Course/LDS Recommendation for Austin, TX

[O2BBubbleFree]

I've had some outstanding service there, especially in the area of gear repair. But you won't go wrong with Tom's.

Sorry, maybe I'm a difficult customer, but I really got annoyed when I was in there looking at books and the proprietor told me that he was going to have to shrink wrap them so people wouldn't thumb through them before buying.

Then I was with my dive buddy when he took a perfectly good computer to them for battery replacement. They told him that they could replace the battery, "if that's what you really want to do," then told him three or four times that he really needed to buy a new computer instead.

Oh, and buddy got his tank filled on the same visit. "I see you have a tank mesh, but what about a boot? You really should have a boot."

All this from the proprietor, not just any old salesman.

 

[JessH]

Toms is a great shop, but I would also look at Austin Aqua Sports http://www.austinaquasports.com

The aqua sports class is slightly more expensive at $295 but that includes everything, all you will need is a swim suit and a towel. The class at Toms is less at $218 ($159+$59 for books) but you will need to provide mask, fins, booties and snorkel which will run you about another $150 to buy. Of course you will want to buy these before long anyway. You can't go wrong with the classes at either shop, so pick whats most convenient and go for it.

One thing to consider is the temperature of the lake. Right now it is cold (65issh) and getting colder. This is divable with a 7mm and hood(I do it), but if you think it is going to keep you from diving you will probably be better off waiting until it warms up a bit.

~Jess

 

[mudhole]

Greetings All,

My wife and I will be taking a trip to Cozumel next July. I have never dived but my wife is AOW (although she hasn't dived in a few years herself). Anyway, I am looking for some recommendations for a great place to get certified in Austin.

Just to offer other options. . . take your course work in Austin and get the paper work for a referral dive in Cozumel. And to catch up with your wife, take the AOW class in Cozumel. There are at lots of good instructors on the island. Language won't be a problem they all speak English, except one girl from Austin that just speaks texan. We love her even with that against her

Take your course work from a local shop and don't worry about forgetting anything. . . you'll find everything from the course discussed in greater detail from the lists of topics under "Forums"
Read the conflicting advice on every piece of gear, and every action a diver can make. You'll learn by reading both sides of any argument. We're like family. . . we will squabble.

 

[talonraid]

"The aqua sports class is slightly more expensive at $295 but that includes everything, all you will need is a swim suit and a towel. The class at Toms is less at $218 ($159+$59 for books) but you will need to provide mask, fins, booties and snorkel which will run you about another $150 to buy. " - JessH

One final note referencing JessH's post above is that when I took lessons from Tom's they allowed me to use their classroom gear. Of course the hope is that you will try something there that you like and then purchase from them, but I didn't have to have my own gear for the class. You may actually want to try some different brands/models of masks, fins, etc before purchasing anyway. This was a good way to test some basic gear prior to puchase. I did end up buying some gear from Tom's, and if my foggy memory serves me correctly, I think they offered me a discount for being a student.

 

[halocline]

Slight hi jack here; you are definitely getting into the season when diving in Lake Travis or Canyon lake is no fun. Supposedly there's a man made lake a few hours west that's much better for diving, maybe it's called Amistad. Anyone know about that one? You might also look at diving in aquarina springs; my understanding is that you have to take a class there after you're certified, but the stories I've heard are that it's excellent, especially in the winter when the water is relatively warm.

There's another great option (IMO) which would be to make a recon trip to Cozumel this winter to do your OW dives. This has the extreme advantage of turning one Cozumel trip into two!

 

[ianr33]

I have a buddy that dives Amistad fairly regularly. I dont think the vis is any better than Travis. Maybe you were thinking of Balmorreah (SP) ? Never been there but the viz is apparently really good(spring fed) .Small and shallow though and a long way west.

Travis can actually be quite clear in the winter once all the algal gunk had died back,the downside is that it will be cold (mid 50's at all depths)

 

[theatis]

I've had good experiences with Diveworld, took courses there with no sales pitch at all but i did have my own complete set of equipment to begin with. I've also had good experiences with Austin Aqua. On the other hand, i've had some bad experiences (in terms of sales pressure) at a couple of other places, i don't know if i should name them or not since they haven't already been mentioned in this thread. I have no experience with Tom's but hear only good things about them.

I believe that the best remedy for sales pressure is for the customer to actively lead the way. In other words, when you initiate contact with the shop that you choose state your intentions clearly: "we are looking to buy these specific equipment, or to spend x dollars, or even (as was my case) i'm not looking to buy equipment at all." If you are honest with them up front, you force them to be honest with you as well, whether they would otherwise be or not.

As for the lake, as always attitudes towards temperature are relative; Jess says you need a 7mm+hood, i dove the lake a couple of days ago with a 5mm+hood and took the hood off midway (it was giving me equalization problems) and i was fine. Air temp is really cold these last few days though and getting out of the water is more difficult than getting in. On the other hand, there's nothing you can do about the viz!

 

[buhund]

Wow. Lots of great and helpful information for me to digest. You all are great.

I'm pretty sure I'll end up doing my OW dives in Austin. I think by the time I get to Cozumel I want to be able to do a "real dive". And I don't think I could pull off getting down there ahead of time.

I'm pretty tolerant of colder temperatures. Is there anything else I should consider before deciding whether or not I should do the training this time of year? For example, will I be wearing so much gear to keep me warm that it will make it more challenging to learn the skills?

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

I'm pretty tolerant of colder temperatures. Is there anything else I should consider before deciding whether or not I should do the training this time of year? For example, will I be wearing so much gear to keep me warm that it will make it more challenging to learn the skills?

I'm pretty cold tolerant, as well. Although I can't specifically relate, since I did my classroom and pool work in CA then did the cert dives in HI...

However, I have done quite a few dives with thick neoprene (7mm farmer john w/ 7mm jacket, hood gloves...), both fun dives and high altitude cert dives where skill assessments were part of the package.

Definitely do-able. You will get a little more, um, experience, with buoyancy control, but that's a good thing in the long run.

In case you don’t know it already, neoprene crushes with depth and looses much of it’s buoyancy, then expands when you come back up. The biggest change is in the 10 – 20 foot range. And the more neoprene you wear, the worse the effect.

The biggest challenge is stopping your final ascent for your safety stop. You have to make sure that you are ascending very slowly, or else when the neoprene expands you will not be able to stop at 15’. Don’t get carried away with your BC inflator.

When I did my high altitude cert, the instructors dive plan required a fairly long swim at 12’, both at the beginning and at the end of the dive. Everyone was having buoyancy issues during these swims, and several people popped to the top. Moral is try to avoid having to maintain a 10-20’ depth any more than you have to when wearing heavy exposure protection.

There are lots of people on here with more cold water experience than I. Maybe they can give more advice.

Oh, and don’t forget the hood. It really makes a big difference.

And here's a tidbit I didn't know about at first: With a hood on it's likely you will get air trapped in your ear canals making it more difficult to clear your ears. My solution is to make sure I pull the sides of the hood out away from my head and flood the canals when I first get in the water. You can also take a soldering iron and burn small holes in the hood right over your ears, assuming that: 1. the hood belongs to you and, 2. you are not wearing it at the time... Some people get air trapped in the top of the hood, and burn a small hole there, as well.

 

[drdiver1952]

Sorry, maybe I'm a difficult customer, but I really got annoyed when I was in there looking at books and the proprietor told me that he was going to have to shrink wrap them so people wouldn't thumb through them before buying.

Then I was with my dive buddy when he took a perfectly good computer to them for battery replacement. They told him that they could replace the battery, "if that's what you really want to do," then told him three or four times that he really needed to buy a new computer instead.

Oh, and buddy got his tank filled on the same visit. "I see you have a tank mesh, but what about a boot? You really should have a boot."

All this from the proprietor, not just any old salesman.

Wow! Sorry about your experience. It's never happened to me there. I liked the previous comment about the customer taking the lead. Whenever any store staff suggest I need to buy something new, I always ask for more information. I have often learned a lot that way--but didn't buy anything I didn't want to.