PADI Self Reliant vs SDI Solo

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have had mostly the same experience over the years as you. But, the game has changed. There are now two RECREATIONAL SCUBA SOLO certifications from widely recognized certification agencies. There are now operations who will not allow solo generally, never did, but do now if you have the card. They tend to be few and far between because people are largely ignorant of the new certifications from PADI and SDI and/or simply have not adjusted their policy because of the long standing hysterical bias against solo recreational SCUBA diving.

N

I've been out with several dive ops who allow solo, and have never been asked for a solo card. Some of them have been in some pretty remote or challenging locations, ranging from northern British Columbia down to the Channel Islands in California. Maybe it's a west coast mindset, but out here they seem to be more the rule than the exception ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Wookie]

I've been out with several dive ops who allow solo, and have never been asked for a solo card. Some of them have been in some pretty remote or challenging locations, ranging from northern British Columbia down to the Channel Islands in California. Maybe it's a west coast mindset, but out here they seem to be more the rule than the exception ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

We ask for the card, most East Coast ops do. We have a very different approach to liability than the West coast boats do. Just ask my insurer....

 

[olphart]

It is 600 feet, , not 600 yards. I am sure that Jim just made a typo . Personally I think they should step that up a notch.

Here are the standards:

https://www.tdisdi.com/sdi/get-certified/Solo-Diver-Course/

N

Yup, I figured that, just pulling his chain a bit. As old and out of shape as I am, I'd agree with either a longer distance or put a time evaluation on the swim. You don't want to spend all afternoon waiting for the candidate to putz along doing it and it should include a little stress.

 

[drrich2]

Wookie:

We ask for the card, most East Coast ops do. We have a very different approach to liability than the West coast boats do. Just ask my insurer....

Glad you mentioned that; any idea what the reason(s) is(are)? I've wondered about that. From what I hear, out of California dive boats tend to be water taxis to & from the dive site that may offer tanks & weights, whereas the west coat varies. Same country; I don't understand the difference.

I do get that some dive op.s will cater to people who want more services (e.g.: Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo putting free guides in the water), but then again, not all the op.s in an area will do that (just as not all Key Largo op.s offer free guides).

Richard.

 

[uncfnp]

I'd agree with either a longer distance or put a time evaluation on the swim. You don't want to spend all afternoon waiting for the candidate to putz along doing it and it should include a little stress.

To what end? I get the rationale for the swim. I did it but it was difficult and at the time I was still in ok shape though still older and "physically challenged." In my defense I will say that it was against the incoming tide.

I can sort of see a time limit and I had thought about that myself. But is that really a valid IRL scenario? It would seem that if it was every required, then relaxing, staying within my physical limits and pacing the swim would be a better choice.

 

[Wookie]

Wookie:



Glad you mentioned that; any idea what the reason(s) is(are)? I've wondered about that. From what I hear, out of California dive boats tend to be water taxis to & from the dive site that may offer tanks & weights, whereas the west coat varies. Same country; I don't understand the difference.

I do get that some dive op.s will cater to people who want more services (e.g.: Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo putting free guides in the water), but then again, not all the op.s in an area will do that (just as not all Key Largo op.s offer free guides).

Richard.

A guess would be that diving was basically brought to the USA (let's just say it for the sake of argument) in California. Diving was taught by military divers there, who learned to be self sufficient, and the culture was to go out, be tough, kill some dinner, and come home again. I think that whole attitude (you can't tell me what to do) is a very west coast thing, and good on them.

The east coast, but comparison, is a little more settled, we're more likely to follow others, and we're mired in government telling us what to do, so when the insurance company tells me (which they did, in a letter, in no uncertain terms when I had a crew get badly bent solo on a fun dive) that if anyone was diving solo not in service to the boat, than they must have a solo card and be equipped for solo diving.

That's my best guess, anyway.

 

[tursiops]

Frank, is the PADI Self-Reliant card accepted also? Or just the SDI Solo card?

 

[halocline]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but 200 yds swimming in full scuba gear, which includes fins, a snorkel if wanted, and a BC to keep you afloat, should be extremely easy. Personally I would think it should be much more demanding than that. How 'self reliant' can you be in the water if you can't swim a reasonable distance with the advantages of mask/fins/snorkel? I'm sure that won't be a very popular opinion!

I guess 'reasonable distance' is the tricky part, but to me it seems 4 lengths of a pool total is very minimal. I agree that the pace doesn't matter, and the extra drag and mass of scuba gear would make fast swimming quite a bit more strenuous.

 

[tursiops]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but 200 yds swimming in full scuba gear, which includes fins, a snorkel if wanted, and a BC to keep you afloat, should be extremely easy. Personally I would think it should be much more demanding than that. How 'self reliant' can you be in the water if you can't swim a reasonable distance with the advantages of mask/fins/snorkel? I'm sure that won't be a very popular opinion!

I guess 'reasonable distance' is the tricky part, but to me it seems 4 lengths of a pool total is very minimal. I agree that the pace doesn't matter, and the extra drag and mass of scuba gear would make fast swimming quite a bit more strenuous.

Remember that you are carrying a pony bottle, too.

 

[RJP]

I would like to see any data on the acceptance rate of SDI Solo vs. PADI Self Reliant for operators allowing solo diving. I would imagine the acceptance rate is similar and approaching 100%. I chose SDI because it was explicitly clear that it was certification for solo diving. I am running 100% acceptance to date.

The numbers you'd find - even if they were available - would be so incredibly thin that calling them "data" would really be pushing it. You'd be collecting anecdotes more so than data.

Consider How many millions of divers there are in the world. What percent of them have either SDI Solo or PADI Self-Reliant certification? A fraction of one percent? What portion of those people actually dive solo on that card at a dive operation that allows solo diving with a solo cert? There wouldn't be a large enough sample of card acceptance/rejection to draw any meaningful conclusion one way or the other. You'd be trying to detect spit in the ocean

I was speaking with the dive operations manager of a popular resort in Bonaire about solo certs last December when I was down there. He claimed that they have someone with a cert ask about solo diving once or twice a year... if that.

Solo diving might be a big discussion point here on SB... but it's a tempest in a teapot in the larger real-world of scuba diving.