Advanced vs open water??

[SubMariner]

"FYI, PADI no longer offers or supports AOW+."
Didn't I say that?

Yes, you did. However, you also said:

IMHO. PADI once had a class called Advanced Plus that was pretty good. If your PADI instructor will teach that old (no longer available course) and issue the AOW card (I'm sure he'll charge more - he should) you'll get a good deal.

To me this infers that a PADI Instructor may still teach this course. They may NOT, since PADI no longer supports this course. (No current materials, etc.)

However, an Instructor may offer:

- Adventures in Diving, and/or several Specialty courses plus Emergency First Response (EFR).
- Adventures in Diving, then Rescue Diver (plus EFR or its equivalent).
- Adventures in Diving, then Rescue Diver, then Divemaster. (Again, EFR or its equivalent must be in there somewhere.)

~SubMariner~

 

[Walter]

So it would be a standards violation for a PADI instructor to teach the Advanced Plus class?

 

[DIR Tec Diver]

Yes it would as it is not a course any longer.

What you get out of AOWD course (or any for that matter) depends on how seriously you take it and most importantly the instructor. If they don't do knowledge development and reviews with you as well as proper pre and post dive briefings about the dives and their focus then you are not getting anything out of it. The experience portions are very good. Knowing what happens to you under increased pressure and depth as well as learning your way to navigate are critical skills to have.

Don't just stop at AOWD. The more you learn and the more you put into diving, the more you will get out of it and enjoy it.

Get a lot of books, learn, research, ask questions and study. It makes a huge difference.

 

[cornfed]

DIR Tec Diver once bubbled...

Don't just stop at AOWD. The more you learn and the more you put into diving, the more you will get out of it and enjoy it.

However, patch collecting will not help you become a better diver. If you decide to take more courses choose wisely and make sure they will be worth the time and money.

Cornfed

 

[Dyno Bill]

An advanced ow card or class doesnt really mean all that much but it is a stepping stone in the direction of becoming a more proficient diver. Dives will make you more capable of dealing with the ocean and its many challenges. Instruction will give you the exposure so that you might not have to make some basic mistakes that wee all have in the past. School is good, it educates us without the cost of blunders that we might have made otherwise. I feel that if you are going to continue and persue diving as an ongoing hobby then its all about getting wet as many times as you might be able to, at least thats how I looked at it. So a class offers an opertunity for you to do two things, actually three things. One, it gets you wet more often than you otherwise would have, it offers you a way to learn more stuff and thats the stuff that might keep you or your partner safer and show you ways to enjoy the ocean and thirdly, it gives your LDS an oppertunity to make a few bucks and stay open for business....a really good idea so that you can have a place to get repairs, diveing advice and an ocasional free trip to somewhere to be used as a slave.....just kidding on that one. Go to school and learn a ton, after all you might have to save my tired old butt some day.
Bill......Dive safe

 

[Walter]

If that's true, then there are still a couple of decent advanced courses still available.

 

[mdr231]

My son (age 14) and I just finished the PADI AOW (today!). We completed the OW certification a few weeks ago. As stated above, you are required to take Navigation and Deep (plus 3 "electives"). While I do not feel like an "advanced" diver, and have no pretenses about being anything more than a newbie, this was a great way to do some more supervised diving. In our case, we were the only two students, so we got some great personal attention. We also had a chance to try out new stuff and just have fun (our electives were buoyancy, DPV and photography). It was a great experience for us (and confidence builder) though I certainly see value in this for divers more experienced than us. Either way, seems like there's value.

cheers,
Michael

 

[orangeBloke]

Someone once put it like this for me:

Snorkeling is getting an invite to the party

Open Water is making it just inside the door of the party

Advanced Open Water is finally getting a chance to get in and party on down :banana:

Go for your advanced, it never hurts to be better trained and will allow you more chocies and in how and were you dive

 

[gkwaldee]

Let me start by saying that NO cert is a license to be stupid (read: diving beyond YOUR limits)

Now, we live on Guam, and there is alot of opportunity to dive here. I can be to any number of really nice beach dives in less than 30 mins. So I had quite a few dives logged before I ever went into the AOW class, these included all the "speciality" dives that are offered in AOW. I regularly spearfish at night, and there are all sorts of "wrecks" to see in less than 100 feet here.

I feel that AOW, in itself, was a pretty useless waste of money. I didnt need AOW "training" to feel comfortable diving the way that I dive. However, since AOW is a pre-req for Rescue and higher, it was a must.

AOW is probably more beneficial for the resort diver that wants to experience some of the dives that we, here on Guam, take for granted. I am still amazed at how many people on this board have so little dives in years of diving. It would be easy (and relatively inexpensive) to rack up hundreds of dives a year here.

Finally, I totally agree with most of the posters here..............JUST DIVE MORE, and that will make you comfortable..........AOW in itself will not.

But, if ya wanna do more in this lifestyle than just tool around a reef on vacation............youll have to have AOW...........welcome to the biz side of the sport. (I dont agree with that process, BTW)

tiny bubbles