Specialty Courses - Our recommendations
Once you enter the PADI Dive World (link to padi blog), there are different routes to take.
Those who just like to dive continue with their Advance Open Water and just fun dive to check off their must sees.
Those who want to Go Pro continue with their Rescue and Dive Master Course
Those who just want to collect certifications (Label Chaser) link to blog
And those who want a deeper understanding of diving and how to become a better diver
For the Number Fours of the world, we have specialty courses. Specialty courses are like more in depth education and dives on the kind of diving you want to learn more. For example:-
Deep Diving Specialty: You will do a couple of deep dive up to 40m to know the real risk and how you prevent them. The would be very useful if there are dive sites that goes beyond 30m like in Sipadan, Bali etc..
Enriched Air Diver Specialty: This would be one of the most popular course and i personally think its also one that you’ll use the most. Enriched Air or Nitrox is diving with air which is higher than the standard 21% Oxygen that air gives. With higher Oxygen, you have a longer allowable bottom time than standard Air does. Doing multiple dives in a day if you’re doing Live a board trips, this will definitely help you have a save and long enough bottom time.
Wreck Diving Specialty: Wanna penetrate into a ship wreck. You are actually only allowed to dive around a wreck as a recreational diver. Only if you are Wreck Diving Specialty diver, you are allowed to penetrate inside and explore closer into the wreck.
Equipment Specialist: A non diving specialty course that teaches you to understand your dive equipment better. The teaches you about how your regulator works and most importantly how maintain and care for it.
Self Reliant Diver: There are only a few instructors in Singapore that are allowed to teach this. Thankfully, at The Dive Company, we have one. This is a relatively new specialty course that teaches to dive Solo. You will learn on self rescue scenarios, air managements and detailed pre-dive preparations. You will need 100 dive to start the course and be Rescue certified.
In Southeast Asia, our diving is quite easy going because we are in the tropics and there are so many different options to chose from depending on skill level and interest.
Our recommendations based on experience:
Enriched Air (EANx)
Enriched Air
Diving in SEA u have 3-4 dives a day, with Nitrox is quite essential and considering also there is a lot of wall dives in the area. Wall dives you will need to watch the 3rd or 4th dive where your bottom dives will be shorter and with Nitrox u will have more time to stay.
Deep and Wreck (paired)
If u wanna go places such as Sipadan, having deep dive will be a good skill to have.
Wreck dive is good to have if u were to dive in Brunei where u can try out a lot of wrecks.
Some wreck u can penetrate a bit
Equipment
It is self improving know your equipment better. And maintaining you equipment better. Knowing how equipment works, the do and don’ts.
Side mount and Self Reliant (Paired)
Sidemount is a new thing that is evolved, it started with people who dive in caves. In the specialty does not mean u can dive cave yet, it give u a good perspective on how new equipment works. If you have a bad back, you can do Sidemount which does not incur stress on your back. One big reason why people want to do Sidemount.
Photography paired with UW Naturalist and Fish ID
Learn what you see and the best way to document them is to take a picture. Do you know that some species of fishes can change sex? Do you know some nudibranches are cannibal?