Question about PADI AOW and Specialties

[parkerco]

I'm doing AOW next weekend and was told I can "finish" some of the specialties of the dives we're scheduled to be doing that weekend while we're there. I had two questions about this that I'd prefer an unbiased opinion on (or at least not biased towards my LDS's balance sheet):

(1) Beyond just collecting c-cards or filling a pre-req for further training/certs (Master, DM, etc.), is there a benefit to doing the entire specialty versus just the AOW dive covering it? For example, for my AOW we're going to be doing Deep, Altitude, PPB, Night and Nav. So for Deep, what extra knowledge is imparted by doing the specialty class versus the AOW deep dive, or is there any? I understand more dive experience focused on the task is beneficial, but what I'm specifically wondering is if there's specific skills / information included in the gap between the AOW portion and the full specialty. Hope that makes sense ...

(2) Are there additional class materials beyond the chapters in the AOW book for EACH specialty? I know there are Deep Diver and Night Diver "packs," but didn't see anything on my LDS's website for the other 3 I'm doing in AOW.

Thanks in advance!

 

[AndyNZ]

You will get lots of opinions on this, for sure.

My take (as a PADI instructor) is that there can be a lot of value provided in a specialty course - the first dive of each (that you will be doing in AOW) are generally very limited in scope, and with the right instructor you will learn heaps by doing the remainder of the course.

Saying that, you have to define "value". Value to me, in this context, means that it has to give you something you want. If you have no interest at all in marine life, then irrespective of how great the underwater naturalist course is.... it's still got zero value for you.

I'd suggest turning things around - instead of asking whether the courses give you value, instead ask yourself what it is that you want to learn and then decide which (if any) of the courses are going to give you that.

There's no rush. You can do the courses whenever you like, so take the time and do some diving and work out what is going to rock your boat.

It's difficult to answer the question about what skills/knowledge you'll gain from a specific course. There is always additional knowledge/skills in the specialty course that could be useful - but the emphasis on those will vary from shop to shop, from instructor to instructor.

 

[stargost]

(1) for AOW, you should be doing 1 dive per specialty. You'll learn the minimum for the particular specialty you or your instructor have picked. As for the dedicated class per specialty, you'll do multiple dives (3 to 5), so you will ... learn more.
In the deep diving specialty, you may be trained to use a pony, and they may instal an additional air source at 15ft for the safety stop. So much is left to your instructor.

==> it is somehow explained in the AOW book

(2) You can buy goodies for each specialties for sure. If you peak Video or Photo, you'll need a camera ;-) while sometime they are actually provided by the LDS. For Navigation, you need a compass, and a 100 line may help.
==> also somehow explained in the AOW book

AOW is a very good complement to OW, to get more on the stuff not enough covered in OW (buoyancy in particular, nav very often, and of course night and deep).

If you are particularly interested in a special area, try not to have it in the AOW and subscribe to the dedicated course... while most of the time, if you are interested in learning more in the particular area, you can ... just practice with more experimented divers...
Exceptions being dry suit, nitrox where you'll need a card to rent.

Finally, for the 5 dives in the AOW, you'll just get the very extra basic, which you'll need for sure to deepen more afterward. But it is good to get a first deep or night with a 'real' instructor. Which is one reason AOW is good, compare to discovering this outside a class only with OW. Also as you can glance at 5 specialties, you get a chance to see more what you want to practice later on (more night, or more deep, or more ...)

 

[TwoBitTxn]

PPB, Nav, and Deep are the three I would recommend doing the additional dives in that order.

PPB doesn't have an additional pack, Nav and deep do. Talk to your shop about this.

Actually, I don't think you will have the time to do the additional deep dives.

The PPB, with a good instructor, is a highly valuable class. You can't spend too much time working on your buoyancy skills. You should learn about both buoyancy and trim.

Nav is worthwhile since just like PPB, it's time in the water working with a compass that gets you better at UW navigation. But your navigation is hard to maintain if your buoyancy sucks.

Best wishes to you.

 

[Don Wray]

You did not cite the agency so if it's not PADI, please disregard the following.

IF PADI, I don't see how that can be done, if done by standards. There are 5 dives required for AOW. 1 each for nav and deep, 1 for PPB, 1 for night, and 1 for altitude. You can do only 3 training dives per day.

So, unless your diving Friday or Monday, 3 dives Saturday for the AOW, and 2 dives Sunday to complete AOW only leaves room for 1 more training dive. The specialty for deep requires 4 dives (3 additional to your aow dive), nav is 3 (2 additional), night is 3 (2 additional), 2 for altitude and 2 for ppb. So, if done by standards, you could only "finish" either PPB or altitude by doing 1 additional training dive for that specialty.

Specialty training dives cannot be combined in the PADI system with very few exceptions. (ex. enriched air dives). I think SSI allows some training dives to count toward more than one specialty but I haven't read their training requirements in a while, so that may have changed.

As stated above, nav and deep each have crew packs and the knowledge reviews are required to be completed in order to complete the specialty. If the instructor is not requiring this, I'd take a second look at the course.

All that being said, 5 training dives in 2 days is a lot if taught correctly, so I advise not to push it. Your AOW training dives will still count toward the specialty at a later date. Whatever you decide to do, have fun.

 

[boulderjohn]

Are you doing this in the Blue Hole in New Mexico? If so, will you be going down early so that you can dive on Friday as well as the weekend?

Either way, be sure to go to the Rocky Mountain Oysters club site in the Regional Travel and Clubs section. There will be a pretty good sized ScubaBoard crowd there, and there will be a potluck picnic.

I will be diving nearby myself, and I will get over there occasionally when we need some fills.

 

[parkerco]

Are you doing this in the Blue Hole in New Mexico? If so, will you be going down early so that you can dive on Friday as well as the weekend?

Either way, be sure to go to the Rocky Mountain Oysters club site in the Regional Travel and Clubs section. There will be a pretty good sized ScubaBoard crowd there, and there will be a potluck picnic.

I will be diving nearby myself, and I will get over there occasionally when we need some fills.

Actually I saw that but unfortunately I'm going "next" weekend (25th-ish). Wish the timing was different so I could meet some of you all, but I'm camping those forums so I don't miss the next one! And yes, heading down Thursday night or Friday very early to get some extra dives in.

 

[azchipka]

From my point of view (PADI Staff Instructor) your best bet to gain the most experiance out of your AOW course is to complete the course by completing a total of five speciality courses. This provides you with true experiance in different types of diving and lines you up to earn your Master Scuba Diver rating as soon as you have finished your rescue course.

This way does take longer but it produces someone who is actually experianced instead of just holding a card to show there friends.

 

[dhuskins]

I agree with AndyNZ. First figure out what you want to do with your diving, then figure out if you need a class or identify a class that teaches what you need to know.

My wife took the Boat Diver class and learned quite a bit. I clearly saw an improvement in her skills of managing herself and gear on a boat. On the other hand, I lived on boats for a couple summers when I was younger and knew most of what the Boat Diver class covered. It would have been a waste of money for me to take the class.

On the other hand . . .

I did not take the underwater photography class and wished I had. I used to be a photography instructor at a local college and thought the photography class would have also been a waste (like the boat class). I picked up the book, so I could have the slate, and began reading it. Only then did I realize I could have been shooting much better pictures much earlier on had I taken the class.

There is much more knowledge in the specialty classes than what is covered in the adventure dive. If you are interested in the topic, then take a class. If you are not, then don't. Just because you think you know enough about the topic, there may be some gems of knowledge about how diving interacts with the topic you know that will change how you understand the topic. You may still want to take a class.

The quality of the instructor is a huge factor in the quality of the specialty classes.

 

[scubadiver888]

I'm going to agree with AndyNZ as well. The only thing I would add is that if you think you might go pro (Instructor), you cannot teach the specialty without having the specialty. So if you want to become a Master Scuba Instructor, you'll need some specialty courses.