DIR- GUE SDI/PADI AOW worth it?

[Rich1280]

If you have a look on the GUE website there's 3 Rec2 classes and 2 AOWs scheduled. Not in Florida, but they are out there. If your interest is the GUE community, then PD/Fundies is probably the way to go, and then look at GUE AOW/R2 as you see fit later. GUE AOW looks like a combo AOW and rescue though compared to most other agencies, which is a value in itself.
Rich

 

[steinbil]

I did my Nitrox with PADI about a year after my OW.

I haven’t quite decided yet but right now I’m leaning towards getting the SDI AOW since it’s basically free. I’m still open to doing the GUE AOW later down the road.

Has anyone here taken another agencies AOW and GUE’s Rec 2/AOW? I would be interested in hearing about the experience and what they think about the quality of training.

Taking AOW with SDI or PADI won't make you a worse diver, but it might not make you much better either. I took AOW after fundies, and it was basically just doing a few dives with an instructor. It was nice to have an instructor present the first time I went to 30m/100ft, and the dives were a nice experience, but not tremendously helpful in terms of improving my skills.

I haven't taken REC2 personally, but from talking to divers that have, and instructors teaching the class combined with my experience of GUE classes I expect this class to be much better in terms of teaching you to be a better diver, with all the elements of teamwork, task loading, awareness,buoyancy, trim and fin techniques - on top of the navigation and rescue skills.

So, if you want to take AOW for fun, or to expand your depth limit with an instructor, go ahead. It won't hurt. But definitely try GUE performance diver, and if you like it, consider the REC2 class anyway.

Edit:
REC2 is the only class I regret not taking. The gap from Fundies rec pass to Tech1 and Cave1 is substantial, and while I did manage to get there, it required a lot of training dives and good training partners/mentors. I'm sure it would have been a smoother progression that could have filled some of the gaps I felt I had, if I could have taken REC2 at some point.

 

[wateraddiction]

My husband just completed Fundamentals and PADI AOW in Bonaire. His preference was PD followed by GUE AOW but understandably, that progression didn't work for them since they had never seen him dive (plus he had only 30-ish dives since being certified last year) and they discourage stacking courses. So they had him take Fundamentals for the training/best practices that he wanted (and he even passed) and then he did PADI AOW to be in compliance with DAN (we dive in Cozumel). But I found him an exceptional PADI instructor for a private AOW course and he said getting to work with both Douwe at Area 9 and Hens/Xpro (highly skilled and non-GUE ) was an amazing learning experience.

Unless someone is lucky enough where the timing of GUE AOW falls into place after PD or Fundamentals, it seems that many divers end up taking AOW with another agency for pragmatic reasons (nitrox, insurance, etc). One thing I'm also seeing is that there are DMs that work for other agencies but who are GUE certified so finding those instructors to teach your PADI/SSI AOW course could lead to a better experience.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

My husband just completed Fundamentals and PADI AOW in Bonaire. His preference was PD followed by GUE AOW but understandably, that progression didn't work for them since they had never seen him dive (plus he had only 30-ish dives since being certified last year) and they discourage stacking courses. So they had him take Fundamentals for the training/best practices that he wanted (and he even passed) and then he did PADI AOW to be in compliance with DAN (we dive in Cozumel). But I found him an exceptional PADI instructor for a private AOW course and he said getting to work with both Douwe at Area 9 and Hens/Xpro (highly skilled and non-GUE ) was an amazing learning experience.

Unless someone is lucky enough where the timing of GUE AOW falls into place after PD or Fundamentals, it seems that many divers end up taking AOW with another agency for pragmatic reasons (nitrox, insurance, etc). One thing I'm also seeing is that there are DMs that work for other agencies but who are GUE certified so finding those instructors to teach your PADI/SSI AOW course could lead to a better experience.

Glad it all worked out and congratulations to him on passing GUE Fundamentals.

 

[wateraddiction]

Glad it all worked out and congratulations to him on passing GUE Fundamentals.

Thanks for your helpful input, he thought Douwe was a really great instructor. It took him hours of practice in the pool after every session to Pass. When i asked him if he had fun, he just laughed