Which agency for technical training?

[bigred177]

I am looking into getting started on my technical training and was wondering which agency would be best to use. The shop i go through is with SSI and they do have an instructor for the technical stuff, but I don't know how SSI ranks with some of the other agencies. I talked to one guy who was an instructor for TDI SSI and one other and he said that he thought SSI was the best one. I thought i would get on here and see what you guys thought.
Thank You

 

[ppo2_diver]

You should select the right instructor for you. The agency doesn't matter.

 

[String]

At technical levels the instructor is even more important than at the lower levels. Agency wise it doesnt matter much. They all get you doing the same thing in various ways. There are some differences in that some are more anal about kit than others (GUE), some specify things like dual bladder wings if wet (DSAT) but ultimately all have pretty much the same skillsets.

Technical level you want an instructor that'll really push you way out of your comfort zone constantly.

Personally i did TDI purely due to instructor recommendations but makes no odds if you go iantd,dsat,gue or whoever - just make sure the guy teaching you has got what it takes to really make you struggle at times no matter how good you think your skills are initially.

 

[Rainer]

Instructor is key, but agency DOES have something to do with it as well.

I know for my first class, I wanted to be on mix.

I had absolutely no interest in a certification down to 150' (or even 165'...) on basically air.

 

[SlowRain]

Some agreement with prior posts and some FYI.

First...others are right. Instructor makes all the difference when you are going to play in this field. You need to be comfortable with them and feel they are there to give you as much as you can absorb. Agency would, in my mind be the second factor.

Having said all that. As much as I hate to admit it, being an SSI instructor, I am not convinced their program is the best. The reasoning for this is that they have carved up course work that when I looked at it, would have taken me 5 different courses to get out of what I got in 2 different courses with another agency (advanced nitrox included intro in tech diving and deco procedures, and trimix integrated the full tech diver course and advanced deco) with a cost difference of better than 900 dollars. The highest level available in SSI is normoxic trimix.

I really am not agency bashing...but strickly from economics it was worth looking further. In addition I reviewed their program with two different shops...and both made the comment to me that they felt like the program had "a ways to go" but then that is their opinion...and everyone has one.

I would suggest you look at TDI and IANTD. Both have pretty strong programs and both agencies cater pretty much exclusively to tech diving.

 

[Web Monkey]

I really am not agency bashing...but strickly from economics it was worth looking further. In addition I reviewed their program with two different shops...and both made the comment to me that they felt like the program had "a ways to go" but then that is their opinion...and everyone has one.

I would suggest you look at TDI and IANTD. Both have pretty strong programs and both agencies cater pretty much exclusively to tech diving.

Strictly from a marketing persepctive, the SSI class makes me uncomfortable.

They're selling it as "Xtreme Excitement".

I can tell you for certain that if any dive contains "Xtreme Excitement" somebody screwed up big-time. And I sure as hell don't want any "Xtreme Excitement" on any sort of technical dive.

Terry

 

[bfw]

Strictly from a marketing persepctive, the SSI class makes me uncomfortable.

They're selling it as "Xtreme Excitement".

I can tell you for certain that if any dive contains "Xtreme Excitement" somebody screwed up big-time. And I sure as hell don't want any "Xtreme Excitement" on any sort of technical dive.

And that sort of answers the question. Pick an agency devoted to technical training, not an agency whose marketing people led them into tech in the past few years because hey smelled money, when less than 10 years ago, they were condemning nitrox. Odds are those same marketing people designed the course.

 

[Jasonmh]

Strictly from a marketing persepctive, the SSI class makes me uncomfortable.

They're selling it as "Xtreme Excitement".

I can tell you for certain that if any dive contains "Xtreme Excitement" somebody screwed up big-time. And I sure as hell don't want any "Xtreme Excitement" on any sort of technical dive.

Terry

Definitely agree with you there. I have seen the SSI TXR materials, and they did a good job with the manual and explainations, but the marketing I think is going in the wrong direction.

 

[TSandM]

There are some decisions to make. You should look at the technical class sequences, and the depths and gases that are required or recommended. You should also talk to any prospective instructor about his approach -- What gases he uses, and how he structures his course. There is no point, as krumpet discovered, in booking a course with an instructor who is going to teach things that go against what you think is most reasonable or desirable. You may be wrong, but if you work with an instructor who agrees with you, the class will go far more smoothly.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I personally like the NAUI Tech program. Their progression from Intro to Tech through Trimix 2 makes a lot of sense to me, and they've found a comfortable (for me) balance between standardization and rigidity.

But as others have said, the instructor is what makes the class ... even within the same agency.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)