Advanced open water?

[aainslie]

Ya know, it's all about the instructor.

If you can find an instructor with a cave cert (not necessarily at instructor level), then do it with them. Tell them of your intention. They will use the AOW dives to help you develop useful skills for cave. Deep, navigation, nitrox, search and recovery amongst others - you could make this a really nice pre-cave primer. if they're cave or wreck certified, they'll help critique your finning technique at the same time. it's not in the syllabus, but an instructor with the right background will help you do this.

But use the average OW instructor, and I'll agree that you won't learn as much. Something, but not as much.

So.. do your homework, find the right instructor, and you'll learn plenty... AND have a useful cert for when you want to do a wreck or a deep dive off a boat, and they want to see the AOW cert. That IMHO would be the most useful way to spend your money

[stairman]

I think you have to have your AOW card for a padi cavern course,I did but it may have changed.

[Mike Edmonston]

I'd be plenty willing to pay for certain scuba classes that give me no certifications, I just haven't found those yet.

I hold a 3 day 6 dive buoyancy class (Not PADI PPB). It includes proper finning techniques, non silting techniques, properly weighting of the diver, no vis stops, non silting night navigation 2' or less from the bottom, helicopter kicks, proper doubles isolation procedures etc...

This class has no C card. It just teaches you to dive well. It's not designed for card collectors.

just my .02psi

[jj1987]

I could have swore that AOW was a requirement before even taking cavern....

It sounds as if you have taken cavern already, true?

yeah, I took my OW early summer of 1999, and received the NAUI card on my 12th bday (12/13/99). Almost 1 year later (and about 100 dives later as suggested by my instructor) I took my cavern (4/8/00). I've slowed that pace down (we were diving 3-4 times a weekend, and then it went to 2 dives every other weekend), but now that I (FINALLY!) have a job that doesn't require weekends, it's time to get back at it.

I think what I'll do is take AOW from a cert cave diver......I'll have to find my snorkel.....that thing hasn't been out of the box in about 3 years lol.

[flyczek]

If you do take AOW, you'll almost certainly find that your experience is far beyond the level of your classmates. In fact, you have more dives than some instructors I know. My experience with PADI AOW class was that it was a complete waste of time. My experience level and skills far exceeded what was asked of me. This may have been because I took it as part of a package deal at a resort dive center. However, my PADI rescue class (different instructor/dive center) was excellent. I took a NAUI nitrox class (another different instructor/dive center) that also exceeded my expectations.

IMHO, if your instructors aren't requiring it, you could get by without AOW. However, to reiterate what everyone else is saying, if you have a great instructor to train with, then it is time and money well spent no matter what course you are taking.

[jj1987]

Some interesting clips from my nitrox course. I'll leave these pics without captions, they speak for themselves.

[Daedalus]

Take the nitrox class and spend the 80$ on gasoline and nitrox and go cavern diving.

[Mike Edmonston]

Take the nitrox class and spend the 80$ on gasoline and nitrox and go cavern diving.

$80 on gas will only get you from Ocala to southern Gainsville these days

[JahJahwarrior]

$80 on gas will only get you from Ocala to southern Gainsville these days

Depends--did you buy gas in Ocala ($3.16) or Gainesville ($3.32-.45)? Fortunately, I filled up on my way to Gainesville in Ocala. Unfortunately, two days of diving here left my truck needing more gas, and I won't be back in Ocala too soon....paying $.20 more per gallon.....thank you very very much Alachua County Commissioners. I hope your little cars break down and the rental place loans you Hummers!!

[LCF]

I'm with whoever said that Nitrox and Rescue were the worthwhile classes. My AOW class was really five dives with an instructor watching me, and not worth much more than that.

It is instructor dependent, though. The man who mentored me as a new diver teaches a fantastic AOW class, that challenges even fairly advanced divers. But it's unusual.

I'd say a class like the one Mike describes, or what I took, which was GUE Fundamentals, is a much better investment than AOW.