A continuing debate on agency differences

[GreenDiverDown]

MikeS once bubbled...
And why is there another thread here when an entire category Padi v. Diverlink was added to discuss it?

Mike, in another thread Walter responded to an assertion that the standards of the various agencies are pretty much the same with his "not even close" remark that we all have heard over and over. (Oddly enough I agree with him on that.) He then went on to direct readers to the article on Diverlink rather than outline the differences in agencies - a line of discussion which he thought off topic for the particular thread.

Believing that particular article is unfair, poorly constructed and not a good source of information for soon-to-be divers, I responded with my comments above. My intention was not to start a new thread or to get too far off topic but to counter what I felt was bad advice. I'm not sure that I agree that it was off topic given the direction of the thread but Walter seems to think so and split the thread. It seems improper to me that someone involved with a discussion can just up and slice out what he may not like but there you have it.

It somehow seems unfair to comment on the article when Walter is not at liberty to discuss it. Yet, he is the one that brought it up. So, I guess that anything is fair game.

SA

 

[norcaldiver]

Only 3 to choose from. Does that mean that the other 30+ certifying agencies are better than the 3 listed, worse than the 3 listed, or that the document is yet another ding on PADI.


PADI, microsoft, PADI, Microsoft....who do I hate more...pfft

 

[GreenDiverDown]

So pretend you’re looking for a shop to certify with. Your fortunate enough to have a local Y. You go there and you review their program. It looks great. It is very thorough high quality training. You prefer the extended schedule. You think the ‘bail-out’ thing is kick--s. And they have a great pool to boot. Then you meet the instructor. She has great credentials and she seems nice. But boy, is she boring! What a snoozer! She introduces you to a few members of their dive club but you don’t hit it off.

You’re tempted to just go ahead and sign up but what you really want is a dive shop that is happenin’. So you truck on over to the NAUI shop. You interview the shop owner with questions from your well prepared list. Their open water program seems pretty good and he seems to be a pretty decent fellow. Their pool, however, sucks. And they offer a very limited variety of trips for open water certification none of which fit your schedule for the next six months.

Next, you stop by the PADI shop. Now this is a cool place. These are your kind of people. You meet several instructors and are more than satisfied with how they answer your questions. They teach a weekend format that seems abbreviated…at least compared to the program at the Y. You think that this would be a fun group to hang out and dive with but you worry about the brevity of the course.

What to do?

SA

 

[Rick Murchison]

Stephen Ash once bubbled...
So pretend you’re looking for a shop to certify with. Your fortunate enough to have a local Y. You go there and you review their program. It looks great. It is very thorough high quality training. You prefer the extended schedule. You think the ‘bail-out’ thing is kick--s. And they have a great pool to boot. Then you meet the instructor. She has great credentials and she seems nice. But boy, is she boring! What a snoozer! She introduces you to a few members of their dive club but you don’t hit it off.

You’re tempted to just go ahead and sign up but what you really want is a dive shop that is happenin’. So you truck on over to the NAUI shop. You interview the shop owner with questions from your well prepared list. Their open water program seems pretty good and he seems to be a pretty decent fellow. Their pool, however, sucks. And they offer a very limited variety of trips for open water certification none of which fit your schedule for the next six months.

Next, you stop by the PADI shop. Now this is a cool place. These are your kind of people. You meet several instructors and are more than satisfied with how they answer your questions. They teach a weekend format that seems abbreviated…at least compared to the program at the Y. You think that this would be a fun group to hang out and dive with but you worry about the brevity of the course.

What to do?

SA

Go to the SSI shop and get it all, of course!
Rick

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Before anyone tries to answer the ‘what to do’ question, let me add that it was meant as rhetorical. The point is that this whole question of which agency is better is really a gross over-simplification of what is involved with in picking a place to do your training.

SA

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Rick Murchison once bubbled...

Go to the SSI shop and get it all, of course!
Rick

Well, of course, you would have gone there first.

If only you had known that they were in town...

SA

 

[Drew Sailbum]

My advice to a prospective student concerned about training standards is to ask to watch a pool session for another class group. You would then get to see what teh instructor actually includes.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Maybe I'll offer a class on how to pick a class.

 

[Lead_carrier]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
Maybe I'll offer a class on how to pick a class.

Sounds like a good specialty certification. Write up the outline, briefing, send us $40 for your card and we'll allow it..

 

[Lead_carrier]

IMHO the diverlink article is so full of bunk it is a joke. I instruct for SSI but there are some things that I do not care for that I must teach, so I do. There are a few things that NAUI, PADI and other agencies do that I like, as long as they meet RSTC standards and don't conflict with SSI I will use them. The minimum standards that are listed in the article aren't totally accurate either. (yes, I have access the all of them and have read them.

Stick with an instructor. I've seen good instructors make a horrible class good and horrible instructors make OW class seem like a warmup for UDT training.