National Dive League (NDL) certification, widely recognized?

[MB]

Jonathan - You are falling into a trap that has lured many others. You are looking for the cheapest or fastest or most convenient way to get certified to dive. Consider this: it is quite un-natural for humans to venture under water. When we do so, we are intensely vulnerable to conditions of nature, our own foibles, and to things we know little about. Wouldn't it be wise to consider training that is comprehensive, even if was takes a little longer, covers more content, requires more involvement, and maybe even costs a little more?

There are instructors who take pride in the fact that they require more learning, offer more pool work, and arrange more open water dives. There are agencies who require more and encourage their instructors to provide complete training. If an instructor offers you the fast course that requires fewer learning opportunities (class sessions, pool work, dives), ask yourself, "What am I not learning because I chose the fast track?"

You asked about a particular agency, but your observations about the training you'll receive are good ones. But whether a person is brand new to diving or a seasoned old codger, the fast and cheap seats are seldom a good bargain. Good luck.

 

[Stoo]

Bingo! For a "Discover Diving" adventure, the card doesn't mean squat. What matters is the Instructor and how the dives are managed. If you feel comfortable with that shop and have spoken to the Instructor and feel confident that he/she will provide a safe, enjoyable experience, then go for it! (Having said that, as a "non-diver" how can you know what constitutes a "safe" experience? But I digress...) You should ask questions about the student to Instructor ratios for example...

As hard to believe as it might be, PADI is not the only option for dive certification, however I do agree that if you are going to travel,, then a more widely recognized certification isn't a bad thing. If nothing else, it might save you unnecessary grilling or check-outs or something...

Regardless of the agency, the main thing is to have a degree of comfort in the operation and the Instructor. None of the agencies are immune to have cowboys in their ranks, and these are the guys you want to avoid.

 

[flots am]

My girlfriend and I are on travel and want to try scuba diving. One shop offers a 1 day "discover" course which includes 2 open water dives. If we like it we can continue 2 more days to receive open water certification by NDL.

The other option is a padi shop which offers a similar discover course which transitions into certification as well, but it's more expensive and gives less time in open water, using a pool instead.

I like the first option much better but my only concern is that we might end up with a limited certification if we did choose to complete the full course. We will continue to travel many places and if I'm going to put the time and money into it, I prefer to have a certification that will allow us to dive unescorted anywhere we go.

What do you think?

I've never heard of them, but the reality is that once you get out side of areas with a more-or-less-fair and functioning legal system, the only card they really care about says "Visa" on the front.

The part you should really be concerned about is whether or not you'll have the training to dive safely, with just your buddy, after completing the class.

This should help you find a great class

---------- Post added June 17th, 2014 at 09:37 AM ----------

What do you think?

National Dive League

I just checked their website, and the ISO standards they promote on their website are "General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems" and have nothing to do with SCUBA.

Also, they apparently want to get paid with a wire transfer.

While I have no idea what kind of training they do, I'd skip them just because of the banking problem.

flots

 

[knotical]

... I just checked their website, and the ISO standards they promote on their website are "General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems" and have nothing to do with SCUBA. ...

I just checked the EUF website and found several scuba-related ISO and EN standards listed for NDL.

 

[covediver]

I'd go with PADI just for better name recognition. I was certified by Los Angeles County back in the 1960s, one of the finest cert courses anywhere, and I've had problems with people not recognizing the LAC cert. Fortunately when I showed my c-card to an instructor on the Great Barrier Reef not only did he recognize it, he called it a museum piece. I got a PADI AOW card from him to eliminate future recognition problems.

"Museum piece" I get the same thing with my PADI "Basic" with the restriction "Alternate Air Source Required". LA County is the grandad of them all, one of the first attempts at some kind of government regulation. Florida Skindiving Association is another local certification scheme that comes to mind.

I always though of you as a "relic", but do you prefer "artifact" or "fossil"? I do not wish to offend.

 

[rhwestfall]

though not as dated, my YMCA card raises a few eyebrows. Especially since it looks worse than a middle school kids idea of a fake ID.....

 

[String]

Never heard of them (worked in europe, egypt, asia). If someone did turn up with that as a qualification id be getting them to do a very detailed check dive before decided whether to let them out on a proper dive at the very least.