ssi or padi

[Big fish63]

i am in koh tao and have been offered to do my advanced o/w with either padi or ssi certification. is there any advantage/disadvantage going with ssi rather than padi except i wouldnt have to pay for the textbook?
thanks.

 

[swissrob]

i have spoken with many people about this and all have said the same it doesnt matter certification wise so no probs to mix and match. I prefer ssi becuse you dont have to buy a book each time and you can get the certification card straight away rather than having a temporary card and waiting for the normal to come by post. I also get the feeling that padi is far too commercialised.

As you are in KT just buy a book from one of the many 2nd hand book shops, the one along by the beach has a huge padi section you can save quite a few $$

 

[ayeshacantrell]

Really there is no difference apart from what has been said already - they are both internationally recognised.

However buying a 2nd hand PADI book will not ensure that you get a PADI course cheaper - PADI materials are sold with the certification card which we need to certify you. If we have to buy it seperately 1) we have to justify why and 2 ) bizarrely its not much cheaper than buying it with the book - hence you would not get any kind of real saving.

 

[jamiemac]

i am in koh tao and have been offered to do my advanced o/w with either padi or ssi certification. is there any advantage/disadvantage going with ssi rather than padi except i wouldnt have to pay for the textbook?
thanks.

You're going about this the wrong way. Price shouldn't be your major concern. you should be looking at a bigger picture.

do you always buy the cheapest beer/ cheese/car/ clothes/dog?

You get what you pay for

 

[Arizona]

I agree with Jamie. Find an instructor you feel comfortable with but also consider getting the manual. Price will be very competitive on Koh Tao wherever you go as a result of supply and demand. The PADI AOW manual contains useful information you can reference as you need it. I would imagine the same would be for an SSI manual. It is good practice to get the manual for this very reason. If you are serious about diving you may want to buy the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving (PADI book) at a second hand shop if you can find it.

 

[Big fish63]

it wasn't my 'major concern' its the only difference i could see. i hadn't heard much about ssi as im fairly new to diving. i did a little search on the internet and then asked here incase i had missed something important.

i dont like cheese

thanks for the help.

ayesha, do you have any rooms availible at your location?

 

[Bowmouth]

ii dont like cheese

Then you're probably also not a big fan of Wallace and Gromit?

 

[Big fish63]

actually nick park is one of my heroes

 

[Arizona]

Got it! For what its worth look over the manual before buying if you can. Both are recognized as previously stated. The instructor is the most important consideration IMO.

 

[Bowmouth]

actually nick park is one of my heroes

Ditto!

But watching W&G is so much better with some crackers and cheese....