Tricks and Tips that Save Pennies

[EricJ]

I'm not an instructor pushing a class, but I think taking the AOW is well worth the money. As for further certifications, the best training is to just get out and dive; but while diving, listen to the briefings and dive masters, ask a lot of questions, and learn from the good and bad examples of others.

 

[NudeDiver]

One trip to a chamber would cost a heck of alot more than any AOW course!! Heck, even if you didn't need the chamber, but needed an ambulance ride, the AOW course would still be cheaper.

I must have taken a different AOW course, because mine didn't cover chamber or ambulance ride avoidance. Maybe PADI has added some new chapters to the book.

Speaking of which - you can save a lot of money on AOW by just buying the book and doing the dives on your own with a couple of buddies.

In related news, I wish PADI would rename the Advanced class to something else, just so people would stop bitching about it.

 

[Stu S.]

Once there was only Open Water Certification, it could take two months. To get more people diving sooner, agencies broke it in half, calling it OW-1 and OW-2 certifications. To add a little sizzle to that steak, it was renamed "Advanced" Open Water.

You can save money by not getting it. Sooner or later somebody won't let you on the boat without it.

 

[ScubaSteve]

........You can save money by not getting it. Sooner or later somebody won't let you on the boat without it.

I have argues against the AOW in previous posts however this was one point I made. It is good to save the money now, but at some point you are likely to be limited in your diving because you cannot produce that card. Depending on your diving, it may never happen but some charters/operators require it. I say go without it until you need it or can afford it, then research the instructor and get it. If taught well, there can be some useful information (and much that you already know from experience and mentors) but it is just that the card may open some doors.

 

[fox7265]

Hang out and get to know you’re LDS and the leaders that work there(don’t take money with you). Talk to the LDS before you buy anything online a lot of times they will give you the same or better deal if you ask. Remember you can’t buy Air on EBay.

 

[lmorin]

I...........
Everyone says get the best gear you can afford the first time. This is good advice if you look at the long run. In the short run, however, sometimes it is better to get cheaper gear just to get out there. Cheap gear & diving is better than gear so expensive that you can't afford to dive. It also helps you to focus on solid gear with no gimmicks. If you buy solid gear with no gimmicks it will serve you for a long time and still be worth selling when you upgrade. ...............

Your point is well taken. There is a big difference between gear that is inexpensive and gear that is cheap as in made poorly. From what I can gather, there is very little gear that falls into the "made poorly" category. So, it seems that what is purchased comes down to what bells and whistles the individual wants. I wanted a suit that would be stretchy in 3 dimensions, so I bought a Henderson hyperstretch, despite the extra cost relative to a standard neoprene suit. On the other hand, I got the least expensive Apeks regulator my LDS could sell me. Not usable in cold water, but I don't anticipate diving in cold water. If I do, I'll rent a reg (and a suit) for the occasion. One thing that I think is absolutely wrong, at least with respect to the gear I have investigated, is to equate "quality" with "price."

 

[vladimir]

Sooner or later somebody won't let you on the boat without it.

I believe there are dive operators that require an AOW certification, but I have yet to encounter one in over 700 dives and quite a few locations.

 

[Stu S.]

Hey, Vladimir.

Operators in South Florida are asking for the AOW Card for dives such as the Spiegel Grove in the Keys, and the Hole in the Wall at Jupiter. Various reasons have been given. The Jupiter boat says it is about insurance.

When I was certified in 1977, there was only one level of certification, “Safe Scuba Diver”. We were certified to 132 feet. A boat and resort operator here in Florida told me I could not go below 60 feet without the AOW card. Yes… I could get the new certification with them.

It’s like they stole my bike, and were then trying to sell it back to me.

 

[carolrose]

Up here a lot of boats require AOW. Even the quarry requires AOW if you want to do night dives.

 

[vladimir]

One of mikeferrara's many astute observations here on ScubaBoard is that agencies don't sell training, they sell access. (The implication being that training suffers because very few will pay $500 for access when it's selling for $99 at the 5-star PADI center down the road.) If there are operators that want to forgo my business because I didn't ante up the $99, so be it--I will dive with other operators--I resent the coercion.