What is your favorite dive cert. agency and why? This is not for bashing other agencies.
by 
Aquatic Eagle
ANSWERS: 4
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The British Sub Aqua Club, probably just because it's British and I am, although I think the training is a bit more in-depth than some others. http://www.bsac.org/
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NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) is my favorite. I have been certified with PADI, NAUI, SDI, and SSI. I am an instructor now with NAUI and I choose them as the best. Agency is more important for professional members than for students. NAUI is the only one that allows the members of the agency to vote for the leaders of the agency. I like that I have more say in how the agency is run. I also like that NAUI is not a member of the Recreational Scuba Trainging Council only because they have been asked by the RSTC to affiliate themselves but NAUI has refused. They have refused because the RSTC standards of safety are too low. NAUI focuses on safety and quality above all while other agencies focus on quantity and speed of instruction. Note that NAUI is the chosen agency for training of NASA, Navy Seals, Special Forces, etc. Other agencies are chosen for Disney, cruise lines, etc. http://www.naui.org
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PADI, hands down. My Mom and brother are instructors, my Dad is a dive master, I'm rescue as well as the rest of my fam. Excellent and safe agency.
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I really think I comes down to the instructor. Each agency has pros and cons. I do like NAUI because it gives the instructor some flexibility in the resources and material they can use, the down side of this is it leave the instructor open to liability issues should an accident occur. PADI is extremely structured to the point an adequately trained monkey can teach it and avoid liability, PADI is also the most widely recognized organization in the world. SSI teaches use an integrated air source rather than a traditional octopus which is more streamlined and great for things like wreck diving. They spend more time on use of dive computers rather than tables. I have a bit less experience with BSAC but on the positive they tend to stress general fitness of the diver which is lacking in the other agencies, however one of the worst instructors I have ever dove with was BSAC. So like I said it really boils down to the quality of the individual instructor. BTW I was Open water with SSI, Dive master and Advanced Tech with NAUI, and Instructor with PADI.
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