Advanced open water question

[Slym]

Good to know! I am going to do most of my diving up here, so I'll look into it a bit more, I really feel like the AOW is my best bet right now, just because of the deal I would get for it happening during a dive trip ... we'll see where I am at that point maybe I will maybe I won't.

 

[tbone1004]

saying you are training with DDS changes literally everything because you have one of the few legit shops with good instructors teaching you. The fact that they train you in bp/w's from day one and the various other things they do speak volumes about the potential you have with them, hence the quick retraction of recommending going outside the LDS realm to Steve Lewis. Steve is a brilliant instructor and has literally written the book on various forms of diving, but you have good instruction at your LDS so there is no reason to leave.

For $170 CAD which is basically free, I'd take AOW and Nitrox and get those done with now then find some good mentors up there and dive with them.

 

[tursiops]

If you can find a good buddy or group, you can easily do similar dives progressively that mimic the AOW course. .

But this will not provide the AOW certification, which does provide value.

 

[bradells]

Why though? I think it's not a bad idea to do some diving before you do intro to tec. The AOW is fine IMHO.
I diagree with all this 'starting tec early stuff'. For most dives you don't need a twin set and you really don't need a twin set when you just started diving and thinking about doing your AOW.

And part of the 'tech' route is learning what is appropriate for a dive. Doesn't mean doubles or nothing!

Also most intro courses do not require doubles btw.

Half my dives/year are doubles, the other, single tank. Depends on the dive.


BRad

 

[Bennno]

Also most intro courses do not require doubles btw.

Yeah, but what's the point in doing intro to tec if you're not using 'tec gear'.
You certainly don't need to take a tec course to learn what is 'appropriate for a dive'.
IMHO, intro to tec is for when you wanna start getting into deco diving, not for people that just started diving.

 

[tbone1004]

over here it is typically used to break all of the bad traits that most OW instructors put on their students. Teaches them proper weighting, proper kicks, proper trim, buoyancy control, streamlined rig configuration, etc etc. Comparable to GUE Fundies, just a little less intense. The OP has an exception because the owner of that shop is a tech instructor, so he learned in a BP/W and learned about proper buoyancy/trim/propulsion/weighting etc as part of his OW course.

 

[Bennno]

@tbone1004
Lots of normal rec instructors can teach you proper weighting, kicks, trim and bouyancy. There are lots of great divers that dive poodle jackets only.
That 'tec' in and of itself is somehow superior to rec diving it's a myth perpetuated by some tec divers.

I know some rec divers that are just better divers in every respect than some tec/cave divers I've seen.

proper weighting, proper kicks, proper trim, buoyancy control, streamlined rig configuration, etc etc.

Those are diving skills, there're not tec diving skills.
Every good rec instructor can teach you those thing. If they can't it just means they suck it's not because they're rec instructors.

 

[tursiops]

over here it is typically used to break all of the bad traits that most OW instructors put on their students. Teaches them proper weighting, proper kicks, proper trim, buoyancy control, streamlined rig configuration, etc etc. Comparable to GUE Fundies, just a little less intense.

Not always. I do all that in the Peak Performance Buoyancy specialty.

 

[tbone1004]

i never said it is a universal thing, but it is infinitely more common than not, and that is what intro to tec and unfortunately cavern class is used for. It is anything but a myth however, your examples are very much exceptions to the rule. Most instructors in this country "suck" to use your term, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Intro to tec is the first course that most tec instructors teach, and since TDI has designed their course around people transitioning, they chose to not require AOW because from bad instructors, it just reinforces the bad skills. His shop is an exception to the rule because Matt holds very high standards from his instructors, the VAST majority of shops here don't, otherwise we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Our OW has all of the good stuff compiled into it, on top of unguided navigation courses in their OW and a mandatory ditch and don, but the AOW was spun out of the regular OW course to increase profits for dive shops and instructors, while allowing a watered down OW course to get more people certified in less time, is what it is.

 

[decompression]

But this will not provide the AOW certification, which does provide value.

really the only value is it allows progression to some other courses or if travelling, lets you do the "advanced" dives, although still pretty rare to have to show a AOW card. For many, it is an eventuality though.