Which LDS to take AOW in Houston?

[yanwei]

Hi everyone! This is my first virgin post here although I've been stalking the forums for quite a while. I'm looking for a decent and affordable LDS to take my AOW with while I'm here in Houston for a business trip from this Sunday till 1st April. I'm guessing the course runs for 2 weekdays (theory & pool) and 1 weekend (5 OW dives) which will cater to people restrained by normal office hours.
From a few sites I've seen online which have advertised AOW courses as low as USD199 or 250 (incl. rental gear, excl. course materials $60ish), what is the total amount I should be expecting to pay for a weekend AOW course? And which LDS should I look for? My office and accomodation is around the 77042 area. Are all the dive sites horribly cold right now? All my dives have only been done in the tropical waters of Asia with a 3mm wetsuit. Thanks in advance!

 

[Earl Grey]

Hi everyone! This is my first virgin post here although I've been stalking the forums for quite a while. I'm looking for a decent and affordable LDS to take my AOW with while I'm here in Houston for a business trip from this Sunday till 1st April. I'm guessing the course runs for 2 weekdays (theory & pool) and 1 weekend (5 OW dives) which will cater to people restrained by normal office hours.
From a few sites I've seen online which have advertised AOW courses as low as USD199 or 250 (incl. rental gear, excl. course materials $60ish), what is the total amount I should be expecting to pay for a weekend AOW course? And which LDS should I look for? My office and accomodation is around the 77042 area. Are all the dive sites horribly cold right now? All my dives have only been done in the tropical waters of Asia with a 3mm wetsuit. Thanks in advance!

I took my AOW with Maximum Scuba, whose Houston location is west of the Galleria area. Per their website, AOW course price is $200 which includes books and equipment. You won't need pool time or additional theory per se for AOW - you know the theory from OW, AOW builds upon earlier learning and reinforces skills. Assuming you are doing PADI, the book for AOW is the Adventure Diver book and you and your instructor will decide which five dives to do (PPB and Deep being required). Typically the instructor will go over the material you read before each dive to ensure you understand the concepts.

You cannot accomplish the 5 dives in one day. You will need two days for this (3 dives one day and 2 the other) and most shops do this over the weekend. And yes, the water will be cold!

 

[divezonescuba]

Sent you a private message.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Read this before you sign up with anyone:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/287780-how-find-excellent-scuba-class.html

 

[divezonescuba]

I took my AOW with Maximum Scuba, whose Houston location is west of the Galleria area. Per their website, AOW course price is $200 which includes books and equipment. You won't need pool time or additional theory per se for AOW - you know the theory from OW, AOW builds upon earlier learning and reinforces skills. Assuming you are doing PADI, the book for AOW is the Adventure Diver book and you and your instructor will decide which five dives to do (PPB and Deep being required). Typically the instructor will go over the material you read before each dive to ensure you understand the concepts.

You cannot accomplish the 5 dives in one day. You will need two days for this (3 dives one day and 2 the other) and most shops do this over the weekend. And yes, the water will be cold!

According to PADI, Peak Performance Bouyancy is not one one the required AOW dives. The second required dive aside of the deep dive is the navigation dive. PPB is actually a good dive to do, particularly for new divers or divers that wish to further develop their bouyancy control, however, if anyone told you it was required, they're mistaken.

 

[Earl Grey]

According to PADI, Peak Performance Bouyancy is not one one the required AOW dives. The second required dive aside of the deep dive is the navigation dive. PPB is actually a good dive to do, particularly for new divers or divers that wish to further develop their bouyancy control, however, if anyone told you it was required, they're mistaken.

You are absolutely correct. I was going off my (faulty) memory.

I do want to add that while I thought Maximum did a good job with the class, the OP should take it as a suggestion only. The piece linked above on finding the right SCUBA class is excellent.

 

[yanwei]

Finally arrived in Houston after a grueling 24 hour flight. It is really chilly here. Heh. I'll drop by the shops mentioned and enquire first then. =)
I'll definitely take PPB as one of the modules as my BC still needs much more practice. Would it be worth driving down to Galveston to do the weekend dives? Or just clear them in some lake/quarry in Houston? And then do some Flower gardens diving in March?

 

[divezonescuba]

Hello Yanwei:

There is no place in Galveston to dive. It is not like caribbean destinations where you can do shore diving off the beach or go to a nearby reef or rig on a boat. The closest suitable rigs in clear water are 20+ miles off shore. The majority of the training dives are done in local lakes. The best one near Houston is Twin Lakes. It has overhead cover, running water, electricity, and steps down to the floating platforms. It is also just down the road from our dive shop. You can do most of 5 dives there. The only one that you cannot do there is the deep dive. We use a different lake, 40 miles away for that. Typically, we do 3 dives at Twin Lakes and 2 dives at the other lake.

 

[Phreatic Fanatic]

So, which LDS did you choose (if you have) and what lead to that decision?