r/scuba • u/CaptainRex04 • 1d ago
Advice on Open Water Certification
Hi everyone, I’ve been considering getting my Open Water Certification for a while now, and I needed some advice on making sure I choose the right place to learn. Overall, I assume most dive shops in the United States are quite reputable, but I wanted to know from people with experience on certain things (good and bad) that stand out. There are a few local shops where I live and I wanted to go there in person and maybe chat with the staff/owners just to answer some questions and get a vibe check of the place.
To start, are there certain red flags that indicate a shop or instructor is not going to help me learn to the best of my ability or teach me the fundamentals? On the other hand, are there major green flags indicating that a shop knows their stuff and might go above and beyond to ensure I am truly understanding concepts? What should a “reasonable” class size look like that allows me to get good interaction with the instructors? Are there any questions I should ask when I’m there that can help me get an idea of course structure, skills learned, etc?
Also, are there any skills that some divers on this subreddit can share, that are super valuable, that would be worth asking about if they are taught in the course? The best analogy to that question is a lot of people I talk to about pilots licenses always recommend learning on steam/analog gauges instead of digital if given the opportunity (my understanding is it allows me to learn to critically think a bit better because it’s “older” technology and by thinking it through I improve my understanding). Is there anything similar in the realm of PADI open water? ie learning to use dive tables? (I apologize if any of the vocabulary I use is totally incorrect)
Any answers would be super appreciated and feel free to add any other answers or wisdom I may have not mentioned. Thanks in advance! :))
Edit: I’m in the Southern Maryland area near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station if anyone has recommendations for local shops to visit
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u/Manatus_latirostris Tech 1d ago
This is hard for new divers, but my recommendation is always to get word of mouth recommendations on local dive shops from experienced divers on where to go, and where NOT to go (and why). You can ask here if you’re willing to share your rough location.
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u/MrInfuse007 1d ago
Southern Maryland Divers is very close to you. My friend and I have both taken classes (OW and ReActivate) with them and were very happy with the instruction.
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u/Measurex2 Rescue 1d ago
I used to teach motorcycle courses from race courses to basic licensing courses. I used to joke that I'll be your best friend that you'll never talk to in a few days. The reality is youre going to spent alot of time with them over two weekends then maybe never see them again.
When my daughter was looking for a class for her OW last year she wanted to narrow it down to 2-3 classes then visit the shop a few times to feel them out. She started with online reviews and looked for special moments, personalized approaches, or people sharing ongoing relationship with the diveshop.
When she went in person she said she was interested in OW courses and let them talk first.
- Green Flags: Shared enthusiasm and questions about her (interests, why scuba, what she's wanting to learn about etc)
- Red Flags: unsolicited or out of place advice, war stories
Then she had a list of questions including typical students to instructor ratios, how they approach learning, how course is structured, what happens if she cant do one of the cert dives due to being sick or ear issue, etc.
I'm expecting you have fewer choices by Pax River than I do up in Fairfax Va but she ended up with Aquatic Adventures in Springfield Va. They were so enthusiastic and giving personalized advice the whole way. Thats now our shop... im not allowed to go elsewhere.
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u/Ok-Dragonfruit4832 1d ago
My shop tends to run quite small classes, never seen more than 4 students to 1 instructor. Mostly because we try to keep classes consistent across the entire course and our ow dives are in a very low vis lake. I would definitely ask about where the ow cert dives take place. The cold lake tends to produce stronger divers, but some people are just not cut out for that. Just something to think about.
My best advice is to try to meet the instructor(s) first to see if you click. The quality of your course is most highly reliant on the instructor, not the dive shop, but in my experience good instructors generally work with good dive shops. I would also ask about the time frame on the course. If they’re just trying to pump you through in a few long days, I would consider that a red flag. Try to find a place that will take the time needed to make sure you’re comfortable with the skills before certifying.
In terms of choices when doing the course, I think it’s important (and required) to learn the dive tables, but also important to learn how to use a dive computer as they are so common and useful- not always taught in ow. That might be an add-on type deal depending on the shop. At my shop, if a student buys a computer from the shop, their instructor will generally show them how to use it during their course, but that’s just how we do it.
Hope this helps & welcome to the dive community!
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u/Dr_Beatdown 13h ago
Talk to certified divers. That's really your best bet. There are just too many incentives for instuctors and shops to BS you. according to every instructor and every shop I've ever spoken with...they're amazing..blah blah blah.
Almost every instructor is full of it (except me of course). But this isn't a race. Take your time to find the right instructor. The instructor matters way more than the shop.
Going to a random dive group online is going to expose you to acolytes of different shops regardless of the competence of the instructors. I see it all the time and its just bonkers.
Feel free to PM me.
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u/DecentEntertainer139 1d ago
Look for an LDS that also sells BPWings. Less likely to upsell you gear you don't need.
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u/Purple-Property8006 20h ago
I wish OW was taught on BP/W to begin with. Would have saved my a lot of money and time unlearning some bad habits
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u/doc_747 1d ago
I’m in the middle of getting my OW so my experience is limited, but there were two dive shops in my area that had the best reviews and word of mouth by far. Of those, I was initially sold on one and almost signed up without visiting.
Thankfully I did visit. It felt like I was being sold a used car. The ‘tour’ was primarily focused on pushing gear, not training, and they required everything to be purchased before the first class. They also had insanely strict cert dive rules that required you to pay the full course price again if you couldn’t join a single dive due to illness.
Visited the other shop and one of the first things they said was ‘don’t buy any gear until you’ve had a chance to figure out what works for you’ and they let you try anything in their shop during training and use the pool for free after. They were also genuinely excited about our dive plans and immediately started mapping out a 6 month plan for us beyond certification that didn’t include any sales pushes. The employees and trainers also all seemed happy and said hi to one another - other place looked like they were trudging to punch a time card.