Dive Instructor Ranks all PADI Scuba Diving Courses ( + best and worst specialties )

[@LordF100]

PADI = Put Another Dollar In

[@andreyns89]

Right, But I heard a better version "Put All Dollars In"

[@anti2229]

😂😂😂

[@amberman9153]

SSI and others not cheaper. In some cases costs much much more

[@ashbear2107]

thank you. i'm gonna get my rescue diver license this year

[@OceanPancake]

That will be so exciting!

[@bunjeeventure]

Master Scuba Diver is a complete waste of money. It is just a certificate of recognition that you have completed 5 specialties, which you’ve paid for separately. The MSD is literally you giving padi money for them to give you a pat on the back.

[@egoryushchenko1784]

I am doing my AOW now and think it's indeed epic. The cool thing about it is that if you're not sure which course to take after you can check out other specialties by choosing them as adventure dives within your AOW. I've only done two dives yet: the deep dive and the drift. During the deep dive, I found a fully functional torch. This experience helped me to decide which specialty I want to try next, which is search and recovery. The current was my biggest concern while diving so I went for drift diving. It was a little scary but I learned a lot. I would definitely move the Drift Diver Course to must-dos because you acquire such a valuable skill of dealing with current underwater besides it is so fun and makes you a better diver.

[@OceanPancake]

Where are you doing your AOW? Do you get a chance to do a night dive?

[@egoryushchenko1784]

@@OceanPancake, in Thailand (Hin Bida, Koh Haa, Koh Bida, Hin Daeng/Hin Muang, Viking Bay, etc.). Yes, but not within my AOW. I will have an opportunity to do a night dive later at the end of the season :)

[@UNgineering]

How is Zombie Apocalypse Diver not in the epic list?? I also have a suggestion for renaming shark attacks into "shark taste tests" or STTs.

[@OceanPancake]

HHaha wooops. I went with the standard specialities. Need to redo it with the super duper ones😂

[@OceanPancake]

STTs. Roger.

[@hbzeke]

ZAD criteria should be met with OWD as zombies don’t swim

[@arthur1670]

Is that not rebreather so they can’t see your bubbles 🫧 lol

[@jlco25]

Good video! IMHO if you dive in cold water Dry Suit Diver Specialty is a MUST do. Don’t even don a dry suit if you are not certified (or going through the certification course). Linnea Mills paid with her life for trusting the wrong instructor and dive shop. Her dry suit squeezed her to death at Lake MacDonald in Montana. “Plan your dive & dive your plan.”

[@ekimlcl]

in some dive sites, dry suit is a must

[@Miguelskytwins]

​@@ekimlcleven in some countries. In the uk you'll not dive on a club without a dry suit, the DS course is a must to dive here

[@tideltas]

Also a good idea even if you don't plan to dive dry, because you never know when your buddy will need your help with theirs!

[@ilciavo]

I was about to say the same… don’t think about a drysuit without proper training

[@timgosling6189]

I think DSD is a great idea. It gets people into Scuba and I've seen a lot of shops that do it for free, or a nominal fee. So great value and so gives people an easy way to find out if they love diving. My personal priorities were the ones that would allow me to do what I want to do and make me the safest diver I could be doing it. So Drysuit, Deep, Nitrox, Nav and of course Rescue were easy picks. What I did decide from my training was that peak performance buoyancy shouldn't be a separate course, it should be imbedded in Open Water and AOW. If you want to shoot a DSMB, penetrate a wreck, do videograohy or not stand on a sea urchin at night, proper trim and buoyancy are key everywhere! Oh and Rescue is absolutely both the most epic and a must do!

[@OceanPancake]

I'm glad you agree about the rescue part!!! Yeah peak performance buoyancy should be much more focused on during the ow and aow courses

[@lidewijvos]

Yeah I agree about the DSD. I did mine in 2012 and I'm a DM now. Without the DSD I would never have done my OWD and most definitely not be a DM right now.

[@OceanPancake]

@@lidewijvos so cool how one little dive can change your whole life

[@NormaTLeon]

I actually took them Adventure Diver Course for financial reasons. I am also the type of person who likes to take on new challenges slowly and during the pandemic it worked out great for me!!

[@OceanPancake]

I'm glad to hear that! What adventure dives did you do

[@NormaTLeon]

Search and Recovery, Peak Performance Bouyancy and Underwater Navigation. All important to dive in the NY waters of Long Island.

[@KevinStewart-uv1gd]

What about the PADI Deep Diver Course? I already have experience diving up to 40 meters, so would this course be necessary?

[@OceanPancake]

You need to have it if you want to dive to these depths onboard of a commercial / tourism vessel. They need to see your certification

[@BaldJohnnyRhythm]

a Divemaster here: In my humble opinion, Basic Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Enriched Air - Nitrox and Rescue Diver are the certs all divers will benefit from. I agree, also, that if you want to dive in a drysuit, you should get instruction. if your basic open water instructor isn’t teaching new divers the skills to give a new diver the best possible buoyancy to prevent damage to the u/w environment, that diver is being underserved. the idea of obtaining a c-card to dive off a boat or drift dive (to me) is ridiculous. I began diving in 1983, and in my experience, instruction was more comprehensive back in those days.

[@gregorymcgraw5940]

I would reccomed taking the basic up to Master diver! If your diveing at least 10 times a year.

[@bornaluckyman1]

Diver Against Debris Speciality.. i am not familiar with Padi courses or their cost but rhis should be free course available to Padi divers along their journey . Its essential we are all aware , we will pick up the rubbish , Padi should pay forward... "Is it free"?

[@OceanPancake]

Definitely think that dive against debris should be incorporated in all diving courses. It is really important to ensure you know how to safely remove trash without endangering yourself though. Personally, I've never done this course so am unsure of cost and exactly what it covers.

[@bornaluckyman1]

@@OceanPancake good reply .... We all need to pull together and PADI, SSI, SDI Bsaq etc should pay forward and offer this integrated or as a free stand alone. I am sure a free stand alone with cert would be an excellent marketing move with a very supportive uptake. Keep going with the excellent content , really enjoying it ...

[@sonickchri]

Thanks. Can you tell me where you would place a "re-activation" course on this list? The local dive shop recommended doing it (I believe they said) every 5 years and an employee there also said that PADI now recommends (I believe they said) every 6 months! I thought, you're kidding me!

[@OceanPancake]

I think its the new requirement after not diving for a long time, a refresher if < year, and reactivate 1

[@victorkochkarev2576]

What about Tec 40 / 45 / 50, Trimix, Cavern, Cave, and the most important - Mermaid ?

[@OceanPancake]

I've never done any tec. So can't speak of it.. I missed mermaid! Like a rookie!! (Obviously epic though)

[@villevaajakallio551]

@@OceanPancakeIf you ever revisit this list, you should definitely put the TEC courses on the Epic tier, though with the disclaimer that they are not for everyone, nor should anyone be told that they are a must have to enjoy diving. But for anyone who's willing to take the challenge and accept the risks and the discipline required, they definitely open up a completely new level of diving. Personally I'm a Padi OWSI (although not an active one at the moment), a Padi (back then it was DSAT) Tec trimix 65 (or normoxic) and a TDI full cave and sidemount diver. As for people complaining about Padi being not "good enough" an agency, I think it mostly depends on the instructors, especially so in the technical and pro -levels. The ones I was taught by, I hold in high regard. And I suppose they taught me well enough that none of the GUE-divers I do my TEC stuff with are complaining about my diving skills🙂...and yes, I've also done the GUE fundamentals 🙂 Talking about fundamentals, my main complaint about Padi is that there's a relatively sharp divide between rec and tec. What I mean by that is that for example advanced propulsion techniques required in tec levels like frog kicks, helicopter turns and backfinning are not even mentioned until they are required from you when you enter a tec course. Although I agree that they should not be required at open water level, but giving the students a clear path what to work on their diving later would benefit anyone even if they never venture into tec. I've had a habit of explaining and demonstrating my OW students some of these more advanced techniques even though they are not required to pass the course, and I've seen many of them starting (or at least trying) to utilize them to some degree from the start. One can't practice something one doesn't know exists. I also think that going TEC does not mean that you have to become this grumpy creature thinking he/she is better than everyone and recreational is just for noobs. I just came back from Thailand where we did two weeks of relaxing shallow reef diving (although on sidemount) but the dives before that were caves in France. Any diving is good diving. Sorry about this incoherent babble of loosely related topics. Btw, I like your videos. Just subscribed 😃

[@villevaajakallio551]

...and generally I agree on your list 👌

[@villevaajakallio551]

...and I sure have to do the mermaid course myself 😄I have a dive buddy I used to dive mines in Finland with that nowadays posts pictures of himself mermaiding in the Ojamo mine lake if he's not doing some crazy 100m deep rebreather dives there (I'm nowhere near that level as a teccie). And this guy is a big viking like bearded fellow which truly makes those pics epic! 😂

[@Teampegleg]

PADI's tech courses haven't historically been well regarded in the tech community. Lack of instructor QA/QC and poor materials are the main problems. PADI recently revamped their tech curriculum again recently with the materials being pretty good. The problem is still the hit or miss nature of instructors, so you need to research your instructor. PADI doesn't have an official cave course, there are some instructors that can issue a Cave Diver distinctive specialty. Almost always issued as a secondary card, with the primary card being issued by a more respected tech agency.

[@gregorymcgraw5940]

I have taken most of the courses and i learned something,! but i am all about learning as much as i can.

[@tbow3796]

Perhaps you should check your standards for bubble maker?

[@MrKelleyalexander]

Boat Diver is for those learning about boat terminology, etiquette, and different types of boats from tenders and dive boats to yacht liveaboards.

[@saschaganser9671]

Rescue diver is the course that makes sense if you dive regularly. Deep and Nitrox are also needed. Rest is, if you want it and wanna pay it, you can do it. if you dive dry suit, a course is needed.

[@javieravaldivieso3946]

Hi Katt! Thank you for the video, it was soooo helpful to undestand better all the range of options PADI offers. I just finished my Open Water course in the Gold Coast and I heard you mentioning some places in Queensland for certain courses. Could you extend a little on this? or suggest some Diving Centres? I want to do my Advanced now and I don't know where, since I don't want to repeat the diving spots I did in the Open Water. Also, I'm sooo interested in the Underwater Photography specialty but I can't seem to find any Centre that offers it or includes it in the Advanced. Thank you so much again for the helpful video!

[@OceanPancake]

I'm so glad they could be helpful!! I did my courses at go dive brisbane (that's closed now) but I would ensure the courses you're doing are off the boat and not in the Tweed river or gold coast seaway. So double check where your open water dives are for the courses as some dive companies try to save money with river dives

[@Craywilliams]

Bouncy definitely a must. And if you do wet suit - used in cold waters, tooks full face mask highly recommended!

[@JeffBurow]

Just finished OW last weekend. "Gateway into this alien world" sums it up pretty well. When surfacing from our 60' dive on dive 4, all 5 of us were smiling ear to ear. We really didn't even see much because visibility was about 6ft and it was completely dark after 45-50ft. We basically saw some Comb Jellies and silt covered limestone - but it was EPIC!!! Until someone goes through certification, there is just no possible way to explain the overall epic-ness of it all.

[@OceanPancake]

That smiling ear to ear is SO REAL!! Just grinning like a goofball always.

[@KevinStewart-uv1gd]

What are your opinions on Tec Diving Courses? Where would you categorize them on your chart?

[@jonathanramsay530]

IMO For mere closed circuit mortals, Rescue, Deep, and a quality Navigation course are ESSENTIAL.

[@OceanPancake]

Yes navigation is important if it wasn't focused on enough during thr aow !

[@MikeDodds]

On the SSI side of the house, Navigation, Night, Deep and Diver Stress and Rescue and Science of Diving are all prerequisites for Dive Guide, (first level of SSI professional diving)

[@OceanPancake]

It's quite similar. But science of diving is more taught in the divemaster rather than a prerequisite. Have you done them all?

[@MikeDodds]

@@OceanPancake Still need night and deep.

[@OceanPancake]

@@MikeDodds those are my two favourites!

[@egoryushchenko1784]

@@MikeDodds, niiice, have fun! Where are you gonna do them?

[@MikeDodds]

@@egoryushchenko1784 My wife and I dive together and she administers home hemodialysis for her mom 5 days a week so unfortunately we can’t go any more than one day away. We live in central Indiana so all of our diving has been in quarries in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. We will do the deep check dives at either Gilboa in Findlay Ohio or possibly Pennyroyal in Hopkinsville Kentucky. We also went through the Perfect Buoyancy class and got dry suit certified. The water at 100 plus feet in Ohio and Kentucky stay in the mid 50s at their warmest. I also recently completed my sidemount rig and I want to take a class for that too…. (Way more info than you asked for!!!). 😂

[@benheckendorn2696]

in some rivers in Switzerland drift diver is required, so if you want to dive in Switzerland in all rivers, it's a must do. At River Rhein you don't need this certification, but there are some you must have. Often you could do it there. To me a certification makes more sence when I can see and feel the benefit, so, I would do attitude diving in the Moutains, night dive I would love to do in the ocean, not in a lake where I may couldn't see anything. Just as you said about photographer, some specialities makes more sence doing it at the right place.

[@OceanPancake]

Ooh that's good to know. I haven't been anywhere where drift divier is required. So crucial to do your research and tailor your specialities to your diving

[@benheckendorn2696]

@@OceanPancake I would love to meet you in Switzerland, lake Zurich it's nice to dive, but visibility isn't great, but I know a great place, lake Konstanz the visibility is quite good. I know if you can dive in the sea, you may don't like to dive in a lake. :) Did you ever thought about to do a tour i Europe, I'm sure there are fans here who would love to get the chance to meet you.

[@ReillyJensen-s5v]

What ever happened to NAUI dive training. PADI is , I was lead to believe a resort hotel quick course for open water dive.

[@snared_]

NAUI provides training as well

[@chrisphilhower6029]

I took Open Water. Scuba Diver Limits your Training to 40ft? Open Water increases it 60. And set the foundation for more Advanced Courses. I'm thinking about AOW later this year. I would like to go into Search and Recovery

[@OceanPancake]

AOW is definitely worth it to improve your skills and to expand on your diving!

[@psarmstr]

SCUBA Diver: 12 metres. Open Water SCUBA Diver/one star diver: 18 or 20 metres, depending on agency. Advanced Adventure Diver/Advanced Open Water/two star diver: 30 metres. Full deep cert: 40 metres. Some agencies also have a 35 metre option. I highly recommend doing all your diving in metres and bar. You can do many the calculations in your head which makes it a lot safer. You'll also find that as soon as you escape the USA bubble, no one else uses PSI and feet.

[@chrisphilhower6029]

@@psarmstr I'm US. PADI Open Water Certified

[@GOUTHAM.S-c8j]

I want to learn scuba diving

[@Manuprince]

Bubble Maker 10-12?? Isn‘t it 8-9 as from 10 kids can do the Junior Open Water Diver?

[@SebastienT-W]

Hello Im 14 years old and about to do my advanced is their any other major things I should know besides what I learnt in my open water that you could tell me or help me get though the test.

[@lynn4205]

When i got certified in the 80's Padi was all about numbers ! So i went Naui and never looked back. There rrvord st that time was in the toilet. Not sure what they are now. Just getting back into diving. Live in a ssnd pit state with big ponds on either side. Don't like what the water does to your equipment here and swiming with prehistoric critters isn't my cup of tea either. Still hsve my Sherwood Magnum Blizzard and freedom bc from 88. I went with Sherwood because i figured anyone asks me if i want to go diving ------- I'll just say -------, SHERWOOD 😂. Ordered a Scuba Pro full face mask and waiting for it's arrival. Found out too late that my blizzard would work with this mask after i found a beautiful G-250 SP second stage. Now doing the upgrade to the barrel. May I give a BIG shout out to SASS in Battle Creek Mi. Great people. Kim and her husband. ( sorry but my memory is getting bad ,, but he has a twin brother who used to hard hat commercial dive. Great people great friends. Excellent servise from SUB AQUATICS SPORTS & SERVISE !!! Hi Kim 👋. You know who it is. Boat racer. 😊 Just came to me. RICK 👋

[@marcelogamadeabreu5097]

Very useful advises, thanks a lot!

[@aauussttinn]

so when i go push an old lady and steal her purse im just “testing to see whats in her purse” by what your saying

[@Raybrienza]

Overall a ok job on the Video. I have been teaching Scuba for 38+ Years (SSI) 30 years (SDI/TDI). Im in Colorado, USA I tell my students that most of the classes are great to take, and we talk about them. All agencies have specialty classes - most of the classes are designed to teach and make you a better diver. However, there are some classes that are just about money… (Not bashing any agency). Let’s start with an SSI Advanced Diver. It is more of a recognition level is ANY 4 specialties and 24 dives. It is automatically issued. Master Diver is also a recognition level from SSI, you have to have advanced, Stress & Rescue, the First aid set of classes (First aid/CPR/AED/O2), and have 50 dives. On to the specialty classes Epic Deep, Night/Limit Visibility, Nitrox, Navigation, Stress & Rescue (Rescue), First aid/CPR/AED/O2 (Many names), Must do Perfect Buoyancy (This is a pet peeve of mine --- The industry as a whole sucks on this…. Partly because the Open water classes don’t generally have time to work on this skill. The old adage of just adding more weight instead of teaching them correct buoyancy techniques. The dive guides is the islands are just as bad!!! Lucky, the industry is trying to correct this problem.) Equipment Techniques (This teaches more about how to fix minor problems that normal divers can fix, - Mouth pieces, hoses, straps, some computer batteries, etc. - It does not teach them how to service their gear). Special interest - Good to have Disabled Buddy diver (special training with diving with disabled divers), Ice Diver, Self-reliant (solo) diver, Tec classes -- Professional levels Dive Guide & Dive Master (the information in these classes is great and most people will benefit from taking the classes for what they will learn. Also, in order to be a professional you have to carry insurance and pay dues to the agency.) Why not/May want. Any of the marine ecology classes, Boat diving (teaches more about etiquette on boat diving), Science of Diving, Wreck, Drysuit, Altitude Diver, Photo/video classes…. The right instructor will make this class. Waste of time and money Drift diving, Trash pickup diver (you made a good point of you dive pick up trash). Computer diver, Adventure diver - tease of a few specialties. One thing I would say is if you don’t know what the specialty is - you may not want to talk about it and place it in wrong category.

[@OceanPancake]

Great breakdown of all the courses! Just shows how much education is available and we can all keep striding to be the safest and best diver possible

[@louiscotti9480]

Thanks this was helpful

[@OceanPancake]

Yay I am so glad!

[@dbird62]

Almost every diver thinks Rescue Diver is the most epic course in their journey. And for many, it is. But I differ. Every Eagle Scout has already mastered 80% of this course. Scouts call it Emergency Preparedness and Life Saving. The only parts not covered by Scouting are the actual underwater search and recovery and DCI treatment, which are relatively small parts of the Rescue Diver certification. Be Prepared. And help people before it's too late.

[@lidewijvos]

Sidemount was the most epic course for me so far (yes, better dan rescue and the DM course). I highly suggest that anyone at least tries it once. I now prefer sidemount over backmount and the majority of SM divers do😅

[@OceanPancake]

When do you do sidemohnt? Do you find it's more expensive?

[@ocommodos]

agreed with most things..couple i would change would be drift as a must do, even epic. basically all the diving I do is drift (in Galapagos islands) and Im surprised about how poorly ppl handle current. On that same note id say DSM diver is a MUST for drift diving, boat diving, CCR (rebreather) and a bunch other types of diving. Deploying a SMB is NOT nearly as easy as ppl often think and, again, im absolutely shocked on how many experienced advanced divers are completely unable to deploy a marker. This skill is essential on my experience.. and lastly id say PPB is a must do, if not epic course. This ofcourse depends on your instructor, but overall a proper and thougtfull PPB course can help new divers master bouyancy (best case scenario) or at least stop diving as a sea horse!

[@Nickerian91]

cheap oilless compressor 9l, water/oil seperator with micron filter 50m hose. cheap regulator battery and inverter easy safe diving down to 30m. all the diving/compressor stuff lands on around 200 dollar battery depends on your choosing my pack with inverter coast 900 and good for 2 ppl for 3-4 hours (can then only go 15m unless 2 oilless compressors) well above 2k hours diving so far. "scuba" is cheap if you want it to be

[@AlexPetrov-w5u]

Hi, i am full cave diver and normoxic trimix technical diver. First of all you need to find as good teacher as you can find, owervise it's just badges and cards. Epic courses: deep, rescue. Must: ow, aowd, wreck, ean. Depending on conditions there your prefer to dive: dry suit, ice, drift. Other courses just skip.

[@OceanPancake]

Good summary! I couldn't agree more, the instructor really makes the experience. My Rescue course was so well done I truly believe it set me up for success for my professional career and allow me to spot so many potential issues before they even arose! I still have dreams of people yelling "pizza" (we didn't yell help in public locations to not cause a panic).

[@AlexPetrov-w5u]

​@@OceanPancakethat pizza stuff is really funny, didn't know that. I forgot to say about sidemount: I love it a lot, my usual configuration is sm 4 tanks, but don't try it with people who don't dive sm all the time, or it should be total waste

[@OceanPancake]

When do you dive with the sidemounts? ​@@AlexPetrov-w5u

[@AlexPetrov-w5u]

​@@OceanPancakeI don't get a question. After what? Rescue, sm, intro to tech and so on

[@OceanPancake]

@@AlexPetrov-w5u where do you do your dives with the 4 tanks I mean

[@Gartenteich17]

Concerning Altitude Diver: I dont's see it as must do. I live in Switzerland where basically every Lake is an Altitude Lake. You learn the Altitude Theory already in the Open Water, altough you don't get the Specialty. Computer does the rest. So all you learn in the specialty is theory that can be broken down to 2 sentences and the order to set your computer properly. And then 2 Fun dives with an instructor, which is always nice. So to me it's not more than nice to have.

[@jojodiver8706]

I think all these extra "specialties" are all BS. Nothing but ways to bilk people out of their bucks. I've had my OW since 1974. I was an Army brat, and was taught by Army divers. Class work/theory/charts. Pool work and then an open water dive, and I was good for 130fsw. We didn't have BCD's and computers back then. It was a lot more physically demanding. Hundreds of Olympic pool laps surface swimming, lots and lots of subsurface laps, treading water with weights overhead, donning and doffing and good old fashioned drown proofing. That's all that is really needed. The rest is just common sense, ie, don't kick up the silt when you penetrate a wreck, take one fin off and grab the ladder when the boat is on its way up. Just common sense stuff. But the next logical step for an additional certification would be deco dives and navigation etc. But paying for a certification that says you know how to get back on a boat is ridiculous.

[@texas1040]

Cant wait my fist class is Sat.

[@miks8]

Really good tier list! Finally one that is in the proper tier format! Thanks! Now Comments & changes: Open water - should have simply been "must have", basic training cannot be epic, it devalues the epic'ness of the other classes. Photo/Video and Night - all should go to Why Not - those are specialities, for some more interesting, for some not, no harm done in doing them, you actually get some value and new knowledge, but otherwise they are not necessary. Peak buoyancy - ... why not is the highest possible tier. But I can tell you why not - because buoyancy is a core skill you need to get good at during OW and then to be working on it all the time, yourself and hire instructors to help you develop, why pay fees for a "certification" in a core skill?? Naturalist & Fish ID - is NOT a must do!! Its a why not at best if you feel like it. But again, why do you need a certification in being a "naturalist"? Full face mask - that's a must-do If you want to use a FFM, but otherwise its a Why Not if you want to expand your skill set range. Multi-level - its skip. I mean, we have computeres these days, no one's using diving tables. So a Meh at the very very best.

[@gradyriewer1641]

I agree nearly with all of your rankings and my reasons are 95% the same. OW: epic. It's a prerequisite and covers the basics of scuba diving. It's a good way to tell how much you may like diving Divemaster: never done it but would love to if I had the time, money, or I was going pro Bubblemaker: I was raised in the water so didn't bother. I dove twice when I was 12 and went straight to OW at 18. Discover: only do this if you're apprehensive and don't want to commit to OW yet. Also, doesn't satisfy prerequisites like OW does Boat: living in Hawaii every dive was a boat dive so this was unnecessary Navigation: why not. It's good to know PP buoyancy: very good to know but is usually in AOW AOW: epic. Also a prerequisite for a lot of higher courses. As she said, let's you go up to 30m instead of 18m. Night: epic. If you haven't gone at night you have only seen half of it Rescue: epic. This is the next one I plan on doing Drift: meh Multi level: meh. That's what computers are for Altitude: at least why not. However, not offered or necessary in Hawaii. Most computers can be set to compensate for this. Ice: epic. Same reason as night Cavern: epic. I take that back,if you haven't gone at night you have only seen ¼ of it. The rest is night, ice, cavern, and wreck Wreck: epic, nuff said Shark: if you haven't seen 1 shark on one of your dives are you really diving? Photography: idk I have a love/dislike for taking pictures DPV: why not? But I love diving with the scooter Self: must. Most of my dives are alone Drysuit: must. You need it for ice dives Enriched air: must. IYKYK Rebreather: epic if you can afford it Deep: must. BUT if you do AOW it's included Sidemount: why not. Good for cavern, some rebreathers, tech diving Master scuba: skip it

[@OceanPancake]

Great summary! Thank you so much for writing it out. Enriched air is definitely an important one! Have you tried the rebreather? Its still on my bucket list.

[@gradyriewer1641]

⁠I haven't tried it yet. the ones I want to do most are rescue and rebreather. I would love to do rebreather on trimix and go really deep. That would be the ultimate dive. If you have trimix on a rebreather you can adjust the gases independently which is killer

[@johnwilliamsscuba6487]

I found Master Dive to have been my favorite course of course I went through Naui not Padi

[@prickiland]

How about "inadvertent human fishing lure success?" fish on I say...

[@OceanPancake]

Personally I am not the biggest fan of fishing :)

[@prickiland]

@@OceanPancake well, to each their own... Personally, I like to celebrate the success.

[@OceanPancake]

What dive course or specialty would you skip? And what is your favourite? All these rankings are strictly for fun and just my own opinion! Make sure to tailor your diving courses to what you need and your strengths and weaknesses! Happy bubbling :)

[@Teampegleg]

I think it better to separate cards into "Access" "Good training, worthless card" and "Worthless" Access cards being cards required to access certain types of diving, these are things like OWD, AOW, drysuit, etc. Worthless being obvious. But the "Good training, worthless cards" are for things where the training is valuable but there is no reason to pay PADI for the card as no one is going to ask for the card. A good example of this is the Sidemount Diver card, no one is going to ask you for the card. Another great examples are the photography and videography courses, in fact in this case the person teaching doesn't need to be a professional diver, it is probably a good idea for they themselves to be one for insurance reasons, but what matters is the quality of the work the person is able to produce and their ability to teach. Now I should mention there is no universal rebreather certification, the units are all so different that the certifications are unit specific, even within brands like someone that is certified on a KISS Sidewinder can't take rent a KISS Classic without taking the class to crossover.

[@OceanPancake]

That's a great way to separate! Makes complete sense. No one would ask for a boat diving card either. Thank you for your indepth thoughts on this. Think they're really valuable for all divers :)

[@10TunenuT01]

Rebreather course, I wouldnt have it in epic and would move it to meh. Obviously must do if you want to use a rebreather but 99.9% of divers wont get to the point of using a rebreather- youre looking at a minimum 10k aud to be set up, youre paying $300-$500 aud to rent one.

[@dahveed284]

I was not aware that PADI had so many courses.

[@GOUTHAM.S-c8j]

Hello

[@dtt3426]

aow should be after at least 50 dives not 8 it would give it more credibility. perfect buoyancy should be #1 after ow. i wish the dive guide would tell people when they step off a boat improperly for there own safety. dsmb is not as easy as it looks and if your in open water you should carry a dsmb and practice releasing it for your own safety.

[@kristenknight306]

10 year olds can get certified junior open water diver

[@mralexander6529]

Ys

[@bt5029]

My youngest son got his Junior Master Diver at 12

[@MackZero]

So dog bite incident? lol

[@OceanPancake]

Depending on the situation :) But shark bite incident for sharkies

[@jowilson3619]

Most dog attacks happen because ppl behave like idiots and most likely do not bite you for diner but to show their boundaries.

[@retireeslife4013]

I have followed you thru several different names. WHY? You seem to be a good diver , fun , sexy, passionate.!

[@thesteelcitycowboy]

How on earth would you say that navigation is MEH? I wouldn't take any advice from an instructor that admits they have taught courses that they have no experience in. Stop rating courses that you have absolutely no idea about.

[@OceanPancake]

I think that navigation should properly be taught in the open water course, advanced course and some aspects in the rescue course. If those have been properly covered, I don't think a separate specialty is required. :)

[@MadMax31577]

I'm a PADI Master Scuba Diver. Big time meh.

[@OceanPancake]

How did you reach that level? Did it take a long time?

[@MadMax31577]

@@OceanPancake I did it in six months but I recommend you take a year to do it. I did it too fast

[@MadMax31577]

@@OceanPancake I’m now a PADI dive master.

[@joediver7669]

Bubblemaker is 8 and up, not 10.

[@tiagor3272]

Dive against debris as why not??? Boat dive as skip... Don't see your logic, honestly most of padi courses are a total skip. Must: OW and nitrox. Why not (depends of what you want from scuba, for many 18m is plenty, for other the ones I'm listing as why not are musts as well): AOW, deep, wreck, divemaster and above, emergency, rescue. For technical diving there are better agencies than padi and with cheaper progression. All the rest is just Padi sucking money out of you, especially peak buoyancy which is only needed if you had crap instructor which should have his credentials reviewed as he/she wasn't able to teach you the absolute basic... Like buoyancy... Most of the specialities if you do some research and study you'll get the same or more than from the course like in everything related to conservation and similar.

[@arthur1670]

Master is just spend money for a bage waste of money

[@OceanPancake]

Definitely could be the truth

[@mc-zy7ju]

Advanced was disappointing, was billed as a multiple cert course. Not nearly enough time for each subject tho.

[@Joe-420-69]

Enriched air course, very over priced. complete rip off.

[@OceanPancake]

Mine was around 350$ I believe. But that did include 2 dives

[@MikeDodds]

The SSI Nitrox level 2 class is $175. Level 2 allows you to dive up to 40% nitrox. It’s all classroom, no dives. Don’t be afraid to look at classes outside your “home” certifying agency.

[@Joe-420-69]

@MikeDodds I paid about 320€ did course online then met instructor for about 2 hours to ensure I understood what I had read. Measured the o2 level of my tank used charts to look at dive time at planned dive depth and went for 1 dive.

[@OceanPancake]

@@Joe-420-69 oh yeah, that does seem a bit of a rip off :(

[@daroyenvillagerajaampat1095]

PADI National Geographic Diver. The most useless course ever. Don't know why people want to take that course. A lot of dive centres just refuse to sell this course.

[@wasupmike22]

I have over 50 dives spearfishing, night, wreck, etc and NO certification. Just bought my gear and went diving with a friend who has a lot of experience. Padi is for tourists who live in the city and dive one a year to post on social media. Real divers don't need Padi to tell them where to dive.

[@OceanPancake]

If you read any dive accident reports (which is what many dive professional, dive rescuers etc read) you will see that majority of accidents happen because people are not certified. It can be a small silly mistake, but underwater it will cost you your life. Sure, much of these courses are "common sense" but sometimes without hearing the common sense, then you do not realise these aspects.

[@wasupmike22]

@@OceanPancake yeah yeah... I also saw ppl with Padi certification that are scared of diving because they got the plastic card just as a fad or to brag on Instagram. Does this fearmongering with accidents actually sell Padi courses lol. Also, if you are an idiot, it does not matter if you have a driver's licence or a private pilot licence or the Padi open water dive master instructor big balls....

[@solosailing-adventure]

Spearfishing with scubagear? Thats for tourists who live in citys and do this once a year for posting how brave they are. Real Spearos are liveabords and do it freediving.

[@wasupmike22]

@@solosailing-adventure and I touch the coral also 😈

[@solosailing-adventure]

@@wasupmike22 nice. brave and smart. lovely combination

[@pjmvdbroek]

PADI courses are a waste of time.

[@OceanPancake]

Which ones do you do?

[@ZinebHabiballah]

Why ????