PADI Discover Enriched Air Nitrox eLearning?

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by Smashee

Way overpriced. Cost me $15 for my nitrox ticket. Most of that was the cost of the plastic card + postage from the UK.

right, so, you couldn't do two tank fills for $15, so, it's real hard to compare against someone paying retail...

thats like saying my little brother did open water through rescue, and a couple specialties, and it only cost him about $100... of course it did, when I gave him all the books free, and he only paid for the cost of the cards...

[Smashee]

Originally Posted by mitsuguy

right, so, you couldn't do two tank fills for $15, so, it's real hard to compare against someone paying retail...

We're talking about an afternoon lecture and an exam. Unless the $195 includes a happy ending, it's hard to justify that amount for it.

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by Smashee

We're talking about an afternoon lecture and an exam. Unless the $195 includes a happy ending, it's hard to justify that amount for it.

unless they are including two dives... then it changes things a little...

anyways, my comment wasn't that you were wrong that 195 was high, just that you can't compare you paying $15 for it, when obviously you have some connection... there is no shop anywhere that just says "pay for the card, we'll teach you free"

[Smashee]

Originally Posted by mitsuguy

unless they are including two dives... then it changes things a little...

Yeah, a couple of decent dives included, not bad VFM.

there is no shop anywhere that just says "pay for the card, we'll teach you free"

Why does training has to be exclusively through shops? No "connection" needed, just a training structure and certifying agency that works in a different manner.

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by Smashee

Why does training has to be exclusively through shops? No "connection" needed, just a training structure and certifying agency that works in a different manner.

I think you should enlighten the board on this almost free certification agency, because I don't think anyone here has heard of it...

[Smashee]

Originally Posted by mitsuguy

I think you should enlighten the board on this almost free certification agency, because I don't think anyone here has heard of it...

Glad to. I'm not sure if there's an equivalent within the US, but as this is an international forum, I'll gladly plug 'em.

Scuba diving from beginner to extreme - join the fun, join the club

Membership is UKP50 which includes third-party insurance up to UKP10,000,000 and subscription to a half-decent monthly magazine with instructors being charged less, according to their level of experience.

Club memberships are decided per club and typically reflect the facilities the club has available. As one of the smaller, newer branches, we charge an annual fee of AU$30.

Training is typically provided free of charge wherever possible from instructors within the club or from visiting members from other branches.

The training materials for BSAC Sport Diver (Equivalent of PADI AOW + PADI Rescue ) will set you back UKP25. The training dives are part of our standard club calendar and we like to get everybody involved, particularly with rescue skills. We'll hold a rescue skills day every few months or so and an O2 admin day annually. That way, all of our divers are O2 qualified and have regular practice of basic life-support drills.

Trainees should be prepared to take some time getting qualifications as our club favours the continual learning approach, but as our trainees are gaining knowledge and skills, they are also gaining experience. This is not to say that PADI, NAUI,SSI et al don't turn out well-trained and qualified divers. We just offer an different method and structure. I believe that CMAS also operate on a similar system but I have little knowledge of them.

Couple of important things to point out here...
1, I tend to suck at explaining things properly. I may have mentioned this to you before!
2, I'm not bashing any other agencies. I'll train with whoever offers the best training around for my level of experience and what I want to achieve. At the moment, that's BSAC. Later on, it'll be IANTD, TDI or CDAA. Horses for courses, if you'll forgive the pun.

Anyway, this is getting a little off-topic here. Feel free to PM me with any questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by Smashee

Glad to. I'm not sure if there's an equivalent within the US, but as this is an international forum, I'll gladly plug 'em.

There is nothing equivalent to the BSAC club structure here in the US.

Unfortunately.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by namabiru

But, yes, PADI HAS added the dive computer only option for Nitrox. I guess they figure most people are using computers these days, yet there has never been anything said about setting your computer properly. If you're talking about people learning the math behind tables, well,... the new eRDP is eliminating a lot of that.

You say that almost as if it's a good thing.