Scuba Certification Austin

[BBQ2Bayou 807]

Scuba is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. What are my options here? Do I just have to start with the beginner open water cert. or whatever they call it? What does that get me? Can I go anywhere and dive or do a lot of places require the advanced cert. too? The PADI and local sites don't tell me much about that. Just that there are different levels of certs. 

Anyone have experience getting certified in Austin? I'm north/central but that doesn't really matter to me. Tom's on Burnet is right up the road and has a bunch of good reviews. Any tips on anything else to do with it that I'm not thinking about is appreciated. 

[KaiserSoze 1017]

You'll be able to do pretty much any regular diving you want with the standard certification. I didn't get certified in Austin so I can't help with input on local shops/classes.

[Updawg 2385]

Just get the standard open water cert. I'd just go to Tom's if it's close, they must be doing things right since they have been there forever.

I did my check out dive at windy point 25 years ago.

[52-80 19377]

2 hours ago, BBQ2Bayou said:

Scuba is something I've been wanting to do for a long time. What are my options here? Do I just have to start with the beginner open water cert. or whatever they call it? What does that get me? Can I go anywhere and dive or do a lot of places require the advanced cert. too? The PADI and local sites don't tell me much about that. Just that there are different levels of certs. 

Anyone have experience getting certified in Austin? I'm north/central but that doesn't really matter to me. Tom's on Burnet is right up the road and has a bunch of good reviews. Any tips on anything else to do with it that I'm not thinking about is appreciated. 

Open Water is the standard license.  PADI issues it but as does SSI and they are equivalent -- any diving place will recognize both licenses equally.  It's just a branding thing.

 

So basically, if you just want to actually dive dive, like at a vacation destination, you just pay for a 'discovery dive', and you're diving 1-on-1 with an instructor.  No license needed.  You go down the same depth as everyone, seeing the same stuff as them.  The instructor basically yanks you around. 

To get a license you just perform a series of really simple drills under water.  It's done with a couple of dives over 2 or 3 days total, as there are limits to total submersion time per day.  Basically, you get acquire a license over a weekend.

 

With an open water license, when you want to dive, you find a diving center, they take you out, and then you're basically just exploring together with a group under the supervision of a dive guide/master/instructor.

 

I never did classroom/computer stuff or "practiced" in a swimming pool.  I did random discovery dives on vacation.  Once I was in a location long enough, just signed up to get the cert. 

[Homercles 10206]

Got my basic and advanced over a decade ago, via a coworker who was a certified instructor at the time.  We used DiveWorld for pool work and equipment/tank rentals.  The advanced was really more for practice and having a free instructor who needed coaching time to stay current...I’ve never needed the search patterns, deep water work or any of the other skills in any of my own dives, but task saturation on learning new skills while subconsciously being a proficient basic diver was great practice.  

We did all my open water work at the dam on Travis.  It’s murky, dark, hard thermoclines, random currents and frequent topside boater violations wandering into the dive park.  Looking back I hated it, but all my vacation dives since in clear warm water meant that the hard training made actual fun dives a relaxing, ‘easy’ experience.  If you can dive proficiently there, most other places are a piece of cake.  

I do recommend one of those intro dives, same as I recommend the MSF course even if you’re unsure of motorcycles...you’ll learn fast if you’re physically capable (breathing only via mouth, no serious claustrophobia, comfortable in the water) without the time commitment of a full cert.  It’s a real thing you won’t know until you try it.  

Then again I did a dive in Mexico once paired with a lady that was supposedly certified, who stupidly decided to try out all her new gear at once a thousand miles from home on a boat dive.  Her buoyancy control was non existent, settling past 40’ she was playing with her BC so much she burned up half her air trying to get stable, hyperventilated (the amount of air in your lungs has a lot of impact on how buoyant you are) and basically did an uncontrolled ascent from 40’...a big no no...I tried to hold her down but when I started riding past my bubbles I cut her loose, I wasn’t going to risk getting bent for her and like putting the oxygen mask on your kids first, someone has to stay in control to manage the emergency.  

After a safety stop I learned she was ok, and immediately got a new partner for the next dive.  

Take it slow, enjoy the ride and ensure you can stay calm in the water as you grow your experiences organically.  I will say that being a diver opens up an entire new world wherever you go on vacation...carve out a day (ensuring you abide by no-fly tables) and see a whole new world you never knew was lurking out there.  

[rage-a-holic 4732]

I would do the ePADI learning, then the pool work at Tom's or Scubaland. Then go someplace with good diving to do your checkout dives (Cozumel/Caymans/Bonaire/Roatan/etc).

Checkout dives in Lake Travis suck balls. The only other option is doing checkout dives at Spring Lake, but most dive shops in Austin generally want to use Lake Travis, especially since it's really the only place around to get your deep dive checked off.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I went through all this crap in Austin many years ago and shaggy wasn't much help back then.

[Homercles 10206]

Well you are a rage-a-holic.  

Interesting take on Travis, glad we can offer two different views...it sucks training there but in hindsight I’m glad I practiced lost regs, stuck regs, mask floods, emergency ascents, using a computer/lights/hand signal/etc there in the cold muck and mire...feel it made me a better diver back then, however I can see the merit of not being miserable in training just for a theoretical payoff. 

[rage-a-holic 4732]

10 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Well you are a rage-a-holic.  

Interesting take on Travis, glad we can offer two different views...it sucks training there but in hindsight I’m glad I practiced lost regs, stuck regs, mask floods, emergency ascents, using a computer/lights/hand signal/etc there in the cold muck and mire...feel it made me a better diver back then, however I can see the merit of not being miserable in training just for a theoretical payoff. 

I understand your perspective and appreciate it, but I don't plan on ever diving in cold, shitty, murky water. This is a divisive topic on scubaboard too.

It's not the same as learning to drive a car or fly a plane in adverse weather conditions. You can experience those at any time and are out of your control.

You control what conditions you choose to dive in. If you're sitting in a boat with a clear sky, 85 degrees and no wind, backroll into a beautiful coral wall dive with 100ft visibility, then the water suddenly turns cold and murky, you can kiss your ass goodbye because the earth just got struck by a planet killing meteor.

[Updawg 2385]

Yeah but it's kind of fun diving in your own backyard at Travis.

Could as shit though doing it a spring break.

[rage-a-holic 4732]

21 minutes ago, Updawg said:

Could as shit though doing it a spring break.

Que?

[Updawg 2385]

Cold as shit still during spring break.

[Ogie Ogilthorpe 640]

I am an instructor (used to work for a shop in Houston) and I would say get the advanced level at least allows you a little more freedom and the additional training is valuable - I always recommend if people are going to dive a lot that they go up to rescue diver. 

The best way to get certified is to do the online book work and then do your check out dives somewhere other than lake travis or quarry in Texas - the best place to dive in Texas is probably blue lagoon in/near Huntsville (it has the best visability). as some one mentioned before the dives in Travis suck do your check out dives in the Keys or the Caribbean is a lot easier and more enjoyable. The PADI open water dives are a little more involved than the advanced dives but they are all not too bad and if you have a good instructor they can be a lot of fun. The advance dives are great

Also most scuba shops are going to make you buy mask, fins and snorkel which adds to the cost (and if you don't like it you are stuck with them) if you do it with a resort or dive boat operator they will often rent or give you that equipment to use. 

[ButtFumble 5287]

RIP Scuba Point.....now just another shitty Jack Brown Cleaners

[BBQ2Bayou 807]

1 hour ago, Ogie Ogilthorpe said:

I am an instructor (used to work for a shop in Houston) and I would say get the advanced level at least allows you a little more freedom and the additional training is valuable - I always recommend if people are going to dive a lot that they go up to rescue diver. 

The best way to get certified is to do the online book work and then do your check out dives somewhere other than lake travis or quarry in Texas - the best place to dive in Texas is probably blue lagoon in/near Huntsville (it has the best visability). as some one mentioned before the dives in Travis suck do your check out dives in the Keys or the Caribbean is a lot easier and more enjoyable. The PADI open water dives are a little more involved than the advanced dives but they are all not too bad and if you have a good instructor they can be a lot of fun. The advance dives are great

Also most scuba shops are going to make you buy mask, fins and snorkel which adds to the cost (and if you don't like it you are stuck with them) if you do it with a resort or dive boat operator they will often rent or give you that equipment to use. 

Are you saying I can pay for and pass the classroom part tests online on my own, then take that to any place that does "check out dives" to get certified whenever and whereever I choose?  I would get the basic open water certification doing that and then at a different time I could do the other levels if I wanted? Would that require different online certification, as well as different check out dives? Is the basic and advanced an option to do at one time if I wanted? Because the basic open water cert is a prerequisite to for the advanced, correct? 

If I did the online part and then waited to do the check out dives where I turned it into a vacation trip, wouldn't that cut into my diving time on my trip a lot by having to do the check out dives there instead of just doing it around here? 

That's a lot of questions, sorry. 

[fattyflattie 4640]

Dammit. This thread added something to my to do list. 

[Ogie Ogilthorpe 640]

2 hours ago, BBQ2Bayou said:

Are you saying I can pay for and pass the classroom part tests online on my own, then take that to any place that does "check out dives" to get certified whenever and whereever I choose?  I would get the basic open water certification doing that and then at a different time I could do the other levels if I wanted? Would that require different online certification, as well as different check out dives? Is the basic and advanced an option to do at one time if I wanted? Because the basic open water cert is a prerequisite to for the advanced, correct? 

If I did the online part and then waited to do the check out dives where I turned it into a vacation trip, wouldn't that cut into my diving time on my trip a lot by having to do the check out dives there instead of just doing it around here? 

That's a lot of questions, sorry. 

Yes you can do all the classroom stuff online through Padi e learning then schedule your dives with a PADI dive center whenever you want. If I remember right you get 1 year access to learn and complete everything including dives. 

Yes you can get your open water (basic) this way and do other levels on line later as well at you own pace, you can roll right into advanced open water from open water. Open water requires 4 dives, over 2 days. You can do 3 dives a day max. Advanced requires 5 specialties - deep, navigation and 3 of your choice. All are fun dives, classroom is not as intense for these as open water. 

 

Regarding cutting into vacation time, the skills part of a dive typically take 10-15 minutes and the a good instructor will spend the rest of a dive swimming around.

 

let me know if you have any other questions 

[rage-a-holic 4732]

As I mentioned, and Ogie reiterated:

1. Sign up for PADI eLarning for your OW course. It's $190, but you can work on it whenever you have free time.  https://apps.padi.com/scuba-diving/elearning/purchasecourse.aspx?MaterialTypeID=1
2. Fly somewhere with decent diving to do your check out dives. You can get round trip flights into Cancun for under $300. It's a $10 bus trip to Playa, then you can dive there or Cozumel (Cozumel is much, much better).
3. Pick a dive shop and sign up for the their eLearning referral training. It's anywhere from $300-500, depending on where you decide to dive.

 

The rest of your training will be something like:

Day 1:  7am - 1 hour of pool exercises and training. 9am - 2 Checkout dives. Each dive will consist of about 10 minutes of training at the bottom, then 50 minutes of normal diving.

Day 2:  9am -  2 Checkout dives. Each dive will consist of about 10 minutes of training at the bottom, then 50 minutes of normal diving.

Day 3:  Congrats, you've now got an OW cert. Go dive. Don't worry about getting your AOW cert until you decide you like diving (and handing over $ to PADI).

 

Dive certifications are cool to wave around, but have no bearing on your level as a diver.

I've dove with guys who still just have an OW cert after 20+ years and they don't care to get anything else. They have 1000+ dives and could be DMs.

I've also dove with people (mainly women) who collect PADI certs (OW/AOW/EAN/Rescue/etc.), can't dive for shit, ignore their DMs and are dangerous to be around.

[BillyBadAss 197]

Back when I was heavily into diving (15 years ago), Austin had an active dive community and great instructors at both Scubaland and Toms. I did OW, AOW, and Nitrox certs all locally.

I would recommend doing your entire OW cert through one of the local shops so when you get someplace tropical and cool, you'll be confident and can just go diving and not waste time. The local guys will spend time with you to make sure you are comfortable and safe. If you are unsure, you can schedule refreshers with them. The local shops also organize dive groups you can join on the weekends to get some extra practice with people who know what they are doing.

Diving Travis isn't everyone's cup of tea, I get it, but you're not in there that long. I'd just be more inclined to trust a local dive instructor in lake Travis over someone at a vacation resort. The skills they teach can save your life.  Maybe I'm off base and they'd be pretty good anywhere, but that's me.

And CSB, my first ocean dive (Cozumel) was a few weeks after completing my OW cert locally. We got in too late for the afternoon dive, but they had a night dive scheduled with extra space on the boat. Jumping into the dark ocean that first time I was not complaining about having trained in murky Lake Travis. It gave me an appreciation for the limits of visibility and a good sense to be aware of the people around me so as not to get lost. Night diving is friggin awesome btw, and that was one of the best dive experiences I've had. Highly recommended.

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4999]

On 8/23/2019 at 9:58 AM, Ogie Ogilthorpe said:

I am an instructor (used to work for a shop in Houston) and I would say get the advanced level at least allows you a little more freedom and the additional training is valuable - I always recommend if people are going to dive a lot that they go up to rescue diver. 

The best way to get certified is to do the online book work and then do your check out dives somewhere other than lake travis or quarry in Texas - the best place to dive in Texas is probably blue lagoon in/near Huntsville (it has the best visability). as some one mentioned before the dives in Travis suck do your check out dives in the Keys or the Caribbean is a lot easier and more enjoyable. The PADI open water dives are a little more involved than the advanced dives but they are all not too bad and if you have a good instructor they can be a lot of fun. The advance dives are great

Also most scuba shops are going to make you buy mask, fins and snorkel which adds to the cost (and if you don't like it you are stuck with them) if you do it with a resort or dive boat operator they will often rent or give you that equipment to use. 

Did my open water dives at Blue Lagoon when I got my cert in college. I would not have guessed that it was better than any of the hill country lakes. Drank way too much the night before our second two dives.