AOW vs OW

[DaveyDiver]

hey Chad...based on what others are saying, I must have had a truely awesome PADI AOW course...and I think I learned a couple of things...

- Night dive with navigation
- Mutlilevel dive to 80ft at 1800 ft ASL
- Deep dive to 80 ft at 1800 ASL
- Boat diving from inflatables
- Search and Recovery including selection and use of liftbags

It's like someone said, the dives DON'T make you advanced, they just open up the possibilities. It sounds like the OP has the gear, the time to dive, and the opportunity to do the cert, just doesn't want to spend the coin since he already feels he has the skills.

 

[The Chad]

I think it's great you took some good things away from it! Feeling you have the skills, and actually getting the training are as you know are very different. I was just thinking out loud about ways for new divers who wanted to advance their diving without falling into the marketing/money PADI hierarchy. Belive me I am all about training, its just that there are some courses that IMHO don't offer much. In the end it's what the individual expects and takes away from their exp.

 

[DiverBizz]

Well I had a great AOW experience. The class and book really is something that I can refer to every once in a while just to review. I had deep dive, DPV(added specialty), wreck, navigation (very helpful), night dive, and multi-level.

 

[DiverBizz]

But my AOW was mainly just another opportunity to get in the water. The book work was not difficult.

 

[diverdowndh]

AOW for me was just throwing down money, doing things I had already been doing for years, so I could advance towards my Rescue (and ultimately, DM that I am working on presently). For years I simply laid down my PADI OW card, never was asked to show my logbook, and did wrecks, nights, deeps, etc. I do say that almost invariably the first dives of the day, when at a new dive location, they could see that I was a very safe and prepared diver.

I *did* get one very important thing from my AOW - I used the LDS here in my hometown for the first time and got to work with one of the finest instructors that I've ever seen. He and I have become good friends and I've went on 2 trips with him and his shop and have met many friends because of my decision to "go ahead and just get AOW out of the way". I took my Rescue with him and now my DM. This all came from taking AOW with the LDS that is really close to where I live.

 

[stepup]

I took the AOW class and I got a little bit from it but not enough for me to have seen it to have been valuable enough to pay for. The only reason I took it was because I got it free for buying all of my equipment from the same diveshop I took my OW through. I did enjoy it because I learned how to use a lift bag the proper way and found out what it was liked to get narced. I would reccomend taking the Nitrox class rather than paying for the AOW. You will learn the same things you would in AOW just by diving regularly and getting wet as often as possible.