whereas the AOW card is like a free pass- show the card and you are in, no questions asked.

The AOW consists of 2 required dives Deep and Navigation + 3 electives. Navigation usually includes walking around the parking lot with a compass before diving and doing the same thing underwater.

The other 3 dives are often wreck, peak performancy buoyancy and one more. Night diving used to be mandatory but due to lack of popularity among divers it's now one of the electives.

They are considered introductory courses to the specialties but basically they teach you everything you need to know for all practical purposes. It's a good general skills review and you might learn something you didn't already know.

There is no classroom work. The only "tests" are the knowledge review questions at the end of each of the 5 chapters that you will read in the AOW book.

One of my dive buddies did their AOW through Conch Republic Divers in Islamorada Florida. They didn't require the AOW book be purchased since we had one already and they made copies for us of the knowledge review questions for each chapter - those need to be handed in with the certification papers.

Do NOT do the elearning it's a waste of money.

 

[Manatee Diver]

There is a book with tests in it, you do the sections for each dive that you will do doing.

But yeah the stock PADI AOW is pretty basic, though some instructors might expand on things.

 

[JackD342]

Hi, all - here’s a stupidly basic question. Next month will mark my 35th anniversary of my PADI Open Water Certification. I never bothered to get AOW, and it never made a difference. I’ve been doing deep dives (100-120’), night dives, wreck dives almost from the beginning. Recently, some dive shops have gotten skittish about my not having an AOW card; one LDS wouldn’t let me dive the Spiegel Grovei in Fla., and made me bring my entire dive log stretching back decades to prove I’d done equivalent wreck dives before. So to avoid future such hassles, I’m figuring on getting my AOW cert.

In reviewing PADI’s literature, it looks like AOW just consists of five different accompanied dives - a wreck, a night dive, a deep dive etc. There doesn’t appear to be any classroom work, or a test, or anything. If I’m reading it right, AOW is pretty much “An Introduction to the Rest of Diving for Newbie Divers.” Is that all there is? Am I missing something or misreading it?

You're missing something. There are also academic components for each dive. There is an eLearning course that will require you to do the work for several of the most common AOW dives, I think the number is 8. If you get the book and video, then you can limit yourself to the work for just the 5 dives you will be doing. In general there is no test to be completed for any of the dives, but you do have to complete the Knowledge Reviews if using the book, and then go over them with the instructor. It is best to do that before the dives, but they could also be done after. And they are not just accompanied dives, there is a defined set of skills to be done on each dive.

 

[TMHeimer]

Agree on the assessment of AOW. Other than the 2 required dives, the other 3 may depend on what the shop offers. I did learn some new stuff (like using a lift bag on the S & R dive) and how to ties 3 knots I'll never use (still do them once daily, due to OCD). I took it basically right after OW, so there may be much less for you to learn. I did all the knowledge reviews in the book just for the heck of it.
I don't know about the e learning as it wasn't available back then. The academics, as I recall, was just do the 5 knowledge reviews for the dives you'll do.

 

[caruso]

I edited my original post to add - do not do the E-learning it's a waste of money.

 

[oly5050user]

Hi, all - here’s a stupidly basic question. Next month will mark my 35th anniversary of my PADI Open Water Certification. I never bothered to get AOW, and it never made a difference. I’ve been doing deep dives (100-120’), night dives, wreck dives almost from the beginning. Recently, some dive shops have gotten skittish about my not having an AOW card; one LDS wouldn’t let me dive the Spiegel Grovei in Fla., and made me bring my entire dive log stretching back decades to prove I’d done equivalent wreck dives before. So to avoid future such hassles, I’m figuring on getting my AOW cert.

In reviewing PADI’s literature, it looks like AOW just consists of five different accompanied dives - a wreck, a night dive, a deep dive etc. There doesn’t appear to be any classroom work, or a test, or anything. If I’m reading it right, AOW is pretty much “An Introduction to the Rest of Diving for Newbie Divers.” Is that all there is? Am I missing something or misreading it?

AOW consist of 5 dives. 2 are considered core dives, navigation and deep. Next 3 are electives, can be first dive of different specialities. Here in NY these 3 are peak performance buoyancy, wreck, night or search/recovery. Reason these 3 is logistics and cost involved and what dive site offers. Other specialities can be picked, but due to time and equipment required, may be additional costs. Here we require student to complete PADI online advance for academics. Many charters now request advance certification for some dives perhaps to weed out inexperienced divers and try to limit liability.

 

[Randallr]

I edited my original post to add - do not do the E-learning it's a waste of money.

Caruso, if you don’t do the e-learning review, does that mean you have to take a test in the dive shop?

I loved the e part of my nitro certification a few years ago - it made it all easier. I’m just still unclear of what if anything gets tested in the AOW cert program.

 

[Randallr]

AOW consist of 5 dives. 2 are considered core dives, navigation and deep. Next 3 are electives, can be first dive of different specialities. Here in NY these 3 are peak performance buoyancy, wreck, night or search/recovery. Reason these 3 is logistics and cost involved and what dive site offers. Other specialities can be picked, but due to time and equipment required, may be additional costs. Here we require student to complete PADI online advance for academics. Many charters now request advance certification for some dives perhaps to weed out inexperienced divers and try to limit liability.

Great! You’ve all been really helpful!

 

[AdivingBel]

Yeah, from a nuts & bolts perspective, that's about it. Some dive ops use it as documented proof you've been deep at least once (and also into it enough to get the extra cert) to avoid "drama" on the water. Some also use it to "sort" divers if they run multiple boats or groups so they can tailor dives to "like divers." It's not perfect, but I can understand why they do it especially in warm water, rec situations where you get a wide variety of divers. If you're planning on doing much dive travel and want to hit the best sites, dive with more experienced divers with the least amount of hassle (big in my book ), it's worth it. Plus if you find the right situation, the cost of the cert isn't much more than the cost of the dives.

That said, IMHO, it is what you make of it. In my experience, it was 5 dives with an instructor after I had been diving long enough for things to start to "slow down" (around 50 dives or so). I happened onto a "buoyancy/propulsion" guru who listened to what I wanted to improve upon and tailored all the various specialty dives to my requests. It was a pretty "transformative" experience for me and improved my enjoyment of the sport. Given your dive count, you might not have the same experience and have already come upon the lessons I learned from other sources. Who knows? Anyway, that's my take. All IMHO, YMMV. Good luck.