Soldato
Sleepy said:
2 weeks and counting and i'll be there!!!
Yellow box of death
due to the popularity of one brand.
Last edited:
Scuba Diving
- Thread starter SiHH
- Start date
2 weeks and counting and i'll be there!!!
Yellow box of death
due to the popularity of one brand.
Soldato
If your really going to get into Diving then I would suggest BSAC as they are a bit more proper I think the word would be -
However if you're just 'testing the water out' then go with Padi - if you get a good instructor they are really good. Diving is not the hardest of hobbies to pick up and I think a lot of it is due to the laziness of divers themselves.
I've been doing it since I was 14 (9years
) and have dived all around the world and let me tell you IF you get good visability some of the best wreck diving can be found right here around the UK!!
I often do commercial diving (filming, welding, construction etc) around England (well put that when im in the country) and its not so bad
P.S my dad has a sea scooter - total fun and waste of money lol
However if you're just 'testing the water out' then go with Padi - if you get a good instructor they are really good. Diving is not the hardest of hobbies to pick up and I think a lot of it is due to the laziness of divers themselves.
I've been doing it since I was 14 (9years
) and have dived all around the world and let me tell you IF you get good visability some of the best wreck diving can be found right here around the UK!!I often do commercial diving (filming, welding, construction etc) around England (well put that when im in the country) and its not so bad
P.S my dad has a sea scooter - total fun and waste of money lol
Soldato
Rebreathers are only safe if the person who is using them knows what they are doing and that they are serviced properly.
It is like most diving accidents you read about in the magazines, it is down to the diver not doing what they are trained to do, the amount of divers who don't drop weights and die rather than risk the bends is excessive.
It is like most diving accidents you read about in the magazines, it is down to the diver not doing what they are trained to do, the amount of divers who don't drop weights and die rather than risk the bends is excessive.
Soldato
There's a lot of BSAC snobbery going on here. The worst instructor i've ever come across was from BSAC background but that doesn't mean that the organisation is bad. PADI are fine as long as you get a good, patient instructor who enjoys his job and gives thorough training. I would strongly recommend getting feedback from an instructor's students before becoming their student and also find an instructor that has a small student:instructor ratio.
Saying that though, PADI Open Water and Advanced are still very basic courses and you can complete both of them in less than 10 sea dives. To be classed as advanced after only 10 dives is rather silly. People pick it up at different speeds and it could take 50 or more dives before you feel completely comfortable underwater; comfortable enough to do deep diving speciality for example which allows you to dive to depths of 40m. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with anyone diving to those depths after just 10 dives as there is a lot of potential for things to go wrong and problems that easily escalate.
BSAC is a great choice as it isn't a cram session. I would certainly choose them if learning in the UK but there's nothing wrong with PADI abroad. If you do enjoy your 'try' dives and have a taste for more, i would suggest taking it all slowly and get lots of dives under your belt with the aim of becoming a 'rescue diver'. RD is a course which really opens your eyes as to what can go wrong during a dive and how to deal with your or your buddy's difficult and potentially life-threatening situations. Try not to get fixated on having a certification for this, that and the other.
Above all, enjoy your try dive and have fun. That's what it's all about.
Saying that though, PADI Open Water and Advanced are still very basic courses and you can complete both of them in less than 10 sea dives. To be classed as advanced after only 10 dives is rather silly. People pick it up at different speeds and it could take 50 or more dives before you feel completely comfortable underwater; comfortable enough to do deep diving speciality for example which allows you to dive to depths of 40m. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with anyone diving to those depths after just 10 dives as there is a lot of potential for things to go wrong and problems that easily escalate.
BSAC is a great choice as it isn't a cram session. I would certainly choose them if learning in the UK but there's nothing wrong with PADI abroad. If you do enjoy your 'try' dives and have a taste for more, i would suggest taking it all slowly and get lots of dives under your belt with the aim of becoming a 'rescue diver'. RD is a course which really opens your eyes as to what can go wrong during a dive and how to deal with your or your buddy's difficult and potentially life-threatening situations. Try not to get fixated on having a certification for this, that and the other.
Above all, enjoy your try dive and have fun. That's what it's all about.
I'm Padi AOW qualified but I've joined a BSAC club and will be doing my Sports Diver cross over come September.
I love UK diving, sure it's colder than blue water but there is some cool stuff to see. Been diving on the south coast (around Bournemouth) for a year now and love it. Hope to find a club near where I live out of term time back in Cornwall because I can imagine the diving down there is good.
I wouldn't say my experience diving with PADI was negative, it served the purpose to get me qualified so I could dive with my parents on holiday (both BSAC qualified). Having said that, I've had their experience close by to help me through my first few dives.
Panzer
I love UK diving, sure it's colder than blue water but there is some cool stuff to see. Been diving on the south coast (around Bournemouth) for a year now and love it. Hope to find a club near where I live out of term time back in Cornwall because I can imagine the diving down there is good.
I wouldn't say my experience diving with PADI was negative, it served the purpose to get me qualified so I could dive with my parents on holiday (both BSAC qualified). Having said that, I've had their experience close by to help me through my first few dives.
Panzer
Depends whether you go PADI or BSAC, it depends on whether you want to buy your own kit or not, it depends where you plan to dive as well
But I think when I did my PADI Open Water back in December 1999 it cost $300-400 in the Florida Keys and it included all the equipment plus two boat trips.
Panzer
But I think when I did my PADI Open Water back in December 1999 it cost $300-400 in the Florida Keys and it included all the equipment plus two boat trips.
Panzer
Permabanned
Understatement, Cornwall has some excellent dives, what ever level you dive at. The train wreck on the N coast is unique experience.Panzerbjorn said:
Permabanned
A lot of clubs will do Try dive sessions for those wanting a taste at a nominal or no cost basis.platypus said:
I'm out of date on costs so can't help there.
Sleepy said:
Train wreck?
I have done a PADI try dive (in the red sea) and really enjoyed it. I would have got a HSE Professional SCUBA diver this year If I hadn't changed course at uni and now this thread has really made me want to get into properly diving.
Permabanned
Soldato
If anyone wants to watch a captivating documentary on extreme scuba diving, download joost, type 'scuba' in the search field and watch:
x force episode 1 - the science of diving
x force episode 1 - the science of diving
Soldato
I'm qualified with PADI, BSAC, TDI and DAN. Never really found a huge difference between padi and bsac tbh. Bsac is more thorough though.
Amp34 said:Train wreck?
I have done a PADI try dive (in the red sea) and really enjoyed it. I would have got a HSE Professional SCUBA diver this year If I hadn't changed course at uni and now this thread has really made me want to get into properly diving.
If you find that odd, you should dive in the crapper wreck in the Red Sea