PADI or BSAC. I'm confused???

[Boyd D]

Hi

New to the diving world so go easy! Currenly dojing my PADI OW (and loving it) and assembling kit as we speak. However, I intend to go on to further training but can't decide whether to follow the PADi route of defect to BSAC.

Does anybody have any advice, suggestions or have I opened a can of worms??

thanks Boyd

[beanie]

donsn't matter just do some rescue skills
get a drysuit
consider nitrox
go diving and enjoy

in no particular order

[beanie]

or PADI pay and get the course done

BSAC cheaper will almost certantly take longer but your then part of a club and hopefully going diving

i'm biased never been PADI

[Adrian Kelland]

Def a can of worms.

I am going to give no advice on this, except to say that you will find jerks in both organisations, and great divers and instructors as well.

It may depend on the type of diving in the end, but these days there is much less need to be in a club to dive. There are many charter boats to hire, without the grief of running a club boat.

On the other hand, you could end up like me, BSAC - Replacing parts on compressors, boats, bar duty, instructing etc.

Any BSAC club, or PADI shop, don't commit to them, until they commit to you. If you are ignored for long by any members after a dive, move on.

And you can ALWAYS dive with YD.

Adrian

[Odin]

Adrian if your are on bar duty tomorrow night - do I get free beer????

[Neil M]

Originally Posted by beanie

donsn't matter just do some rescue skills
get a drysuit
consider nitrox
go diving and enjoy

in no particular order

Good post....

I've not done any BSAC training, I personally prefer the PADI system (nothing against any other agency though) .... but at the end of the day, we are all here to have a laugh, experience something new and BE SAFE.

There is only one of those not optional!

Dive Safe
Neil

[scubadog]

Hello Boyd...My buddy and I passed our Padi OW last year, have changed over to BSAC and we are currenlty on our Sorts Diver course. Worked out alot cheaper than doing AOW and theres more training and info.
Have fun which ever route you go...

[Narked@50]

Hi Boyd

I'm qualified with both, and you will find many others are too, everything you have been told so far is good advice. A BSAC School will be as costly as a PADI one whereas a BSAC club will definately be cheaper but take more time. This is not a bad thing in my opinion, you need time to build experience rather than be very well qualified but relatively unskilled. You will also find the BSAC skill development courses, which can be done as long as you are a BSAC member (£45ish), are often less than half the price of the equivalent PADI one, and you are not tied to a club or school for these. Find someone you trust close by and get in with them.

James

[Mary]

The instructor is key either PADI or BSAC, but the biggest bit of advice I can give is if you choose PADI, don't stop at AOW, make sure you get to RD, I'm sure you'd want the rescue training if the shit ever hit the fan.


(and so would I if I was your buddy!)

Mary

[Tony F]

The two really key pieces of advice well represented already above are choose people and an instructor you trust to dive and learn with.

For me there is no correct response to the BSAC V PADI debate. Most of my training was with PADI and I belong to a PADI club. I've been very happy with both the training and people but they dive very rarely in the UK. Consequently I joined and begun additional training with a BSAC branch, there training takes forever but the branch environment is great and they dive in the UK. The BSAC folks are equaly fine and the training is equally good.

Waving both flags makes me a little unusual but it's a perfect solution for me and I've been lucky to find people and instructors I trust in both. Neither are carrying chips on their shoulder concerning the agency to which they do not belong. Utopia?

Choose carefully and dive safe.