PADI or RAID for advanced

[Pressurehead]

A few years since you dived you say? I think the RAID Explorer 30 course would be a lot of fun and be able to learn at the same time.
Spend the $150 on a double boat dive after the course, or do the EANitrox course, if you do not have it for the boat dives.

 

[CapnBloodbeard]

A few years since you dived you say? I think the RAID Explorer 30 course would be a lot of fun and be able to learn at the same time.
Spend the $150 on a double boat dive after the course, or do the EANitrox course, if you do not have it for the boat dives.

Only 1 year since I've dived, I got my OW a few years ago

RAID Explorer looks pretty much identical to the PADI AOW as far as I can tell

 

[RainPilot]

Explorer is a bit of a legacy course, for a couple of obscure reasons. Advanced 35 is by far the better course to do if possible, more theory, more dives, more skills, more everything.

Nitrox course CAN be done completely online through RAID now, so it isn't a big deal to do the theory before the Adv35 then finish it during the Adv35 dives. I don't usually charge students for that if they are doing the concurrent course with me anyway, since there isn't really any additional time requirement (have to supervise their gas analysis anyway so show-then-see doesn't make a big difference.

If OP is going to be doing expensive / remote dive trips then a nitrox cert to maximise dive times / safety on multiple dive days etc is not a bad idea.

 

[ginti]

Yeah, I remember kneeling on the bottom to do my OW....first i was underweighted so I couldn't stay on the bottom, then he overweighted me to keep me on the bottom but didn't help me with working out my weights moving forwards, so I'm sure I'm still weighted incorrectly despite a bit of trial and error!

Personally, I do not like this approach (well, actually nobody likes it here on ScubaBoard). It's the best way to produce divers who are unable to control their buoyancy - for me, it's a massive red flag. If I were you, I wouldn't do the AOW with the same instructor - I would actually run away.

EIDT: a general rule with mainstream agencies is to look at the instructor, not at the agency. Things can get a bit more complicated for tech training, but the instructor is always the first thing to look at.

 

[napDiver]

Per your prudence in the forums. I'd go with RAID. I'd also ask if you can do the buoyancy day first and come back a month or two later to do the rest of the course...

If you have been out of the water for that long, I think it would make a huge difference if you got in 1 or two dives. Then took the buoyancy. Then did 4+ dives before the rest of the course. Your comfort, enjoyment, and ability to complete the class will be much better.

Also note 1 dive a week can work. But 2-4 dives in a weekend will greatly speed up your comfort and skills.

I took PADI OW then dove 4 times once a week before taking AOW. The difference through each dive was huge. However, I still felt like I was a ****** diver that couldn't control my buoyancy well. Ended up going to thailand and diving for 3 months straight. At the beginning of the trip, I paid a well regarded tech instructor to do 1v1 to deal with my buoyancy concerns. I believe it was only the pool for a full day or two. He gave my my RAID performance card just because. But it probably speed up my diving development by 3-6 months. Only from that experience is why I'm recommending the RAID path, but make sure your instructor is highly regarded.

 

[Pressurehead]

OK, do the The RAID Advanced 35 course, Looks like this is what you want.
Have you 'sussed out' the instructor for this course? I does not matter if it's PADI, RAID or WGAF diving etc. Ad nauseam, it's the instructor.
Sounds like you "have you head screwed on", do your research.
Edit: It was said 2 posts ago, good advice.

 

[Bowers]

My first few courses were with PADI and different instructors. I don’t want to sound negative toward any agencies and know there are good and bad instructors no matter where you go, but my experience was that I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I was a rescue diver that couldn’t do skills without kneeling on the bottom and was told that i was excelling... since then ive taken courses with 6 other organizations. I like several organizations and currently teach through 3 of them. I have found RAID to be an excellent agency and do most of my teaching through them now.

 

[irycio]

Truth be told, I had quite an excellent PADI AOWD without a single kneel on the platform. Given the other experiences however it seems to be more of an exception though, and I'm actually quite keen on doing Deco 40 with RAID as the instructors I have met teaching for RAID were all bang on.

 

[ginti]

Truth be told, I had quite an excellent PADI AOWD without a single kneel on the platform. Given the other experiences, however it seems to be more of an exception though, and I'm actually quite keen on doing Deco 40 with RAID as the instructors I have met teaching for RAID were all bang on.

A close friend of mine is a PADI instructor and forbids kneeling during his courses too; other amazing instructors seem to populate SB. These examples are not exceptions; instead, they confirm that the instructor is critical.

True, you have those agencies that enforce high standards and rigorous quality control. Even there, you need to be sure that the instructor fits your personality. Also, the OP does not seem to be interested in these agencies.

It's a matter of the instructor, always.

 

[ginti]

I'm actually quite keen on doing Deco 40 with RAID

A bit OT... given your background and the people around you, I would be more keen on doing T1