Tech through PADI or TDI?

[Brilig]

If we could circle back to the alphabet soup for just a moment...
I am getting back into diving after many years away. The shop where I did all my original certs was PADI. The same shop is now SSI and I have not heard them mentioned in the discussion. I also have another local shop I could go to that is SDI /TDI /ERDI. I'm thinking of doing some tech training in the future. Any opinions on SSI out there?

 

[stuartv]

Getting back to the thread topic....

It seems as though TDI is more flexible than PADI. And, whether that proves to be good or bad is down to the instructor.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

C'est le ton qui fait la musique.......

"
"Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!" ?!?!?!?

Spoiler alert: from Monty Python's Holy Grail

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

If we could circle back to the alphabet soup for just a moment...
I am getting back into diving after many years away. The shop where I did all my original certs was PADI. The same shop is now SSI and I have not heard them mentioned in the discussion. I also have another local shop I could go to that is SDI /TDI /ERDI. I'm thinking of doing some tech training in the future. Any opinions on SSI out there?

I'm an SSI instructor. I haven't delved into their eXtended Range courses yet. I like the concept of the Extended Range Foundation course, but it is conducted only in a pool. I hope to request a modification to also have open water dives, so that I can teach a DIR foundations type course.

 

[JBFG]

I ran out of popcorn

 

[JBFG]

I tink both systems have their merits.
TDI seems to be quicker in the long run (less courses) but PADI serials would allow you more flexibility in training.

Let say your schedule is not one that will allow you to do the whole thing. At least with tec 40 and 45 you could do some deco diving.

Really a matter of what your personal situation is.
A good course is a good course, same as bad one is a bad one. It’s not agency depending.

 

[Brilig]

Not sure PADI would be an option for me. My old shop is now SSI but they say they have instructors certified by multiple agencies including PADI. Does this mean I could have any instructor at my old shop certified by PADI teach me and give me a PADI cert or because they are an SSI shop thats all you get from them. Not sure how this works. If you only get what the shop is affiliated with then my options would be SSI or another local shop that is TDI. Thats if I want to stay local. I should investigate more. I'm in the Boston area and their are probably other local options I have not found.

 

[boulderjohn]

Not sure PADI would be an option for me. My old shop is now SSI but they say they have instructors certified by multiple agencies including PADI. Does this mean I could have any instructor at my old shop certified by PADI teach me and give me a PADI cert or because they are an SSI shop thats all you get from them. Not sure how this works. If you only get what the shop is affiliated with then my options would be SSI or another local shop that is TDI. Thats if I want to stay local. I should investigate more. I'm in the Boston area and their are probably other local options I have not found.

If a shop has multiple instructors with certifications with multiple agencies, they can certify you through any of those multiple agencies. There are some cases in which a shop can only teach through a specific affiliated agency, but if the shop tells you they can teach through multiple agencies, then they can.

This thread comparing TDI to PADI is about technical diving, not basic recreational diving. Technical diving is advanced certification. TDI does not do basic recreational training--they do that through SDI.

 

[sigxbill]

I'm an SSI instructor. I haven't delved into their eXtended Range courses yet. I hope to request a modification ... so that I can teach a DIR foundations type course.

If you want to teach a DIR foundations type course, then why don't you just join a DIR agency and do it?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

If you want to teach a DIR foundations type course, then why don't you just join a DIR agency and do it?

There are some fundamental philosophies of each agency to which I do not agree (and I do not want to get into that here as that is way OT). If I can't get with the program, I shouldn't sign up. Hopefully that makes sense.