PADI dry suit orientation

[Nomadicfrog]

I've completed my open water theory pool dives and exams. Unfortunately, worked called and couldn't complete the 4 dives.

The school I was with at the time wanted us to dive drysuit so they had us follow an in pool dry suit orientation so we could dive with them for the open water dives.

I've approached a different school in a different city today to complete my open water cert. I would prefer to dive with a dry suit since it's cold here.

The instructor at the shop told me I'd be required to follow dry suit training again since I do not have the book and exam completed for the dry suit part of the orientation. The paper my school gave me says I've completed the orientation. I don't understand. Is he trying to screw me over?

 

[divezonescuba]

Hello Frog,

Your new instructor may have been referring to the need to read the dry suit manual, watch the video and do the knowledge review in order to "integrate the knowledge development" per the instructors manual.

Your previous shop should have done that. If they just put you in a dry suit in the pool, you did not get a proper "dry suit orientation" and should not have signed off on it. You usually have to pay more for that option.

If you want the actual dry suit certification as well, you will also need to do an extra dive after your fourth open water training dive. That also usually costs more.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Hey there.

From my experience, diving is somewhat more challenging that diving wet, in that there is more going on.

You don't say how long ago it was since you carried out the pool dives.

In my opinion you would find is useful to carry out the DS practice again before starting out on the OW cert dives, it will only help.

Dry suit certification requires 2 OW dives, I don't know if the skills can be included within the OW dives, or whether you need 2 further dives.

Good luck with your cert

 

[divezonescuba]

If you do the entire course in a dry suit with the orientation then you get credit for one of the required dives for the dry suit certification because you are doing most of the skills for the dry suit certification while you are doing the ow cert.

However, the instructor should also add dry suit specific skills like responding to a malfunctioning dry suit inflator valve in confined water.

You just have to do one more dive with skills to fulfill the requirements for the dry suit certification. Some students who do the ow course in a dry suit think that they are automatically qualified which is incorrect.

 

[tbone1004]

i'm going to go out on a limb here and ask why you need said certification? If you need it to rent a drysuit, then that's one thing, but if you already own one, or are planning on buying one, there is no requirement for the cert... If you've done the pool session, then the OW portion isn't going to be any more difficult, so just go dive the thing. Take it easy and get used to it, but drysuits aren't rocket science and I can't honestly think of any of my dive buddies that actually have a cert for it...

to each his own, but if you've already paid for it at the original shop, they should finish it for you, and if you haven't, then you already have the important knowledge on how to dive one anyway, so just do it

 

[Sevenrider860]

Two ways to look at this. If you own your own dry suit and are already certified, then tbone is dead on. There are no dry suit police. I can imagine that a shop would like to see the specialty certification if you rent and DUI asked to see the certification on DUI DemoTours before you could try different suits. I have never seen anybody ask to see a dry suit certification card when somebody has their own drysuit to dive in.

I am assuming your confined water was completed with PADI and the new instructor is also PADI...if not, then none of this may apply. You also did not indicate how much time has passed since your confined water training.

Since you are not yet certified and did not perform your confined water skills with this instructor, I do see where the new instructor is coming from. On Open Water referrals the instructor has a requirement to "assess the diver’s skills and comfort level in water and generally assess dive knowledge." If it was me, I would definitely include an assessment of your drysuit skills and knowledge if you want to use a dry suit on your OW dives. I would also suggest you complete the drysuit specialty course since it is only one additional dive that can occur immediately following Dive 4 of your OW certification.

This instructor may require you to have the PADI Dry Suit Diver Manual. If this instructor requires the manual for the course, then I don't really fault him on that. I would require the same if a student asked me to link Dry Suit with their OW certification.

 

[tbone1004]

oh bollocks, @Sevenrider860 is right, I didn't see that you weren't already OW certified. My bad....

I would just go back to the original school and get them to complete it for you, much more simple. I'm not a PADI instructor, so I don't know their requirements. If you came to me and they said you had completed the drysuit orientation, we'd have one pool day which would be required regardless of if you were wet and dry to prove proficiency in your gear, then we'd go to OW, but my agency allows a lot more flexibility than PADI does

 

[tkdgodess]

Some shops take you in the pool for drysuit orientation, and they can sign the pool session off on the folder. You then get to do your ow dives in a drysuit, but just the 4 ow cert dives, and not be drysuit certified, or they let you try 1 ow dive in a drysuit. You need do do a 5th drysuit dive during your ow course, plus the manual and knowledge review. There is a seperate training log sheet that the instructor and student needs to sign. (Plus the con ed document)

I frequently run into new students who were trained at another shop, with all or 1 ow dive in a drysuit but they are confused as to why they are not drysuit certified. (Did not do 5th dive, kr''s or con-ed document) Its a bit sneaky imo.

Edited to add... Shops will want ds cert for rentals. If you are buying a new ds you can probably get a freebee drysuit cert if you ask. And everyone is right, you dont need a cert to buy a ds...online or used, i imagine most retail shops want to see a cert.

 

[tkdgodess]

As a referral i would want you to do a pool session again with me. I dont know you or how well the other instructor has trained you. The new instructor has the riskier part of certifying you in the ocean and its important to know you.

 

[Nomadicfrog]

Thank you everyone for the answers. I do own a dry suit and have dove around 10 dives with it. I must admit that I wasn't certified at all during those dives. I'd rather not do the dry suit cery at all but I guess if I might not have much of a choice to do it.