ccardvol:
I'm trying to decide which agencies' AOW will give me the most comprehensive, in depth training. I went through the PADI OW, since then, being around a few dives shops and divers, it seems to me that the PADI course, though sufficient to get me underwater,was a bit lax. Scuba is a great activity, one that I hope to enjoy for many years. I don't want to be a danger to myself or just as importantly, to anyone else, so I want the training that will best prepare me.
It seemed like a totally fair question to me, a safety comparison between PADI/SSI/NAUI. But the "answer" that seems to be overriding response (I asked the same question in the Accidents/Incidents Thread) is "that's a non-question because the answer wouldn't blah blah blah blah". Of course it's a sensible, valid question. It seems to me like a lot of Instructors don't want that information known for some reason.
Nobody is saying that the question is invalid. The thing of it is, and please do not take this the wrong way, is that I think what you are truly after and the way you are phrasing the question are not really the same.
At any rate, it seems that your experience was much like what I and many other divers have come across. The type of training I personally received was quite a bit less than what I felt I required to be a "proficient" diver. I did not feel like I knew what I didn't know and I did not feel like I knew how become better with all of the relevant skills.
If you look at the course description of advanced open water classes, regardless of agency, the question becomes, are they teaching you what you need to know so that you can execute dives in as safe a manner as possible? The syllabuses for the AOW classes in my area allowed me to pick 4 specialties (dry suit, underwater navigation, boat diving, night diving, etc.). I could not figure for the life of me how these classes were gonna make me a better diver.
I would say that if you go down the advanced open water route in search of training that will bring your skills and knowledge to the next level, the best thing to do is to focus on the instructor rather than the agency. Ask them questions such as:
- do you teach skills kneeling on the bottom or in mid-water (the place a diver is most likely to need to deploy the skill)?
- how do you teach gas planning? (if they say "be back on the boat with 500psi", run away screaming)
- how do you teach weight checks? (if they do not have you check if you are properly weighted both with a full tank and with an almost empty tank, run away screaming)
Good instructors from PADI will give you good answers. Just like good instructors from NAUI and SSI. Bad instructors from any will essentially teach you underwater basket weaving, at best.
Another direction you should investigate is GUE's Fundamentals class. There are many class reports posted in the DIR forum that talks about that class. And in my opinion, it is the best class any new diver can take (it will open your eyes).