Scuba duving - BSAC or PADI ?

[Thomcat]

I did my first try-dive last night. LOVED it. There is a course starting with a local diving club this September. It's a BSAC course. How do they rate compared to PADI. From the little I know BSAC sounds a very good course to do but maybe you can tell me different?

If I join this diving club it'll cost me £290, which includes their joining fee, full branch membership, full BSAC membership, training starter pack & workbooks, open water diving skills training and for a refundable £50 they loan you the aqua-lung equipment.

The basic grade for a BSAC is Oceran Diver and allows me to dive with other divers up to 20 metres. Then I can go on to Sports Diver which will allow me to dive up to 35m.

What do you reckon? Sound ok?

bump

I dont have experience of BSAC, both DH and I are Padi Advanced Open Water Divers, which sounds similar to the BSAC sports Diver.

I think PADI is more recogniseable abroad so depends on where you are planing to dive.

The costs sound similar to the PADI costs.

Hope you take it up, I love Diving or rather Loved, bit difficult now that I have a 2 and 3 year old. But we have been fortunate to dive all around the world and have seen some fantastic things.

PADI -- if you want to do it quickly and in a structured way... BSAC is not as commercial and is more run bu scuba enthusiasts... PADI requires set number of pool sessions and open water ones and an exam and you are given a qualification that allows you to dive all over world up yo 20m.. BASC not as well known...

Following on from this is advanced diver which teaches to to go deeper but TBH no real need to ever go that deep unless for a specific wreck...

I would contact a PADI club \link{http://www.padi.com/padi/default.aspx\padi} I learnt in London and it was not too expensive.... just to compare courses and costs and how they deliver I am going back a bit for BSAC but I remember it took a lot longer to qualify using BSAC than PADI ...

Hi Thomcat,

Don't really know much about BSAC, but i did the PADI course and my whole family learned to dive with PADI. Good experience for me so would recommend them.

Good luck