confused about advanced open water (PADI)

[DevonDiver]

In my opinion rescue diver is the most valuable certification a non-technical diver will ever get.

AOW is a pre-requisite for rescue diver for Padi. Over time you can gain all the AOW dive experiences without taking the course, but if you want rescue diver certification, you'll have to do the AOW course no matter how many dives you have done.

The pre-requisite is AOW or equivalent.

I don't see why any dive operation wouldn't accept 5 specialities (inc deep and nav) as an appropriate equivalent for AOW....

 

[Walter]

The pre-requisite is AOW or equivalent.

Excellent point. Also keep in mind there are other agencies that do not require AOW prior to rescue.

 

[The Chairman]

I used the money I saved to buy gear and get some more dives in.

I have seen a lot of people throw money at gear instead of getting the training they needed. Some of them looked like Dive Shop Ads with all the crap hanging off of them. Good training is invaluable and will long outlast any gear.

There is no substitute for experience.

As long as you don't injure or kill yourself in the process. Unfortunately in diving, what you don't know can harm you.

I have had my gear fail twice- both not because of anything I did wrong- just the old Murphy Law kicking in.

Training not only lasts longer than gear, but it helps keep ol' Murphy out of a job.

Diving is about fun. If you're not having fun because you need more time with an instructor, then what's the point? If you're having fun without the benefit of further instruction, then bully for you! Most people, myself included, feel more comfortable with more training and understanding. The latter is why most are here on ScubaBoard. When I finally got around to getting certified, my son went through the class too. I figured right then and there, that I needed the skills to help him if he got in trouble, so I set my sights on Rescue. Somewhere in there, I got the bug and kept on until I made instructor.

I'm now an Instructor Trainer for one agency and a Regional Training Director for another, but I am still taking classes and still learning. That's just the way this sport is for me.

 

[jar546]

The pre-requisite is AOW or equivalent.

I don't see why any dive operation wouldn't accept 5 specialities (inc deep and nav) as an appropriate equivalent for AOW....

I completely agree. AOW with certain agencies does not mean much of anything because you can start your first dive right after you do your qualifying OW dive.

5 specialties should easily trump AOW with some agencies as they are actual courses in each specialty with each one having at least 2 dives. Books, testing, dives, etc. VS some AOW which gives you zero specialties and lacks any in depth training.

 

[muddiver]

I teach trough IANTD and their AOW certification does certify the diver to dive deeper than 60'

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I'm certified to 218 fsw. That doesn't mean that I am qualified to dive to 218 fsw.

To be technically correct, anyone who is certified by an RSTC agency is certified to scuba dive to a maximum depth of 130 fsw, regardless of the level of certification. It is the different agencies the promote that it is safer to stay above 60 fsw if you are a new and inexperienced diver.

 

[Scott]

The pre-requisite is AOW or equivalent.

I don't see why any dive operation wouldn't accept 5 specialities (inc deep and nav) as an appropriate equivalent for AOW....

You can also enroll with the 'lesser' Adventure Diver rating.
From Rescue Prerequisites:
PADI (Junior) Adventure Diver certification – must have completed the Underwater Navigation Adventure Dive

 

[Blue Sparkle]

I completely agree. AOW with certain agencies does not mean much of anything because you can start your first dive right after you do your qualifying OW dive.

It's true that you can take it right after OW, but as I touched on above, if Open Water essentially equals "Beginner," then to my mind Advanced Open Water equals "Advanced Beginner." As such, I don't think that being able to take it soon after "Beginner" should make it meaningless. On the contrary, then it seems appropriate to me.

I do agree that it could have been named better. When the shop I had taken my OW refresher from suggested AOW the next week, I felt like "Huh? I'm not advanced!" However after having taken the class, I don't think it would have been all that rewarding if I had waited until I was an advanced diver (which, if it happens, will even still be sometime in future). By the time I would be "advanced," I would hope that a lot of the AOW skills would no longer need to be taught to me.

I wish they would just re-name it OW-II or something, which I think would make much more intuitive sense.

Blue Sparkle

 

[lovles2274]

IANTD is not as general as some of the other mentioned agencies. OW certifies you to 70fsw and AOW certifies you to 100fsw. This is spelled out on their webpage very directly.

IANTD Scuba & CCR, PSCR & SCR Rebreather Diver Programs

I was/am very happy that I have taken the AOW class (combined with Nitrox). I agree with NetDoc about always needing to further your education. I do it as a nurse so I can take care of other better. Why not prepare myself to take better care of ME!!!

 

[mdax]

it's a good idea to take things slowly with scuba. Using AOW to get some dives in while an instructor is with you is a good idea.

After diving for many years i've had my most memorable experiences above sixty feet, whale sharks, hammerheads, turtles, amazing schools of fish...deeper is not the end all be all of diving...fun is!

 

[parzdiver]

My wife is taking her OW, completed the class and pool and will be doing her checkouts in Bonaire in June. A few people have mentioned that she could easily get her AOW that same week and it would be easy for her to do it. While I'm leaving it up to her, I'm advising against it. Not because she can't handle it, but because I want her to just dive the rest of the week and enjoy the beauty and tranquility below the surface.

While you can do AOW right after OW, I think most people benefit more from it when they already have an idea of what they are doing in the water and refining it. When you first start diving, you are *thinking* about so much of what you are doing, it steadily become second nature (like riding a bike) and the additional knowledge has a bigger impact since you are comfortable with the basics.