Is it ever too soon to get AOW?

[johnod]

Hi all,

I'm doing my OW dives in 2 weeks and i'm already thinking about AOW classes. Do you all think i should jump right in or wait a while before starting on a new cert? I think i would find additional instruction in deep and nav to be very beneficial. thanks for the input.

[liuk3]

I probably would wait until you get through your OW first and see how you feel about the recreation of diving and your skills in general.

[Chad]

As long as your basic skills are good and you are comfortable in the water there is nothing wrong with going straight to AOW. Finish your OW first and see where you are at. If you are confident in your buoyancy and comfort level in the water you may want to go straight to AOW. In AOW they task load you a little more than in OW so basic things and comfort should be second nature when you are adding tasks such as navigating and deep diving. It will be hard to do the various dives if you are fighting with buoyancy issues.
Good luck with your OW dives!

[mitsuguy]

in retrospect, I kinda wish I would have done mine immediately - the more experience, the better off you are, always... however, I've waited 8 months, am doing my AOW right now, and have no regrets either - I actually got some dives in between the two... the class is a good excuse to get in the water and get familiar with everything... if you are planning on buying gear, it might be beneficial to get the gear before you do the AOW so you can be familiar with your own stuff....

like the previous poster, however, lets make sure you get through OW first

[Illini_Fan]

I was one of the folks that figured waiting for 40-50 dives before I did my AOW would be a good idea. I did exactly that and I don't think the logic I used to justify my argument really panned-out.

I had figured that after 40-50 dives, I would have discovered several things that I needed to work on and would have fallen into several bad habits. My goal was to then utilize AOW class to address that shortcomings plus learn some new skills.

Well, my AOW class was simply more skills and intro to some specialities with very limited ability to address any bad habits (and I'm sure I have more than I realize). Like most classes, what you get out of it is directly related to how much you but in. I did get great value from the navigation class and the surface interval discussion (SAC rate calculations being top of mind).

So, waiting still has some advantages as the more experience you have the more opportunity you will have had to identify gaps in your knowledge and thus ask for specific assistance with those things.

I fall into the camp that AOW is just a card. additional training is great, but nothing can take the place of actually going out and diving and learning through experience. If you want to take AOW right after OW fine -- you'll get a good refresher on nav skill, plus learn about night dives.

Just remember that a diver with an AOW card and a total of 10-15 dives all in a training environment is not really an advanced diver. I have 63 dives at this point in a handful of recreational locations, but nearly every dive I still find myself uncovering something new. I'm still a newbie despite what the cards in my wallet say.

[RoadRacer1978]

Nothing wrong with doing it right away. AOW is just that, Advanced open water, not Advanced Diver. It is merely a continuation of OW and the skills learned can be very beneficial. I wouldn't worry about it being too advanced. Talk with your instructor near the end of your OW dives and see what he/she thinks about your skills and if you are ready for AOW. They will have been watching you during the class, and hopefully will give you an honest evaluation of you abilities.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by RoadRacer1978

Nothing wrong with doing it right away. AOW is just that, Advanced open water, not Advanced Diver. It is merely a continuation of OW and the skills learned can be very beneficial. I wouldn't worry about it being too advanced. Talk with your instructor near the end of your OW dives and see what he/she thinks about your skills and if you are ready for AOW. They will have been watching you during the class, and hopefully will give you an honest evaluation of you abilities.

I agree with your sentiment... but it's a shame that PADI insists on putting "Advanced Open Water Diver" on the cards, because that's just not true.

[RoadRacer1978]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

I agree with your sentiment... but it's a shame that PADI insists on putting "Advanced Open Water Diver" on the cards, because that's just not true.

True, an unfortunate play on words. It would be nice if it was designated as OW2 or something and totally leave Advanced out of the picture. To me the PADI AOW course was really nothing more than a class that exposed me, briefly, to some other skills in diving. Some skills it really heped me improve, such as buoyancy. Other skills it introduced me to and some were additional practice and helped some to improve my kmowledge and skills. Nothing about the class made me an "Advanced diver" or made me proficient enough in a skill to say I have reached a level in that skill to be advanced at it.

[CompuDude]

Yup. AOW is a good course, and nice way to get a few more dives under your belt in a supervised environment, and a little exposure to some different kinds of dives. I definitely recommend it.

As long as you don't consider yourself an actual "advanced" diver because of the course (and card), it's a very good experience. View it as the second part of your Open Water class, instead.

[Chad]

Open Water = how not to get killed
Advanced Open Water = a taste of several different types of diving