The PADI thing...

[00MustangGT]

I'd just like to weigh in with my personal experience. I got my basic certification a long time ago with NAUI and wanted to stick with them. However, for my AOW and nitrox (which I am doing this weekend) PADI was what I chose (not really any NAUI dive centers in this area). I had the same prejudices as many people do about PADI basically being a big machine that just wanted to make money and spit out divers. I'm quite happy with it though. I do think that PADI is very commercial and REALLY wants you to take as many classes as possible (same for the dive shop obviously). Like many have said on here, it's the instructor that matters though. I lucked out and got a really great instructor and it was one on one today and will be with only 2 others tomorrow. Basically what I am trying to say is, don't shy away from PADI. If you get a good instructor it's worth it.

 

[Mako Mark]

Great to hear that you are happy with your instructor mustang.

One thing though, PADI's goal is not to get you to buy as many courses as possible, but rather to enable anyone that shows an interest (and has a acceptable level of health) to dive within the limits of their training. The additional courses are to allow divers to extend those limits beyond that of their basic training as a beginner, just as you are doing now.

Please post further reports as you progress through the classes. Good comments and constructive criticizm are a good thing.

 

[dweeb]

One thing though, PADI's goal is not to get you to buy as many courses as possible, but rather to enable anyone that shows an interest (and has a acceptable level of health) to dive within the limits of their training.

No, it's to make money. At a PADI member Update, the presenter said "We want to get everyone diving", and I asked, "What about the poor?" to which he replied "Everyone that can pay."

The additional courses are to allow divers to extend those limits beyond that of their basic training as a beginner, just as you are doing now.

No, they are to maintain the revenue stream.
PADI didn't want to facilitate allowing divers to use
"voodoo death gas" (their description of nitrox a few years ago) until they saw a potential profit in it.

 

[alemaozinho]

PADI is an Agency for Profit,so are the Instructors,you,ll find very few Instructors,that will teach you for free,the pay is bad enough as it is! It,s not a bad idea to keep learning and take follow up courses,it will boost your confidence as a diver and in theory increases the chances that new divers(like you) will remain with the industry and keep diving.My advise is ,take the AOW and Rescue and post your experience to us then,you,ll have a differend view and opinion then,i,m sure!!!Peace

 

[pipedope]

Let's not get into an agency bash (it is against the rules) but as I see it every agency has both plus and minus points. We do have a relatively free market and the market is speaking. That is consumers are voting with their wallets and LOTS of them vote PADI.

Interesting to note that It doesn't seem that the other agencies are failing, as far as I know they are all expanding.

Even one agency that is very expensive, exclusive and demanding is growing. This shows that there is certainly a portion of the market that wants what they offer and is willing to pay for it.

The choice of instructor is key, the agency is secondary.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

OK - this is the 2nd or 3rd time I've heard you make this claim about "voodoo death gas". Can you provide an actual attribution for that quote from an official PADI source? If it actually came from PADI, I'll concede that it was a stupid thing to say. If, on the other hand, you just heard it 2nd hand or from a PADI instructor I don't think it's fair to pass it off as anything more than that.

No, it's to make money. At a PADI member Update, the presenter said "We want to get everyone diving", and I asked, "What about the poor?" to which he replied "Everyone that can pay."



No, they are to maintain the revenue stream.
PADI didn't want to facilitate allowing divers to use
"voodoo death gas" (their description of nitrox a few years ago) until they saw a potential profit in it.

 

[MikeFerrara]

OK - this is the 2nd or 3rd time I've heard you make this claim about "voodoo death gas". Can you provide an actual attribution for that quote from an official PADI source? If it actually came from PADI, I'll concede that it was a stupid thing to say. If, on the other hand, you just heard it 2nd hand or from a PADI instructor I don't think it's fair to pass it off as anything more than that.

What he's refering to is tha fact that PADI along with DEMA faught against the use od nitrox for recreational divers for a long time. I don't know if they called it voodoo but they did call it dangerous. If you dig up some old magazines you can probably find their exact wording.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

I agree with that - PADI did drag their feet, and frankly it's hard to figure out why they did for so long. However, I don't think that the inflammatory quote is particularly fair or productive.

What he's refering to is tha fact that PADI along with DEMA faught against the use od nitrox for recreational divers for a long time. I don't know if they called it voodoo but they did call it dangerous. If you dig up some old magazines you can probably find their exact wording.

 

[tndiveinstruct1]

What he's refering to is tha fact that PADI along with DEMA faught against the use od nitrox for recreational divers for a long time. I don't know if they called it voodoo but they did call it dangerous. If you dig up some old magazines you can probably find their exact wording.

Actually I believe that it was DAN as well that called it dangerous.

But given the fact that you ARE working with OXYGEN, and we all know that oxygen can easily cause fires if handled improperly, wouldn't you call it dangerous? It's certainly not as safe as air, from a blending and handling standpoint. Just imagine if a dive shop in the LA or NYC or Miama area would have exploded simply because someone was partial blending EAN in an AL80 that someone had just dropped off.

I used to work in a hospital. In order to work on the Oxygen banks that supplied the rooms, we had to go thru a course that taught us the proper procedures for handling and maintenance of the fittings and connections. What lubricants you could use, and the ones you don't use. You never ever stored anything combustible around O2.

Perhaps PADI/DEMA/DAN was being cautious...

Randy

 

[AtomicWalrus]

Actually I believe that it was DAN as well that called it dangerous.

But given the fact that you ARE working with OXYGEN, and we all know that oxygen can easily cause fires if handled improperly, wouldn't you call it dangerous? It's certainly not as safe as air, from a blending and handling standpoint. Just imagine if a dive shop in the LA or NYC or Miama area would have exploded simply because someone was partial blending EAN in an AL80 that someone had just dropped off.

I used to work in a hospital. In order to work on the Oxygen banks that supplied the rooms, we had to go thru a course that taught us the proper procedures for handling and maintenance of the fittings and connections. What lubricants you could use, and the ones you don't use. You never ever stored anything combustible around O2.

Perhaps PADI/DEMA/DAN was being cautious...

Randy

Very good point - handling high pressure O2 is very dangerous. Like you say, special cleaning procedures are necessary, and even the plumbing connections have to be designed with special care or else you can get metal fires resulting from high stagnation temperatures! If they were waiting to firm up standards for O2 handling infrastructure & procedures, that's actually a very good reason for deferring introduction of nitrox to the recreational community. However, I've also heard that the recreational agencies were also very concerned about the potential for accidents related to O2 toxicity and the resulting bad publicity. It'd be interesting to hear from someone involved in the PADI committees at the time of the introduction of the enriched air course to learn more about the history - what were their concerns, how were they addressed?