Worth getting a solo card?

[iarf]

Background: I'm a semi-new cave diver with a decent amount of open water diving experience. I don't solo cave dive, but I do mostly dive solo when I'm doing shore dives. I rarely get on boats and thus far I've basically always been with friends when I do.

It looks like in the near future I'll be moving to an area where I'll do most of my diving from boats, and I think I'll want to be solo most of the time as it's just a lot more comfortable to me than diving with buddies who I don't know well enough to trust.

My question is, would there be any benefit in getting the actual SDI self-reliant card as far as convincing dive shops to let me go solo? My cave instructor says he could give me the certification at cost, but if a shop is concerned about me being certified for solo, wouldn't my full cave cert imply that I'm self-reliant?

 

[Blasto]

The card is just for protecting them from liability in case you screw up while on their fill.

 

[iarf]

The card is just for protecting them from liability in case you screw up while on their fill.

That's what I figured, I'm just curious whether most will care whether I have it. If it would be an option I'd also happily sign a liability release waiver when boat diving, but I haven't heard of anything like that specific to solo divers. If it's relevant I'll be in Thailand.

 

[lowviz]

Here (USA) "Self-Reliant" is NOT solo. It is a totally BS card. You may wish to look for true "solo". (SDI does that) Confused. You mean PADI Self Reliant?

"Card" meaning something that allows me to do more than I could before I took the course.

Solo Diver Course | Self Sufficient Diver | SDI | TDI | ERDI

 

[iarf]

Here (USA) "Self-Reliant" is NOT solo. It is a totally BS card. You may wish to look for true "solo". (SDI does that) Confused. You mean PADI Self Reliant?

SDI solo is what I meant, I did a quick google search for "SDI solo diver" and it turned up the self reliant course. I think I'm convinced not to bother with the cert.

 

[seeker242]

Many shops around here won't let you go solo if you don't have the card.

 

[scubadada]

@iarf

I have been mostly solo diving off boats in Florida for about 10 years. Initially, this was without formal certification, with operators who knew me well. In 2013, I got the SDI Solo Diver certification. This has allowed me to dive with new operators, who do not know me, but accept the certification and experience, along with the proper equipment. Not all operators accept certification and allow solo diving, but, it is very easy to find out and arrange ahead of time. Having the solo cert has allowed me to expand my solo diving, worth it to me. I have no idea how this would work outside the US or Florida. I frequently dived solo in Southern California off boats, and was never asked for about solo certification.

 

[Marie13]

Depending on where you dive, it may or may not be worth it. Regionally, there are 2 quarries I know of that let you dive solo if you have the solo cert. Otherwise, instabuddy time or you don't dive.

 

[chrisch]

I would contact some of the operators you intend to dive with. There doesn't seem to be a clear pattern between being allowed to dive solo and having a certification to do so. Certainly if you have the card it will help but the operator makes the call.

 

[stuartv]

Some of the boats I have been on seem to have somewhat of a Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. If you actually ask if you can dive solo, they probably will say no unless you have a Solo card. But, if you don't ask, then somewhere along the way they will ask everyone if they have a buddy. If you just, basically, give some sort of grunt or nod or say "I'm all set" they won't "know" (or care!) that you're diving solo.

On those same boats, it's completely normal that people drop in and meet their buddy down on the anchor line. So, buddies don't necessarily waddle up to the entry together or pair up on the surface. So, if you don't tell them you're solo, they probably won't ask and they won't really have any way of knowing for sure. Which seems to be really what they want - the ability to say "we thought he had a buddy."

All that said, my Solo card was fairly inexpensive and (besides the actual fee) only cost me one evening of home study and one day at a quarry with an instructor. Worth it, as insurance, to me.