NAUI v PADI

[anniew]

A local dive school to me, near London, has just started teaching NAUI courses. There are very few centres to offer this in the UK and they are keen to know what people think about NAUI and how popular it will be....

From reading various posts here, it seems that quite alot of Instructors have moved from PADI to NAUI....so what do you think....is there room for NAUI in the UK when PADI has such a huge following? If you had a choice of a PADI or a NAUI course, which would you choose?

 

[Jon]

It all comes down to the instructor and how good the dive center is.

I have known, and dove with, lots of instructors from both PADI and NAUI. Some of them are very good and I would trust my life to them while others are so bad I wouldn't let them teach my dog to swim.

There's always room for more good instructors, and shops.

I am sure if you posted this over on recscuba.com you'd get all kinds of colorfull answers.:martial

Jon

 

[Amphibious]

personally I'd go NAUI, but I may be a little biased

have a look at the schools, look for the best course, not the best agency. remember, you get what you pay for.

 

[island_sands]

There are lots of instructors who will argue PADI vs NAUI to the point where it gets boring.

Unless your instructor has been up the ladder in both training agencies it could be difficult to make any true comparisons.

NAUI and PADI courses are relatively safe and it also depends on the attitude of your instructor (check out NAUI instructor accident rates in South Africa, for example).

With PADI you'll get lots of course material and if your instructor is a good one you'll get a thorough course. Check out the reputation of the dive centre and its owners (where they previously etc).

NAUI and PADI agencies have been around a while and their popularity/marketing strength differs from country to country. Whatever you choose, I am sure that you'll get good instruction.

I know someone who has just done from OW to Divemaster with NAUI. If you like, i'll ask him if you can contact him for a personal low-down

cheers, and safe diving.

 

[river rat]

Dont know much about PADI, I am impressed by the NAUI standards though It really depends on the instructor and the student, How much is the student willing to train?????

 

[mps798]

i would rather say that naui is a litle bit more based in knowledge ,make comparison when from a course of pad you go to for the next to naui then you see the diff. offcourse there are and others , wich i dont know if they exist in uk such as tdi

 

[Yidaki]

As a being PADI Ins., I don't wanna make statement this one is better and other one is worse.. Both of is well known system in the whole world and both of has own strategies to teach the scuba and these are mostly similar.
Good education is all about Ins. quality like above stated. Coz, Ins., can give more color to theorical classroom presentations if people gettin bored . Unless he or she is overruled the basic principles. Everybody in this interest has to develop himself in every opportunity..Being in DB and following these forums is one of them.
So, just join the course and have fun..

Cheers,
Burak

 

[hucklejack]

Being both a NAUI instructor and a PADI instructor there is hardly any difference in the two. It is like Visa compared to Master Card. As far as instruction goes they teach the same material, how to enjoy diving and being or becoming a safe diver. Each agency strongly promotes themselves. It does seem that NAUI encourages and embraces other agency material more and will allow instructors to vary course material so that the student is benefited in the best education possible.

 

[Amphibious]

It does seem that NAUI encourages and embraces other agency material more and will allow instructors to vary course material so that the student is benefited in the best education possible.

now there is the biggest diff! take a Basic Scuba Course for example:

PADI Says: You must teach this, and only this

NAUI Says: You must Teach this, but after that, feel free to add more.


taking that into consideration it does way heavy on the instructor as to which course is better.... The Center I worked for had a 6 FULL day Naui Basic Scuba course that put our students well above a padi advanced diver cert. would never happen at a padi center.....

in the end: Research your dive school.

 

[island_sands]

now there is the biggest diff! take a Basic Scuba Course for example:

PADI Says: You must teach this, and only this

NAUI Says: You must Teach this, but after that, feel free to add more.


taking that into consideration it does way heavy on the instructor as to which course is better.... The Center I worked for had a 6 FULL day Naui Basic Scuba course that put our students well above a padi advanced diver cert. would never happen at a padi center.....

in the end: Research your dive school.

in cayman we taught padi and iantd courses, in the end we combined the best of both with "offline" information while still sticking to the prescribed curriculum. in the end as well, your instructor should be savvy enough to apply all his knowledge from both worlds.

As a PADI instructor i don't just stick to the PADI manual, I apply bits and pieces from lots of agencies that i have picked up en route, including once a full-blown "marine biology" lesson on sharks in the AOW Fish I.D. course that earned me a 500USD tip :friday

In the PADI IDC course they definitely do recommend further reading, investment in other literature etc to assist you with your teaching and improvement of your teaching skills.

Whatever you put in.. you get out....

 

[cjorca]

I agree with Sara-Lise -
in Cayman, when we were teaching entry level couses, most of us would give quite a bit more info that what the Padi manual required. We would add in lots of info that had been accumulated by reading, additional training with a variety of agencies and levels and on personal experience. Way back when I was taught my basic o/w, Oxygen toxicity was never mentioned, only that depth of over 100 ft should not be attempted. Why......? didn't really say in our manual.... so I made sure that was mentioned in any open water course I taught...

the point is, as already mentioned,... your choice should not be made based on which agency, but base it on the instructor and or dive center. Interview them, ask them their own personal diving experience, their highest instructor level etc. Find out what agencies the dive center offers, ones that have multiple agencies will often have well established instructors who teach a variety of agencies and instruct with all agencies in mind. Hell, I even taught open water course students proper breathing techniques that I would teach in a freediving course, to improve their gas consumption, buoyancy and comfort level.
safe dives to all
rofl

 

[island_sands]

Happy New Year Cali!

long time no see

 

[Amphibious]

I was under the impression form a couple PADI Instructor Trainers (when i was looking at getting dual) that you;d get in shit for going off the map when it came to teaching courses? totally put me off.

 

[MKDVR]

I have PADI cards but I would go with NAUI if I could do it all again. IMO and many others they have a bad rep earned through lack of quality control. Keep in mind the worst instructor I ever had was PADI and the best instructor I ever had was PADI. Generally though I've never heard anyone bitch about NAUI. They do seem to be more progressive and emphasize education more. With PADI your buying a product. My .02 cents.

 

[island_sands]

I was under the impression form a couple PADI Instructor Trainers (when i was looking at getting dual) that you;d get in shit for going off the map when it came to teaching courses? totally put me off.

nah... the ones i have had encourage you to read all diving literature and keep yourself up to date, get experience.

I guess it depends on the ITT

 

[]-[@biT]

There will always be an ongoing debate of who is the best agency :ko

As far as instruction goes, both agencies strive to teach divers how to be a safe diver and at the same time enjoy the whole diving experience.

PADI’s roots are NAUI. PADI was started by NAUI instructors. Each agency strongly promotes themselves, which should not come as a surprise in this extremely competitive world or ours… :martial Remember that NAUI is non-profit, and thus may have less funds available for promotion (visibility). It is thus up to the dive shop to do the promotion. These two agencies are not the only ones, there are others: BSAC (UK), CMAS, SSI, IANTD, GUE etc. to name a few…

NAUI do allow instructors the freedom/flexibility (with minimum standards) to vary course material in order to attend to each student’s needs and assist in the learning process, thus giving the best education possible.

Most people attend their first scuba course when they are on holiday or at the local (closest) dive shop. So they do not start with “I want to be an Instructor” mind.

:naughty How do you know it is a good dive shop or that it present good course… people do not refer to the shop, but to its instructors… “so and so of that dive shop”. Look for experience. A course is only as good as the instructor, not the shop!

 

[island_sands]

]
So they do not start with “I want to be an Instructor” mind.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]

I did! My boss thought I was mad!

I left my professional job sseven years ago and decided I was going teach diving... i did my OW in the August and by the next year May i was an instructor... was in the water non-stop for all those months

 

[porsc]

as was stated earlier, they both have basically the same ideas, and unless they have rivaling ideas either one will aid you in obtaining the desired results. the most important part of your training is you! if you take the time to check out the dive center, instructor and requirements you should know enought to make a wise choice. then it comes down to how well you study the material, if you ask questions and push for extra information... you really do get out of it what you put into it.

 

[jd_odin]

As beeing both, NAUI and PADI instructor I can only agree with some former comments It's not the system that counts, it's the man or women who tries to bring it near to you.
best regards
Joerg

 

[tdiving]

I agree with jd odin. No matter which agency you take courses the instructor is the one that will teach you.
My opinion - PADI is the best selling agency and such it is very commercially oriented. But being such there are almost no place in the world where you cannot find PADI. The study books are good and the methodology is good. But you do not have enogh time to develop the skills - this I think no agency offers it - it is acheived with practice.
Although I am PADI AI i would advise whoever want my opinion to try SDI. The system is derived from TDI and everything you learn comes from advance diving. SDI is developed after the Technical diving was so it analyse risk and situation under water much better. Also it has some specialty courses that no other agencies offers. Like from the beginning they teach "Solo Dive" and every PADI knows what Padi teaches

best regards