PADI Enriched Air Knowledge Reviews

[boulderjohn]

The thread may be dead but the complains still come up.
"The cost of PADI training materials is pretty reasonable I think. "
The book is about $60 US in 2018. And I can tell you, it doesn't cost anything more than $5, maybe 10, to print and another buck apiece to ship them out.
The bottom line is that PADI are greedy. Other agencies charge well less, and don't require pages to be torn out from the book--so they can be resold on the used market. When your instructor is done, he hands out exam pages (ten cents each?) and that problem is solved.
PADI are greedy, the mandatory book is not included in the price of the course because most shops have the option of bundling or discounting the course--and this way they zing you for the up-sell, after you are committed and brought in by the "course" price. PADI just wants an extra $60 a head, above and beyond what the shop can charge for the course.
Greedy, and stupid, since Nitrox is a big safety factor, and they might be negligent in NOT teaching the proper use of safety equipment, which includes "safety gas" to ALL divers, right from the start. I'd argue that they are teaching unsafe diving practices, by teaching divers to dive with an unsafe mixed gas, air.

[Sigh]

You opened up a nearly decade-year old thread so you can make this rant? I know you prefer to stay away from facts, but here are some just in case you might some day be interested.

• When you buy a book for a course, you are paying the dive shop or instructor for the book, not PADI. The shop controls the price you pay--they are making a profit. PADI does not charge them that much.
• PADI has not required keeping knowledge reviews for many years, and back when they did, it could be done by copying them. There was no requirement to tear them out of the book.
• Whether the cost of the book is included in the course or separate is a decision made by the shop or instructor, not PADI. When you take a course from me, the price of the book is included.
• The entire cost of the course is determined by the shop or instructor, not PADI.
• Separate pricing makes sense because there are different ways to take the course. You can get the materials online, for example.
• Your belief that Nitrox is a safer gas and they are teaching unsafe diving practices is not shared by a large portion of the diving community.

 

[Bob DBF]

er requires or wants instructors to rip out Knowledge Reviews, I can't attest to when the change happened, but I know it was over 5 years ago.

I didn't have to rip out any pages back in '08 or '09 when I took Nitrox, and I would have remembered any argument with someone wanting to to tear pages out of any book of mine. I did however give copies of the reviews to the instructor that he requested.


Bob

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Don't mind me. Just watching.

On the cost of materials though: Compared to university science texts, PADI is cheap. And don't get me started on the every other year "new editions" that kill the used textbook market....

It could be worse.

 

[caruso]

A new AOW diver in our household took a course recently in Tavenier Florida with a Dive Op I won't name in case they'd "get in trouble". They said "if another diver has taken their AOW and you have the book then don't bother buying a new one or even taking the online course. Do the chapters that correspond to the courses we will be doing, and we will send you photocopies of the knowledge review questions. We did, and they did and the world didn't come to an end and he's got his AOW card to prove it.

 

[BlueTrin]

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[Dark Blue]

It’s PADI’s little temperament screening. Basically, anyone who goes off the rails over a $60 book maybe should think again about his new hobby before risking a stroke in seeing a $300 price tag on a flashlight.