PADI Deep Diver specialty course worthwhile?

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Compare to what I have seen in UTD and GUE training course, the biggest issue I see in that video is buoyancy while task loading and trim. It is not bad at all, but I have seen better in person
 
Why is that? I just looked at the video and some of those items are in my AOW class. I also saw some new ones to practice this weekend! Now to rig an al80 as a stage! I got to try those multi's and on and off the line with eyes closed. I've done it carrying a 40 and two 30's at the same time. I was debating on trying the 80 this weekend but that just inspired me. Thanks!

Jim, this was the basic config of my Adv EAN and Deco procs...double 117 cft (air) on my back, 80cft stage (32 - 40 % O2 right side) and 40 cft stage (100 O2 left side). Two weeks ago, I dove a submerged lock in the St Lawrence. On one of the dive, I had an 80 cft on my back and slung an 80 cft on my Express Tech (as a big pony as well to see what it would be like if I was going to dive that config next Feb in Bonaire on certain dives)
 
Blue Sparkle: Very informative!-thanks. Having read yours and others' posts, I am determined to do a Deep course with an instructor who is known for going the extra mile. And maybe I will read NWGratefulDiver's gas planning info. It sounds like gas planning is somewhat glossed over in the basic PADI Deep course.

TS&M: So you're saying that time and experience is the best, if not the only, solution, unless I want to get into helium? Hmm.

I'm sure doing more diving to the depths in question would help, but I'd like to have a solid base before I start doing that. Also, it's not all that simple, since just about all of my diving is done in a vacation-type environment, where most people on the boat are there for the weekend or week to see pretty fish without working too hard. (But every once in a while, I find myself on a boat that happens to be going out to a wreck at 100 feet or so--hence my motivation for posting.) Joining a dive club and setting up trips with like-minded individuals may be the best course of action. Or, of course, specifically seeking out dive ops who concentrate on wreck trips. But none of this has dissuaded me from taking the Deep course--and not necessarily PADI--as I think it would provide a good base for further "deep" diving.
 
NetDoc, I PM'd you.
Thanks! We just need to work on times and dates if you're OK with a non-PADI instructor! It should be fun!
 
I notice you have PM'ed NetDoc. He is one of the instructors I had hoped to take the Deep/Wreck class from, but the scheduling did not work out (thanks to an errant oyster knife :shocked2:). That said, my buddy and I did dive with him a couple of weeks ago, and that only confirmed my prior feeling that a class with him would have been fantastic. It was a great day and even though we were "just fun diving," we got some good tips (and had a lot of fun :))
Thanks for the kind words. As an instructor, I think being prepared ahead of time and evaluation dives are essential to great learning. I do have a tremendously busy travel schedule, so its important to schedule classes a month or more in advance so we can both be prepared. However, if you find yourself in Key Largo, PM or call me. If you are on any of the boats that welcome me, I can usually go diving with you on a moments notice. We worked on propulsion that day on Molasses Reef (our third dive). Blue Sparkle has an awesome frog kick that she turned into a just as awesome back kick. Her dive buddy found a better way of doing a flutter kick and found that his frog kick is more powerful than he thought. Me? I was playing around with Aqualung's I3 BCD which I have promised to try out for them. I am sure Blue Sparkle and Ian were wondering why I was doing upside down frog kicks (supine rather than prone) and putting myself into all sorts of positions just to see just how this BCD works.
 
I took the PADI Deep course in the Florida Keys in December 2010. As is usually mentioned in this type of thread, I think the instructor makes a huge difference, so my experience is just one example. Just as a frame of reference: We are fairly new divers, and had made one or two deep dives before the December 2010 trip. We took a PADI wreck class just before this deep class (on the same trip; from the same instructor). So we got to make quite a few deeper dives on that trip. The number of dives with a guide did help me.

However, I'm not sure I would say I got a lot more out of my class than I would have got by reading ScubaBoard and making four deep dives with a guide (which is not to say four deep dives with a guide is not a good thing). Basically, we got the PADI book, read it and did the knowledge reviews at home, then arrived for our dives, checked over our Nitrox, and took the boat out to our dive sites. The instructor talked about the dive some on the way out. Then we made the dives, following him. Afterward he photocopied our knowledge reviews and we got our cards.

That sounds like we didn't learn anything, and that's not true. But I would like to have learned more, and it stressed me to feel that potential slipping through our fingers.


Of that list, I would say that we touched on number 9 (possibly because we had requested it specifically) by one of us shooting an SMB on one dive. The rest of the list was somewhat discussed (in varying amounts) in the PADI Deep book, but not really in the class itself (which was just dives; no formal classroom). I would have loved a class that did cover all those points, and we did our best to interview instructors and find the best one; but the really good ones seem hard to find (and/or were not available/nearby when we were there diving).

By PADI standard you are suppose to have class room time. Scubaboard has a lot of incorrect information on it so buyer beware.
 
By PADI standard you are suppose to have class room time.

Not sure which 'standard' you are refering to, in regards to the Deep Diver course??

PADI Speciality Instructor Manual: Deep Diver Course Instructor Outline:
Knowledge Development.
Academic information may be obtained through independent student study using the Deep Diver Manual and Deep Diving video or through classroom sessions. Information may also be given on boats or on shore.





Scubaboard has a lot of incorrect information on it so buyer beware.

(See above). :wink:
 
I am sure Blue Sparkle and Ian were wondering why I was doing upside down frog kicks (supine rather than prone) and putting myself into all sorts of positions just to see just how this BCD works.

We just figured you always dived that way, so we acted natural :wink:

Scubaboard has a lot of incorrect information on it so buyer beware.

I hear what you are saying, but, on the other hand, I have found some excellent information on Scubaboard. I would actually say it has improved my diving more than any other single source (granted, if I had a local diving community/mentor/great instructor then things might be weighted differently).

I have seen information here that I disagree with or think is wrong, but then I could say the same thing about many things, including the dive instruction I've had. It's always good to consider sources and read multiple viewpoints, in my opinion.
 

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