Skip SDI Advanced Adventure (AOW) and go straight to specialties

[NAM001]

Im not sure I would skip the AOW course. If you want to move on to any tech courses many require and AOW or equivilant. The card is s stepping stone for follow on training. Nitrox is another stepping stone card.

 

[stuartv]

Yes, that is the point of the post. The SDI Advanced Adventure Diver card is designed to mirror PADI's AOW, but it is not the SDI AOW card..

There is no such thing as SDI AOW.

There is SDI Advanced Adventure Diver, and there is SDI Advanced Scuba Diver.

I could be wrong, but I believe that a diver with an SDI AAD card would be accepted by a boat just the same as a PADI AOW - which directly conflicts with what you said before.

 

[Marie13]

Im not sure I would skip the AOW course. If you want to move on to any tech courses many require and AOW or equivilant. The card is s stepping stone for follow on training. Nitrox is another stepping stone card.

AOW sampler of only 5 dives vs an advanced rating of 4 full specialties? I don't know how this is even a question that needs to be asked. The latter is the obvious choice.

 

[stuartv]

Im not sure I would skip the AOW course. If you want to move on to any tech courses many require and AOW or equivilant. The card is s stepping stone for follow on training. Nitrox is another stepping stone card.

I don't have an AOW card and I'm well into TDI tech training. The OP is talking about doing numerous full specialty courses. That will cover the "or equivalent" part just fine.

 

[CptTightPants21]

I never said they wouldn't be accepted, even you stated how you have only ever had to show your OW card

Didn't you start like a 10 page thread about this topic a year ago?

Advanced Open Water Diver - Wikipedia

 

[stuartv]

I never said they wouldn't be accepted

Oh?

The SSI/SDI adventure card, even though it is the same format as a PADI/NAUI AOW card, would not satisfy a boats requirement that a diver have an AOW card.

 

[CptTightPants21]

Oh?

Clarification. If they wanted to actually enforce their advanced open water card policy, the SDI/SSI Adventure card would not satisfy. The Adventure card would still suffice for a general certification card.

 

[AdivingBel]

I have seen instances with vacation travel (i.e. the dive op doesn't know you) that without an AOW you will be required to hire a guide for advanced sites. I have never seen the SDI Advanced Adventurer cert (which clearly mirrors the PADI AOW; that's what SDI shows on its own comparison chart) turned down by a dive op. You seem to be saying it would be. If so, then IMHO, SDI has a promotion problem. If I held that cert, I would be pissed. They clearly intended the cert to fill that role. I see no problem with additional training tracks and if SDI wants to tout their Advanced Diver as something more... then good for them I can see why they would, but given they created both certs it starts to sound like dive shop mumbo jumbo.

 

[Remy B.]

Disagree.

TDI nitrox is not "more complete". Basic nitrox course is very instructor/shop dependent. Some will really focus on mastery of principle, others will just go formulas, math, safety guidelines, done.

Solo diver is not the course where you learn to shoot a lift bag correctly. Intro to tech is the course that touches on and introduces higher level techniques. Solo diver may introduce a new technique or have the diver start to think about something differently, but it is not the course where they LEARN how to dive.

TDI is the most complete course of Nitrox, you clearly don't know what are you talking about, that is if you want to learn all the aspects of Nitrox, you Take the Online course and you will learn all there is to learn about Nitrox to 40%, you don't need to go the Tec Dive way to take this course, the OP already said he don't want to go that route.

You want to go the easier way then I guess go the CptTP way.

Solo diver brings a ton more than Intro to Tec for the OP, just read the course curriculum in the web site, deploying a SMB is deploying a SMB in Tec or in Rec.

 

[NAM001]

I don't have an AOW card and I'm well into TDI tech training. The OP is talking about doing numerous full specialty courses. That will cover the "or equivalent" part just fine.

I understand. My point was that if you the full courses then you qual for the aow and then master when you add first aid ecvt to the list,. The sdi tdi relationship may have its benefits when it comes to this. When i took my trimix course the req's were AOW and nitrox, The course covered the adv nitrox portion.