PADI, NAUI, SSI, SDI... Too many to choose from!

[bundok]

I'm brand new to diving. Looking to get certified. I live in the wonderful scuba state of Utah (heavy sarcasm intended) and I'm moving to Costa Rica for 4 months in May. Most of the certification places here in Utah are PADI or SSI. My brother certified PADI for basic and NAUI for his advanced. So basically, I have a lot of questions.

Is any one certification better than the other or is it personal preference an based solely on the instructor?

What should I expect to pay for certifications or does it vary by location?

As the certifications are all regulated, should I just wait to get certified in Costa Rica (I will be there for 4 months) or is there a negative aspect to it?

I realize this is a lot to cover in my first post. I guess I'm just excited by the prospects. I'm a professional videographer looking for a change of scenery for a while and absolutely love the idea of underwater videography.

[fisherdvm]

Walter has a long list of question that you should ask your instructor. If you are willing to pay for it, you will get the instruction you need. Many say that Naui and YMCA are more rigorous in their OW requirement than SSI or PADI, but they might not be available locally. My local YMCA director said that they dropped scuba training as dropping the weight belts damaged their pool. My son took SSI, and I did not find it superior to PADI. There is more focus on snorkeling skill, but what disturbs me is failure to teach management of free-flowing regulator in my son, my niece, and my nephew. Certainly there are SSI instructor who teaches this skill to their student (my sister and her husband), but based on the sample size of 5, that is only 40%, and it is not in their OW requirement. I guess LA county, California has a very rigorous OW program, and if you lived there, it sounds like a good deal.

What I like about PADI is easy access to their data base by resorts. They can verify your training by phone or by internet. It is helpful when you forget your card, as someplaces do not consider a complete log book adequate (very silly).

[Dive-aholic]

Welcome to the 'Board. The agency isn't that big of a deal, especially at the OW level. Look for an instructor that fits you. Here's a link to help you figure out how to do that:

What to Consider as a New Student to Diving?

There are a few more here that I'm sure some others will provide for you.

Cost varies. You can expect to pay anywhere from $500-1200 for everything - instruction, required gear, books.

Seeing that you'll be in Costa Rica in May and it may still be cold in Utah between now and then, you may want to wait until you get there. However, I'd research the instructors there now before making that decision.

Good luck!

[mddyver]

Run, don't walk to a local dive shop and explain your goals. Tell them you want to be a competent diver by the time you arrive in Costa Rica. Doesn't matter which agency.

Was initially certified YMCA, SSI for Advanced, PADI for rescue diver, NAUI and PADI for divemaster and PADI for instructor. You actually have an advantage insofar as learning in UTAH will expose you to cold water. Learning in cold water is more difficult. It will make you a better diver.

Just tell the shop that by May you want to be able to hover motionless while handling an underwater video camera and be competent to deal with most contingencies and be self sufficient in handling underwater emergencies. See what they say.

Mike

[fisherdvm]

I've found that after getting your OW certification, you might peruse through ebay for the many used PADI specialty dive videos. It seems a waste of money to sign up for all of these "specialties" that SSI and padi pushes so much, when all you really need is just simply go out and dive. The little tid bits you gain from these videos make them well worth the $5 to $15 you pay for them, and ALOT less than signing up for just one "specialty" course.

[gnwes]

Honestly, it really doesn't matter who you cert through. PADI is definitely the most recognized worldwide so if you travel to obscure places in the world, then that cert will likely be honored, but to be frank, if they are that obscure they probably wont really 'require' any certain cert particularly. But to answer you question, you should go with who is the closest because diving is a learning game, if you really want to know more you will seek out more and more training and better and better training as you go on.

[GDI]

Pick the instructor not the agency

[jbmooney]

Hi bundok - welcome to the board.

I don't know where in Utah you are, but this link may interest you. They seem to have a fairly rigorous take on instruction, and the prices certainly look reasonable. I have no idea if their schedule works for you, but if I were in Salt Lake, I'd check them out.

[rollerboi]

Bundok - most places here in Utah will do pool sessions and then take you to the Crater, which is pretty much 98 degrees. Even in the dead of winter. Certifying here's not too "cold".
There's also a handful of warmwater dive spots scattered around the state that you can practice your skills at.

Call Myron at Divemates (linked above) ASAP, they've JUST barely started an OW class if it's started (They were shooting for Jan 7th but that might have been pushed back a few weeks depending on availability. Monday evenings in Sandy.

If you're further south, I recommend Scuba Ted's in Springville. My instructor was Christian, and he rocked. If you go with them, drop me a PM and I can get you a referral card.

Divemates, Scuba Ted's: PADI
Water World in Provo: SSI
There's also Dive Addicts (in Draper) and Sport Chalet out in West Jordan (?), I'm not sure which agency. There's another shop I know of up in Logan/Ogden that has some top notch instructors, and I've probably missed another shop somewhere in there.

[Dive-aholic]

Just tell the shop that by May you want to be able to hover motionless while handling an underwater video camera and be competent to deal with most contingencies and be self sufficient in handling underwater emergencies. See what they say.

Mike

Unfortunately, there are shops out there that will say, "Sure, we can do that for you. Let's get you signed up...cash or credit?" Then as he walks out the door, they will start laughing.