mikemill
Contributor
Next thing you know, people'll be complaining about the underwater basket weaving certification...
Who teaches that? I would seriously consider it just to have that card
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Next thing you know, people'll be complaining about the underwater basket weaving certification...
AOW (at least for padi) certifies you to 100'. 130' just leads to more narcosis, shorter NDLs, and more gas planning issues... Which is what you get from the deep diver cert. All you're paying for is a guide to come down with you and make sure you're not being a total asshat. The narcosis at 100' is usually manageable.
For technical diving, it depends on the flavour of koolaid, but TDI Has A Course For Everything. This is probably what the guy was talking about. If it was covered in your IANTD class, then the answer is "yes". The recreational nitrox courses doesn't cover deco since you shouldn't be exceeding the recommended limits anyways(as you have not been taught what to do).
decompression diving and teach me how to handle pure O2 during a decompression stop.
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Ok, my AOW book from 1995'ish says 130' not 100'. PADI
I was taught DECO in my IANTD EAN. There was no classification of "recreational nitrox"
We were taught how to handle pure Oxygen in that class. That was in 1996'ish
See this is my sorta my issue. All of this stuff was presented in our basic classes 10+ years ago. Diving to 130', Nitrox and it's full scope of benefits, and if we showed up to class diving a drysuit, and needed help, help would be given.
I get the free market system. I guess that if a McDonald's hamburger can shrink to the size of a postage stamp, then the amount of education in the SCUBA world can shrink too. Unless you pay for the extra slice of "cheese" you just don't get what you used to get.
Ok, my AOW book from 1995'ish says 130' not 100'. PADI
I was taught DECO in my IANTD EAN. There was no classification of "recreational nitrox"
We were taught how to handle pure Oxygen in that class. That was in 1996'ish
See this is my sorta my issue. All of this stuff was presented in our basic classes 10+ years ago. Diving to 130', Nitrox and it's full scope of benefits, and if we showed up to class diving a drysuit, and needed help, help would be given.
I get the free market system. I guess that if a McDonald's hamburger can shrink to the size of a postage stamp, then the amount of education in the SCUBA world can shrink too. Unless you pay for the extra slice of "cheese" you just don't get what you used to get.
Seriously, you don't think people should take classes on deco? Considering how much data (scientific, pseudo-scientific, anecdotal, etc) there is about decompression theory and the dangers of getting it wrong I would say that deco is a good class to take.
I'm sorry to hear that you don't have respect for those that are trying to seek out formal education instead of doing it via a "crazy diving career".
The problem I do have is that boats and shops are making these POS cards mandatory to do certain dives.
That was then, this is now, 14 years later. Things have been identified, and markets have been narrowed. Some people don't want to dive to 130. Some people need time to adjust to the narcosis, etc.
As I said earlier, some shops throw in dry suit training. I know the place I did my OW with will do it for an extra $100 (to cover wear & tear on the suit, as well as rental costs). The regular course costs $250 & gets you as shiney card, but you gotta do AOW for it.
Courses used to be longer. Yes, they probably should be, but people aren't willing to spend more than ~$500 on something. Is this working out better for the industry or worse? I guess we'll know in another 15 years.