Altitude Diving Specialty, and others, are they worth it?

[Toadie]

Hey there,

This weekend I completed my rescue course and had some spare time to dive. So I took the time did some extra dives and noticed that I happened to complete the requirements for the Altitude specialty since I was diving 80 ft at 4300 ft above sea level. My question is this.... why get the specialties? I know that some places won't let you dive wrecks unless you have that specialty but is there a reason other for the others? If memory serves.... I think you can't be a Master Diver unless you have five specialties but I"m wondering if it's worth the 50 bucks. I mean, I know I can dive at altitude... what's the diff?

 

[Wristshot]

. . .I mean, I know I can dive at altitude... what's the diff?

If you had taken the training, then you would know what the difference was.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Some people take Specialties to "collect merit badges". Some people take the classes to enhance their education. My buddy and I took the Altitude Specialty to learn more, and to try out the novelty of diving at Lake Tahoe with an Instructor. We will probably dive there some more, so it doesn't hurt to know what to do, not to do etc.

Many people have strong feelings one way or another about Specialties and Master Scuba Diver. To each his / her own. It all depends upon what is important to you. My buddy really has his heart set on achieving Master Scuba Diver. I have my heart set on diving a lot of places and seeing a lot of things. My long term goal is to dive in all 50 states. YMMV.

I have taken a few specialties, and I learned a lot of things that way. Some will be (or already have been) very useful. Some classes are only as good as the instructor and dependent upon how much effort the student invests. Each diver can only answer whether they are worth it for themselves. IMHO Those that preach their beliefs tend to be shallow.

You can continue your education with or without an Instructor. The ocean can be your classroom and the world your teacher.

Wristshot

 

[knotical]

Hey there,

This weekend I completed my rescue course and had some spare time to dive. So I took the time did some extra dives and noticed that I happened to complete the requirements for the Altitude specialty since I was diving 80 ft at 4300 ft above sea level. My question is this.... why get the specialties? I know that some places won't let you dive wrecks unless you have that specialty but is there a reason other for the others? If memory serves.... I think you can't be a Master Diver unless you have five specialties but I"m wondering if it's worth the 50 bucks. I mean, I know I can dive at altitude... what's the diff?

Altitude diving is one of those courses where much of the learning is on the surface rather than in the water, so I wouldn’t agree that you have met the requirements by doing the diving you describe.

The material in the altitude course can be self-taught, but a good instructor can make it valuable and interesting. A lot depends on you and on your instructor. Are you the kind who learns well from books? Or do you do better with an instructor?

Consider looking at threads like these for an idea of some altitude issues (these two are even in the forum for the club that includes your geographical area) .
http://www.scubaboard.com/t86412-altitude-diving.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/t86431-driving-to-higher-elevation-after-diving.html

An instructor might also challenge you with the math behind the methods, if you think that would be helpful. You might want to talk it over with some prospective instructors.

I notice you are a PADI diver. Yes, you need five specialties (and Rescue and 50 dives) for PADI’s Master Scuba Diver.

You should probably evaluate each specialty and instructor to determine the value (to you). I think all the courses can be of value, if properly approached.

 

[RP Diver]

I've made probably 150 high altitude dives without ever taking the "Specialty". Every dive I've ever made within a 6-7 hour drive of my home has been at above 4000' elevation. I never even considered taking the specialty, but then the only specialty I've ever taken is Equipment... doesn't even require a dive.

 

[lorien]

Personally I have taken 8 specialties so far, gotten my Master Scuba Diver and am in my Divemaster class now. Why? Even members of my dive club ask me that. I think it depends on the individual. For me, I find that in every class that I take, I learn something new and improve my skills dramatically. You never know it all or know enough. I enjoy the challenge, pushing myself somewhat, learning, improving my skills, becoming the best diver that I can be, etc. I have friends who are good divers who do not feel the need to continue their education. Some perhaps should learn more and some may not need to. There are many different levels of divers. You have to decide what is best for you and what you want to do as well as what you want to get out of it. Only you can make the decision.
I have to agree, what you get out of any course will also depend on the instructor that you have. I have had a total of 5 instructors so far. 1 for my OW who was a nightmare. 1 for my Bouycancy class who was great but not in the US, another for my AOW who was decent, 1 for my Nitrox who was less than satisfactory, etc. Now I have found an excellent instructor who goes the extra mile and have taken numerous courses with him and would hesitate to take one anywhere else. It makes a huge difference in what you get out of the class.

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

I've got mixed feelings on this one. For most specialties I would personally read and research it myself, and not pay for the course.

Altitude, though, I'm not sure on.

For my Altitude class, even though I went through a LDS that I really liked, I got a bad instructor that was very generous with bad information. I had a talk with the training director, because I felt that the instructor was going to get someone bent.

I was able to recognize the bad info because I researched the topic on my own. After the class I felt that I had wasted my money.

I did get some good handouts from the class that are hard to find on your own, like the Theoretical Depth table and Safety Stop Depth chart.

Basically, I there is a lot to know about diving at altitude, and it's hard to know what you need to know without someone to tell you.

I guess I would recommend getting the Altitude cert from a GOOD instructor, but other specialties I would only get if I had to have them for a type of diving I wanted to do.

For instance, I don't have to have a photography cert to take a camera on the boat, and not knowing the best way to compose a photo won't potentially get me dead like not knowing how to convert the dive table for altitude.

Just my $.02.

 

[RP Diver]

I've made probably 150 high altitude dives without ever taking the "Specialty". Every dive I've ever made within a 6-7 hour drive of my home has been at above 4000' elevation. I never even considered taking the specialty, but then the only specialty I've ever taken is Equipment... doesn't even require a dive.

I should add that we were taught how to do table adjustments for altitude as part of our OW certification dives, as we were diving at over 4000' in New Mexico. It has been a factor in my diving since the beginning, which is why I never felt like spending money to make it official.

 

[triton94949]

Generally speaking, you should seek training before you try something new in scuba. So the general answer to your original question is that you indeed should take a class in altitude diving, if that is the kind of diving you are going to do, even if only once, and definitely if many times.

Altitude diving has shorter NDL times than sea-level diving for any given depth. You need to know what those limits are, before you go diving.

If you have a dive computer which allows you to dial-in altitude adjustments, that should help you plan and execute your dives.

Generally speaking, altitude diving is best with nitrox, since nitrox lowers your equivalent air depth, and at altitude you are faced with deeper equivalent depths compared with sea level. Therefore a nitrox computer with altitude settings will do the work for you, assuming you know how to properly set the computer.

The Suunto dive computers will do all this, if you are looking for a dive computer.

You can figure out how to do the manual adjustments yourself, without having to rely on a computer, if you have a copy of The NOAA Diving Manual. They have a separate section in which they explain altitude diving concepts. If you are a good reader, then you can teach yourself the requirements. But generally in scuba that is not recommended. Better to have an instructor teach you.