H2Andy
Contributor
well... when i first saw this thread, i thought it said "Padi or Sex" and i was like...
duh...
duh...
padi or ssi?
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TKOS
Registered
I agree with looking for the best instructor. A good instruct, IME, will go above and beyond the minimum and make sure that you are ready once you get that little card to dive safely within your limits. I had the choice of PADI versus ACUC and the PADI guy had me spending close to a thousand dollars before I even took a course. So I went with the ACUC guy in the little shop who talked to me for an hour without even trying to sell me anything and made sure that before I even thought about diving I had to take his little medical form to my doctor. I have not regretted choosing ACUC.
I agree, it's not the agency or the store, but the person representing these institutions that can determine the comfort and compentency of a good/bad diver.
terri
Guest
Hello. I am SSI AOW cert. with a list of specialties. Open water work towards Dive Master to be done in two weeks in the Netherland Antilies through an SSI instructor. I crave the knowledge, love the sport and will, soon, become an SSI instructor myself.
But I know, I can recite Boyle's Law and the physics of diving until my face turns blue, my performance in the water is the telling, as is for all. The reason I chose SSI is for their demand of performance in open water. I have seen newly certifieds who aced the academics & pool work 'trip' when they hit the open blue. Scary.
A large part of my education comes from other divers, whatever their denomination. So, my advice? Do the book work, be comfortable in the water and LISTEN to these guys.
I enjoy reading your posts, and 'learning' from them.
But I know, I can recite Boyle's Law and the physics of diving until my face turns blue, my performance in the water is the telling, as is for all. The reason I chose SSI is for their demand of performance in open water. I have seen newly certifieds who aced the academics & pool work 'trip' when they hit the open blue. Scary.
A large part of my education comes from other divers, whatever their denomination. So, my advice? Do the book work, be comfortable in the water and LISTEN to these guys.
I enjoy reading your posts, and 'learning' from them.
Capnsnott
Contributor
I have to agree with the guys that say it's the instructor that is important.
I got my OW in 86 from SSI, It was a learners permit! It really gave me the basics but not enough repetition to know really what was going on. I just finished my AOW from PADI. It showed me that I'm just making the grade. My bouyency is pretty much nailed down now, but I see just how much room for improvement there still is.
I think having an instructor that WILL take the time to make sure you have the basic concepts down and enough repetitions in the water to remember them the next "real" dive, is the key. If the dive shop is into turning out people, you will pick up on it if you spend some time talking to them. See how many classes they do a month, how many cert dives they do. See if they want to talk to you without pushing you into the class.
I have made a decision to only use instructors that do diving on their own, not just when they certify people. They are the ones that do it because they love the sport and want to make sure you get the best skills you can while they are with you.
For example, when I was doing the AOW, the instructor actually had his OW class do five dives. Three the first day and two the next. From my understanding, very few instructors do that. My last piece of advise is to talk to the instructor one on one. If they work for the shop but aren't actually there, get their number and call them.
That's my .02. I have been doing a lot of reading on this board and research on my own. I'm even changing shops because of it.
Greg
I got my OW in 86 from SSI, It was a learners permit! It really gave me the basics but not enough repetition to know really what was going on. I just finished my AOW from PADI. It showed me that I'm just making the grade. My bouyency is pretty much nailed down now, but I see just how much room for improvement there still is.
I think having an instructor that WILL take the time to make sure you have the basic concepts down and enough repetitions in the water to remember them the next "real" dive, is the key. If the dive shop is into turning out people, you will pick up on it if you spend some time talking to them. See how many classes they do a month, how many cert dives they do. See if they want to talk to you without pushing you into the class.
I have made a decision to only use instructors that do diving on their own, not just when they certify people. They are the ones that do it because they love the sport and want to make sure you get the best skills you can while they are with you.
For example, when I was doing the AOW, the instructor actually had his OW class do five dives. Three the first day and two the next. From my understanding, very few instructors do that. My last piece of advise is to talk to the instructor one on one. If they work for the shop but aren't actually there, get their number and call them.
That's my .02. I have been doing a lot of reading on this board and research on my own. I'm even changing shops because of it.
Greg
Scubamedicjoe
Contributor
I totally hate this BS the agency has nothing to do with it , your instructor has everything to do with your training a good instructor is like Gold, If you have a good instuctor by all means use them, if not move on to another place . best advice anyone can give you .
IndigoBlue:
Nonsense!
I was going to say more, but I am too polite to do so, and this is a moderated board.
pt40fathoms:
I am SSI trained and I have to agree with you. I don't care if the cert says Crackerjack Box School of Diving (I made that up by the way, for someone who may try to take me literally), if the person has been well trained. That has more to do with the instructor than the agency. I have seen a PADI instructor who who REFUSED TO CERTIFY an OW student because they thought that the student was unsafe and the store the store backed them.
I have heard of a guy who was given an SSI OW certification (by a different store than the one that I work for, Thank God) with so many standard violations so as not to make it a useful class at all.
My own SSI AOW class never involved any deep diving. This is within standards and I basically wound up taking a rescue class due to the gear and medical issues that came up that weekend (most of them NOT the instructor's fault). This is within standards because I had the requisite number of dives and four DIVING specialties. I also had the common sense to not try to use that card as a "ticket" to get to deep dive spots until I took my Advanced Nitrox course through another agency later.
I still feel that it is the instructor not the agency! Poor divers and buddies can come out of any agency. Many excellent divers come out of all training agencies as well.
It dose not matter what card you get- Unless you are collecting cards- GO with the instructor you like the best! Go with the program that has the most dives- or with the most practice sessions- or has the gear you like the best- Its not about the certification agency that prints the card--Its about the instructors knowlege level and how much of that knowlege he or she wants to give you. Who cares what kind of card it is - Boyles Law is Boyles Law - no matter how the agency tries to spin it it will always be the same.
The best advice is go with the person training you not the faceless corperation printing out the plastic!
The best advice is go with the person training you not the faceless corperation printing out the plastic!
RugbyTex
Registered
I absolutely agree that it has everything to do with what instructor you go with... I originally got my OW with SSI... then proceeded to get Nitrox and AOW with PADI and Rescue with NAUI. SSI definitely has the most conservative dive tables of the three for OW; once you do classes beyond OW, it really makes no difference.
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