Best and Worst Courses??

[Tank4507]

So i was sitting in the shop today and i had a customer ask me a question, the question was " What is the best classes i can take to better my dive skills, and what is the worst class, meaning what classes are just a waste of time?"

The question made me wonder how many people out there might actually be wondering about this, especially new divers, and let's face it there are tons of classes out there that divers can go take, but are they all actually worth the money?

My answer was Peak Performance Buoyancy as the best class ( after you initially get certified of course) and of course that class is only as good as the program that you are taking, and the time that the instructor really puts into the course.

There was quite a few classes that came to my mind as the worst classes you can take if you are trying to BETTER YOUR DIVE SKILLS, but i'm wondering what all of you guys think on there in scubaboard land..

So what is it? What is the best and worst classes in your opinions that you can take if you are trying to become a better diver??

 

[boulderjohn]

For a new diver, the need for training in buoyancy depends upon how much attention that skill got in the OW class. I have seen students come out of the OW class with better buoyancy than many students finishing the Peak Performance Buoyancy class. On the other hand, some students come out of the OW class absolutely needing a class like PPB.

The OW class, at least for PADI, has changed very much over the last few years, with much more emphasis on both buoyancy and trim than there was in the past, when it was pretty negligible. Some instructors will teach those new standards and that new emphasis to the hilt, and the results will show it. Other instructors will make the new class look as much as possible like the old class, and the results will show that as well.

 

[Tank4507]

For a new diver, the need for training in buoyancy depends upon how much attention that skill got in the OW class. I have seen students come out of the OW class with better buoyancy than many students finishing the Peak Performance Buoyancy class. On the other hand, some students come out of the OW class absolutely needing a class like PPB.

The OW class, at least for PADI, has changed very much over the last few years, with much more emphasis on both buoyancy and trim than there was in the past, when it was pretty negligible. Some instructors will teach those new standards and that new emphasis to the hilt, and the results will show it. Other instructors will make the new class look as much as possible like the old class, and the results will show that as well.

Totally agree with you on that!! It all depends on the quality of the instructor involved in each class someone takes.

 

[Kevo88]

I was talking to a guy last weekend who was finishing his AOW dives. He had just finished the fish id dive. This was in a freshwater quarry, so only got to see bluegill, largemouth bass, crappie, and channel catfish. Now I haven't done that dive, so maybe there is more to it as far as task loading than I am giving it credit for, but to me it would have felt like a bit of a waste. In the ocean I could imagine it going a lot farther with more biodiversity.

 

[boulderjohn]

I was talking to an AOW student about what dives he wanted to do in our freshwater lake with about 5 foot visibility and pretty much nothing but crawfish scooting along the bottom. He wanted to do Fish ID and underwater videography. I suggested he go for something else.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

So i was sitting in the shop today and i had a customer ask me a question, the question was " What is the best classes i can take to better my dive skills, and what is the worst class, meaning what classes are just a waste of time?"

I know UW Naturalist, Fish ID, and similar often take a beating as they don't offer any sort of traditional diving skills. However, they do offer knowledge. I'm not equipped to teach either of those courses, but I am encouraging a 14 year old student whom I recently certified in OW who plans to study marine sciences to seek out a good instructor for that, as it is relevant to her interests and future studies. Heck, I think I should take Fish ID in my local area, so I get better at spotting critters and showing them to new students who get excited from seeing different life. Now that I thought of the benefit of taking such, I will.

When it comes to AOW, I recommend PPB, night, and DSMB as the electives. For full courses, I think that wreck is an excellent course IF you can find a really good instructor. PPB is valuable depending on how your OW and AOW courses were conducted.

 

[MichaelMc]

I would put buoyancy and trim at the head of the skills list.

I dive kelp forest and there are many fish I do not know. As I learn more it makes my dives more fun. So a really great fish ID class followed by dive would be fun.

Edit: sorry, missed the bold DIVE SKILLS caveat.

 

[TMHeimer]

The best course was the DM course because it forced me to polish up my skills to demonstration level. By "skills" I'm not talking about general buoyancy and basic good diving. I mean unit removal/replacement, weight belt same, free flow breathing, reg retrieval, etc. --the "20 pool skills". Not rocket science tasks, but I feel good knowing I can easily do these things if I ever have to.
The other courses I've taken (wreck, deep, et al) were all pretty good, but I use very little of that knowledge in my everyday simple diving, so I can't specify a "best" or worst" there.
The PADI Equipment Specialist was interesting, but I came out of that knowing little practical repair stuff.

 

[stuartv]

The most useless class I took was SDI Advanced Buoyancy Control. I chalk it up to a terrible instructor.

The best class (for dive skills) was a combined Wreck and Deep class.

 

[Centrals]

My personal opinion:
Multi-level was the best when computer was NOT that common 20 yrs ago.
Nitrox is very practical and useful as long as you have reasonable gas consumption rate.

I dive mainly in Philippines and fish ID is a joke because the varieties are huge and some of them are quite similar eg Moorish Idol and Banner fish. Mistaken identification is unavoidable for the inexperienced.