PADI Scuba Diver v. Open Water Diver

[Degrassi]

In a few days I'm leaving for an 8 day quickie trip to Thailand. I've done a couple of "intro dives" before, and am keen to get certified. However, with my extremely limited time in Thailand, I'm wondering if it's beneficial to do PADI "discover scuba" course, or if I should just go ahead and get my OW certification? Is the "discover scuba" a waste of time? What would I have to do the next time I dive in order to get my full OW certification?

I'm really looking forward to diving, but I'm also looking forward to seeing a bit of Thailand.

And, for that matter, is PADI even the way to go in terms of teaching me to dive?

 

[guggie]

If it's the choice between doing a Discover course and not diving at all, then clearly do the course. PADI offers the discover course, the scubadiver course, and then the OW course. There is more classroom time, pool time, and two more dives required after the scubadiver course to get the OW certification. I'm not sure what can be applied from the discover toward the scubadiver course.

 

[fisherdvm]

PADI is readily available, and so is SSI. Either will do, if it is the only option you have in a crash course before your trip. I think many here would say NAUI is better, but hard to find in all geographic area. GUE is suppose to come up with an OW course, but I haven't heard when or where - which is likely very rigorous.

 

[Mantasscareme]

It's probably too late now, but have you considered doing a referral? You can do your book work and pool work in your home town and the check-out dives at your destination.

 

[Hinalo]

To get the PADI Scuba Diver card - which limites you to diving with an instructor at a max of 40' - you have to complete Chapters 1-3 Knowledge Reviews from the PADI open water diver manual, do three pool dives and two open water dives. You can do this in two days, if you've previously done the home study. You still won't be able to get tanks filled.

If you know you want to continue diving and go on to your OW cert then this is a good option. However, back home not all training centers will let you pick up where you left off, needing to complete only Chapters 4 & 5 knowledge reviews, do another pool dive and the last two OW dives.

I actually did mine this way and was told by one training center that to complete my OW I would have to begin with them from the start and do the whole thing over.

I was able to find another training center that was more flexible and let me join a class for the material in Chapters 4 & 5 and do the last few dives, basically skipping the first day of classroom and OW dives.

It ended up costing more overall, but a benefit was that some skills and material got covered twice so I got more practice, and the training was spread out over a number of weeks, so I had time to absorb and practice things like dive planning, etc.

Alternately, you could do the Discov er Scuba, which doesn't count toward PADI OW at all, and at least know that the brief underwater experience will probably help you feel more comfortable in the water when you get around to doing your OW back home.

 

[mattbinvt]

A PADI Scuba Diver can only dive with a Divemaster or above. Max Depth 40 feet, and is chapter 1-3 and a pool session and open water dive. Open water is all chapters, max depth of 60 feet, and you can plan your own dives and dive with someone certified as open water or above, As a PADI Scuba Diver some local dive shops will not sell you equipment or fill air for you.
Do the open water!!!!

 

[Mako Mark]

If you split the OW course up into three separate one day courses, ot would go

Discover scuba,
Scuba diver
Open water.

How much training do you want? one day, two days or three days?

 

[rawls]

A PADI Scuba Diver can only dive with a Divemaster or above. Max Depth 40 feet

which limites you to diving with an instructor at a max of 40'

The 40 foot maximum depth is not a PADI Standard. It is "recommended" that guided dives do not exceed this depth, but it is not a standard requirement for the Scuba Diver certification. Junior O/W divers do have the 40 foot max as a PADI Standard requirement.

 

[scubasaint]

Avoid the "scuba diver" certification at all costs as it is a complete waste of money. My wife and I were vacationing in the Caribbean and she wanted to try out diving so she did a discover Scuba course. She enjoyed it and then took the scuba diver course while there. While she is technically certified to a certain extent, I found that the training she received was completely inadequate and a waste of time. I fwelt very uncomfortable with her even diving based on the lack of training she actually had gone through.

As soon as we got back home, I signed her up for a open water course which we paid just about the full amount for. The dive shop gave us a small discount since she already had the book. In the end, we wasted about $300 which was the cost of the scuba diver course.

If you are looking to just try out diving to see if you like it, I think the discover is a good way to go. After that if you enjoy it and want to continue diving, skip the scuba diver course and go straight to the open water course.

 

[DeputyDan]

Avoid the "scuba diver" certification at all costs as it is a complete waste of money. My wife and I were vacationing in the Caribbean and she wanted to try out diving so she did a discover Scuba course. She enjoyed it and then took the scuba diver course while there. While she is technically certified to a certain extent, I found that the training she received was completely inadequate and a waste of time. I fwelt very uncomfortable with her even diving based on the lack of training she actually had gone through.

As soon as we got back home, I signed her up for a open water course which we paid just about the full amount for. The dive shop gave us a small discount since she already had the book. In the end, we wasted about $300 which was the cost of the scuba diver course.

If you are looking to just try out diving to see if you like it, I think the discover is a good way to go. After that if you enjoy it and want to continue diving, skip the scuba diver course and go straight to the open water course.

Yep - If you are going to dive. Do it correctly. Don't die/get bent/screw up due to skipped training