Enriched Air v. Advanced Open Water Certifications

[Papa_Bear]

Nitrox cost more and you would not gain much at this point from it! You should dive enough that your skills will allow you to approach the NDL limits on air before moving to the next level. What good does it do to be able to stay for 80min. at 80ft if you burn through your air supply in in 20min at 80ft??? Your skills will improve the more you dive, so take the AOW just to learn and dive more as it will help your comfort level greatly!

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

I would say AOW, if you have to choose. They can be done at the same time. They are not mutually exclusive. But teh AOW will challenge you to better your diving skills.

 

[Teamcasa]

So much of this decision has to do with a few factors.
How comfortable are you in the water now? How is your buoyancy? Are you a card collector or do you really want to learn more? How is your instructor? Do you plan on diving somewhere soon that requires AOW to access the good sites?

For me, if you have a good instructor, one that will actually train you as opposed to an instructor that just runs you through the checklists, then take to AOW. Otherwise, take the Nitrox course and find a really good instructor for the AOW later.

One way or the other, good for you for wanting to continue your diving education.

 

[NudeDiver]

or my next course, I'm debating between taking either enriched air or advanced open water. Which of those do you think I should take next (or would you suggest a different course)? Keep in mind that I have no specific goal right now other than gaining a lot of diving experience and becoming a better diver

IMHO - AOW is a mostly a waste of time, except for the fact that some ops on some dives want to see it - and/or it is a chance to get more experience under the watchful eye of an instructor. That's its real value.I took it, with a total of only 4 dives under my belt before the class started. So, it was more useful than it would have been otherwise, simply because I had no experience anyway. With your 25 dives, the educational value of AOW is a lot more nebulous.

If I were you, I'd take the Nitrox class first, AOW class second, if at all. Keep in mind that the PADI Nitrox class does not require you to make any dives - it's just book work, class and test. Should be easy to fit into a work schedule. Save the AOW class for vacation, when you're out diving anyway. Also, keep in mind that there is nothing to keep you from getting the AOW and working through it on your own. Whenever you DO take the class, you'll be ahead of the game.

Good luck!
nd

 

[super7]

I'll put it this way.
AOW is more like a set of introductory dives for some specialties. Since you're required to make some dives, it will be somewhat time consuming, but you'll get to dive deeper than 60 ft.
With EAN, its just book work, and no dives are required. While your air consumption might dictate how long you can dive, diving on Nitrox should make your post dive air travel safer.

If you're going to dive locally, get AOW first. As Papa_Bear said, Nitrox can wait until your SAC rates go down.
If you're going to vacation dive, get Nitrox cert locally, then take you AOW on you vacation dives.

 

[Bobby Demosthenis]

I agree with mattboy. Combine the two. Nitrox Diver compliments the AOW perfectly, just ask your instructor for the actual speciality rather than the dive experience. Another option is to do 'Adventure dives' which is part of the AOW, and do it that way. Most Instructors are flexiable anyway and will let you to one speciality at a time. There is a small amount of theory in this course, which is why I loved it so much!

Bobby

 

[victor]

Do AOW and ask your instructor to concentrate on buoyancy and trim.
If possible combine nitrox, its only a little bit of theory, learn how to check the mix in a tank, and a test.

If you can crack your buoyancy and trim then your air consumption will improve enormously and you will be able to take advantage of nitrox.

Deep dives must be deep, it is important that you understand how you respond to narcosis in a safe environment. I get anxious, now I know it I can counter it. Others react differenctly, and you need to recognise the your symptoms and what you need to do to overcome them.

Navigation is also important and cannot be done in a perfect environment. However a large flat sandy area with reasonable visibility can be used, but 2 metre vis is better and a irregular bottom is better.

Have fun, doing 25 dives after your OW was an excellent idea.

 

[sam.mccully]

I have just finished both courses personally i think you should complete your AOW. If you are to get dive experience i would personally say its better to be able to go a bit deeper with more experience then to be able to have a longer bottom time. This is just my opinion. But i would defo go with AOW.

 

[leapfrog]

1. AOW and Enriched Air Specialty together.
2. First AOW, doing the Deep, Navigation, Search and Recovery, Night and Multilevel or Wreck dives. Second Rescue. Third, Enriched Air Specialty.

 

[rstofer]

There are no dives required for the PADI Enriched Air course. You watch the DVD, read the book, complete the Knowledge Reviews and then meet with the instructor for a few hours to go over the material, take the final exam and analyze a couple of cylinders of Nitrox.

This class has negligible impact on schedule. All this assumes, of course, that the LDS offers the class in this way.

When I took Enriched Air a few months ago, I wound up being the only student in the class. Not exactly a money maker for the instructor.

It is also common to find AOW and Nitrox courses combined. There are 2 evening classes, one for AOW and one for Nitrox followed by five dives on the weekend.

Richard