What AOW courses did you find the most helpful?

[XJae]

It's 40m. In fact I did a bit more but was having fun and doing all maths without any problem (and my education is literature -nothing to do with math)
Mania

That would be about 130 feet. Which would be wrong.
I'm pretty sure the deep dive, for the PADI Advanced course only needs to be beyond 60 feet.
A little too shallow, imo.

 

[mania]

That would be about 130 feet. Which would be wrong.

40m is a maximum. That's what Padi says:

You'll learn deep dive planning, organization, procedures, techniques and hazards. You'll also put this knowledge to the test as you go on four open water dives that range from 18 - 40 metres / 60 - 130 feet.

you can find it here:
http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/deepdiver.asp

 

[XJae]

That's great but...
you were talking about the minimum.

 

[mania]

Well, we didn't understand each other. I had in mind the maximum. After clearing that I do hope now we don't have any misunderstanding
Mania

 

[MikeFerrara]

We follow the guidelines set out by PADI, QUOTE]

PT - what is the minimum depth for the deep dive in PADI guidelines? I thought the deep dive was meant to be to around 30m but I was speaking with someone who only went to 22m. This was something to do with the conditions on the day and maybe understandable in that context but I think there is quite a difference between 22m and 30m, particularly the potential degree of narcosis. Also pyschologically and for confidence building. My AOW deep dive registered 29.9m on my computer!

the minimum is 60 ft and the maximum depth allowed is 100 ft.

For a Jr. diver the max is 70 ft.

 

[pt40fathoms]

Logged on late, Mike beat me to it. 60 feet or 18.3 meters (round to 18) is the minimum under standards, and 100 feet or 30.5 meters (round to 30) is the maximum. We have at our dive site a very handy plateau at 77 feet (23.5 meters) that we use, up till now no one has come away without showing signs of narcosis at that depth. This comes as a surprise to almost all the students.

 

[pt40fathoms]

We follow the guidelines set out by PADI, QUOTE]

PT - what is the minimum depth for the deep dive in PADI guidelines? I thought the deep dive was meant to be to around 30m but I was speaking with someone who only went to 22m. This was something to do with the conditions on the day and maybe understandable in that context but I think there is quite a difference between 22m and 30m, particularly the potential degree of narcosis. Also pyschologically and for confidence building. My AOW deep dive registered 29.9m on my computer!

There would most certainly be a difference, however the object is not to push it to the maximum, merely to arrive at a depth that will meet the needs of the required demonstration. Your dive to 29.9m was at the high end of what is set out in the PADI standards, and the dive to 22m is near the depth we work at. It really matters what the conditions are like, and they include but are not limited to water temperature, air temperature, surface conditions, visibility at depth, time of day, and so on. I just posted that we have a plateau at 77 feet (23.5m) and because of that our depth for this dive tends to be consistent. However that's not always the case, and I would suspect it would be more the exception than the norm. So most instructors have to deal with changing conditions to a higher degree than we would if the training site has less underwater features that can aid them.

 

[divebag]

Back to the original question, I believe I got the most from the bouyancy class, next was the naviagation. They seem to be the most practical and useful at least for me. I also did the night/limited visability dive which made for more comfortable with buoyancy and navigation also. I took the equipment class, didn't seem worth it.

 

[durian]

I just completed my AOW and was fortunate to be in an area famous for wreck dives (Pattaya). I did the wreck dives, night dive and search and recovery dive. If you do a wreck dive that can not count as a deep dive though you will probably go more than 18 meters. Well it could count as a deep dive if you do not count it as a wreck dive. I saw two different wrecks and counted one as a wreck and one as a deep. The night dive was great, saw two manta rays, one with a sucker fish attached

 

[anemone]

I'm thinking seriously about getting my AOW, and now I see I have to make some choices.

Which of the elective courses did you find the most useful? I think I should take Peak Performance Buoyancy, but that still leaves two electives.

I'd really appreciate your input.

Thanks!

Night dive is great too! you'll see things you don't see when you dive in daytime. I've done PPB, Night Dive, and Navigation. I think Navigation is quite important when you dive just with your buddy.Not with DM or guide. :mermaid: