where to get lessons in Dallas?

[FIXXERVI6]

Well... uh... techie stuff??:huh:

See the deal is, I'm not a tech diver... never proclaimed to be. Heck, I'm not even sure if I should call it "tech" or "tec" to be really cool. I'm an 80 cubed diver... 80 foot depth, 80 foot vis, 80 degrees. But because of customer requests, we do stock some dive rite stuff, got some VR3 computers, etc. Now Woody actually does the training for intro tech through extended range, tri-mix, etc.

I know he wants us to carry some canister lights, and some other misc stuff that his students would need in classes... but exactly what... I couldn't tell you right now. But if you give a shout over to the shop in a few weeks, hook up with Woody or Mike, and I'm sure they could give you more info. And of course if there is anything specific you are looking for... I'm sure we can get it!

Really need to check out Salvo http://www.salvodiving.com/ can lights, I'm a sartek to salvo convert and these things are just rugged not to mention they put their ballast's in the canister.

I'll throw a chime in for University Scuba, their program is a lot longer than everyone elses, depending on what time of year you take it, its a full semester, yes its a pain, but its worth it, lots more pool time before you hit OW.

 

[Daylonious]

International Scuba in Addison is one of the best training centers in Dallas... they do everything from "discover scuba" to full blown trimix and full cave classes... plus, Patti just rocks when it comes to coming up with 'creative' payment plans for gear...

D.

p.s. www site is internationalscuba.com... just ask for patti or brian...

 

[scubatoys]

Thanks for all the replys. Do you think it's important for a course to have an on-site pool, or doesn't it matter?

There have been numerous studies that show the cost of having your own pool in a dive shop never really pays for itself... the cost of the room it takes in your building, the heat (especially when you keep it at 90 degrees), chemicals and maintenance, water and amortizing the cost of building a large indoor pool. It's an expensive proposition.

However we choose to put in our 40 x 40 12 foot deep pool anyway... And never regretted it. The flexibility it offers students is great. When I used to use other pools, the whole situation of making students show up, lug gear to the pool and back was a huge pain. Then you have to hurry because they have a kids swimming class starting at 2, or water aerobics at 4. Many times we had to rush through the class. So probably the biggest difference is if a student is having some difficulty, or just needs some more time in the water to feel comfortable - no problem. Stay for an extra hour and just swim about and practice skills. Come in on Tuesday and hit the pool for a few hours, or Wednesday after work, etc.


It also makes it easy for customers who want to try out, say a split fin vs. a paddle fin. Test it out in the pool. Want to check your weighting with the new BC? Hop in. Just got a new underwater digital camera? Take some test shots before you go to Cozumel. Got a problem during the class because your mask is leaking?? No problem. Walk through the door and grab a different one and try that.

So is an on site pool necessary? No. Shops have been in existence for a long time without them - but I know I'd never own another shop without one - and a minimum of 10 feet of depth so you can get the full feeling of equalizing, etc.

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

For OW I would consider an onsite pool to be a huge advantage and probably wouldn't go through a shop that didn't have one. I took my OW through ScubaToys and was impressed with their instructors and how they run their business. I wasn't in one of their standard classes for the pool work so I ended up doing all of the pool work in one day, that meant I was in the pool for better than 5 hours as I recollect. Having the pool at 90 degrees was really nice although at the end of the day I was cold. I don't think that could have been done if they had not had their own pool. I've also used their pool to check out weighting and such after I bought my gear. I've also done my Nitrox cert through them and am working through AOW now. I actually started both of those through Emerald Sea, but since Emerald Sea is ScubaToys now I think that experience is relevant. Basically, I highly recommend ScubaToys for your training.

Now if there is some particular reason you just have to have a PADI cert then I'd recommend International Scuba in Carollton (www.internationalscuba.com). I've not taken any courses through them but I am in there all the time as they are literally right up the street. I've always been impressed with how they run their shop and I have heard good things about their training as well. They also have an onsite pool.

 

[SoonerBJJ]

I'm bringing this one back since it was my original thread. Better late, than never. I finally got into my open water class this weekend. I went with recommendations taken from here and some co-workers and signed up with International Scuba in Addison. I couldn't have been more pleased with the experience. We did the classroom/confined dives this weekend and will be heading to the lake later this month.

Our instructors were very professional, articulate and entertaining. We had to do the reading and knowledge reviews beforehand and went over the highlights in the classroom before taking quizes over each section. We didn't waste any time but covered the material in sufficient depth to make it stick. They have their own indoor pool that was a comfortable 90 deg but wetsuits were available for those that wanted them. For pool work we divided into small groups with a 2 or 3-1 student-instructor ratio and there were dive master/instructor candidates there to offer additional assistance.

We actually signed up for the National Geographic open water program and I feel it is an excellent value. For an additional $50 we got extra pool time, private instruction and will get 2 additional dives at the lake. That's a helluva deal to get extra work on buoyancy and navigation skills.

I'm giving a very enthusiastic recommendation for International Scuba ( www.internationalscuba.com ). As others have mentioned, they have a wide array of advanced training available and I know we'll be taking advantage of it.

 

[Harshal]

Hi Sooner, great to know you went with International Scuba, they are great. I got certified at international scuba and was a pleasant experience.
Patti, is pretty cool and actually I have rented out my gear from her as well in past.
Even the DM that you have for check out dives are really cool, I was diving with Major, he is awesome.
If by any chance he is diving with you guys say Hi for me.