Yea when the padi insurance jumped up in cost/ was in limbo most of the instructors at the shop I teach at switched from Padi to SDI/TDI. We have always used TDI for the tech side of the business. We haven't found any negative impact with the change. The courses are better layed out and the insurance and member dues are cheaper. Also the customer services from SDI/TDI is so much better. Glad I made the change.

Glad to see you back - have been missing your content!

I totally agree that it's the instructor, not the agency, that's important. 😀👌👏👏

@tonfleuren3536

2 ай бұрын

I would respectfully disagree. If you just want to dive on holidays to look at the fishes, there isn't that much difference between al the "regular" agencies. If you plan to progress to technical diving (cave diving and/or diving with decompression obligations), I certainly don't think they are the same. As a GUE diver, I am obviously biased. I have learned to dive in a drysuit, with a wing and longhose configuration, in trim (not a second on kneeling on the bottom). Everything you learn, from your very first course, puts you on the track to technical diving. That makes the courses way harder than the entry courses for other agencies, so if you don't aspire to be the best diver you can be, and aren't interested in the technical courses, you probably shouldn't go that route. I'm not saying GUE is the best agency per se, or that all others are bad, but I am saying they are different.

@ianmycroft6979

2 ай бұрын

@@tonfleuren3536 everyone is entitled to draw their own conclusions, and to walk their own path. I've now reached the highest level in the field of my choice of diving, and I'm very happy with that. 😀👌

@DiverSalvatore

2 ай бұрын

Agency's standards set to what level the instructors need to be. GUE does it right. All instructors at the very least, are normoxic trimix divers, and are required to make dives at their highest level to keep their certs or they lose them. The average GUE open water instructor (rec 1), is miles more skilled than an average PADI/SDI/SSI/ect open water instructor. This isn't because GUE divers are magically better. It's because the standards raise the bar higher than anyone else, and truly vet for the best.

@ianmycroft6979

2 ай бұрын

@@DiverSalvatore yes, but being very good at doing something, doesn't make you a good teacher. The ability to teach well is something that you either have or you don't

@nastyblondy7800

2 ай бұрын

@@tonfleuren3536You also can't lose sight on the fact that most instructors probably couldn't make their living on teaching technical diving alone, because most dive students are looking for recreational diving. Not saying the standards for safety, etc. aren't important, but obviously the depth of knowledge required for someone that dives a few times a year at a max 18 m to look at some aquatic life isn't as extensive as for technical divers. And I can say without hesitation, since we did our first PADI cert in Canada, and I just finished my AOW in the Bahamas, the instructor is without a doubt the most important thing. The training received in Canada was light years away from what I got in the Bahamas in terms of depth of understanding of technical elements, etc.

I can explain to to 99% of my divers to bypass PADI and switch to SSI. For OW courses SSI has a clear advantage over PADI. It's all about the instructor and not the training agency.

@1003willy

2 ай бұрын

i am ssi OW and several other specialties trained, out of curiosity i joined a padi specialty course and it was way more basic, easy and travel focused course that i feel like it is just a chapter out of the Open Water course.. so i will never take any padi specialty courses anymore because they lack the full set of knowledge needed compared to specialty courses in other agencies

Welcome back James! Missed your Monday videos. Glad you're keeping busy! And I heard this a few months ago, and I had to shake my head.

Glad to see that you are back. You got my family engaged in more diving in even the cold of Michigan. Looking forward to all of your videos. Thanks for the background on PADI. This is the conversation I had with my LDS on gear as they will no longer service some of my brands as an effort to move me to Scuba Pro.

Glad you're back and well.

Glad you are back. My favourite Monday’s lunch time content 🎉 ❤

Glad you are back, buddy. Great start! PADI does suffer greatly from the "Look at me, I am the biggest and the baddest" syndrome. Well laid out logical conclusions. I agree completely. ( Aren't so pleased I agree... 😊) Glad to see DIVERS READY on my Monday must-see list.

Welcome back. Great to hear you!

@DiversReady

2 ай бұрын

Hey, thanks!

Welcome back James! Glad to see some new content!!!!

Glad you are back producing great content as usual!!!

As an instructor, it's definitely the teacher you need to choose wisely! In developing countries and developed countries there are some absolute cowboys and just skim you through a course to churn some more money out...be careful! But yes Padi is a business that wants more money coming to them and not to ssi, raid etc! Makes total sense! Yet my issue is that Padi have no policy on helping instructors get paid more, and what they deserve!! Padi take huge amounts for courses and rego etc but never help the salary increase as a rule! Padi paved the way but should also lead by example and help wages for instructors in some way! Thx for the heads up James. Dive on 🙏🇦🇺

@philippal8666

2 ай бұрын

PADI etc hard sell their courses. First thing I noticed

@aliasincognito0

2 ай бұрын

GUE, TDI are both miles above PADI, SSI. I've seen some of the worst divers and instructors come from those two agencies; they don't even come close to the standards and requirements that "technical" agencies follow. As a cave and trimix diver, I expect recreational divers to at least have their buoyancy and trim under control in the open water.

@sharkymarky7251

2 ай бұрын

@@aliasincognito0 dude, that's really apples to oranges. GUE (insert heil salute here) and TDI are tech agencies, while PADI and SSI are sport diving. Yes, sport divers should have better control of their buoyancy, but that's on them and their instructors, not the agencies.

Happy to see your back, I went and got my Nitrox certification because of you and your channel. Thank you for being level headed and presenting quality information. Would love to dive with you one day.

So glad you're back! I was missing you. Hope all is well? I presumed you were just diving and training.

Nice hearing from you again! Great rant as always

Glad you starting making videos again

I've been certified by NAUI since 1992. In fact, I don't even remember PADI being around on O'ahu at that time. All the dive shops there were NAUI.

@mikesixx7655

2 ай бұрын

Back pre 2000s you'd be hard to find a place that wasn't NAUI or IDC

@jasonhurdlow6607

2 ай бұрын

I took PADI certification back around '88 or so (in Alaska). So they were definitely around back then. My dad however was NAUI certified a couple decades earlier.

@mikesixx7655

2 ай бұрын

@jasonhurdlow6607 yeah that was the norm really then

@bobbertee5945

2 ай бұрын

I got certified by a PADI instructor on Oahu in 1994, he was in my unit at MCB Hawaii

Jamesy!!!! Welcome back old boy. Great clip as always.

Love your statement! As always so honest & spot on.

Great video as always. And another well put point of fact on a lesser well known subject.

@DiversReady

2 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

Welcome back, Maestro

thanks for the info James. we are heading to Roatan in 2 weeks!

Great advice, well balanced opinion. Our shop was primarily PADI. When the time came to take my Instructor Training Course none were offered by PADI so I went over to NAUI which did have a conveniently located and scheduled course available. Same instructor, same shop, same people. Just a different logo on the certification card. Absolutely choose your instructors by reputation if at all possible.

Welcome back!

Very Nice commentary I do enjoy your information. thank you

The return of DR made my day

Glad to see you back James! I talked to a couple of the shops around my town about the PADI thing a while back after seeing your video about the insurance change. They weren't happy about it but were too worried about losing that visual recognition that PADI has (and history they had with PADI) to entertain the idea of making the change to another group. So if/when it comes to the states I don't see them making a change either way. Only one shop locally that I know of works with more than one agency and I don't do business with them anymore so I don't know where they would fall on the decision if it came to it. Like most everyone here I can understand the heavy-handedness of it but I don't like it either.

1. SSI does not require their dive centers to sell Mares products. 2. I like you're wording of "the agency is not in the water with you, your instructor is... Chose your instructor carefully, don't choose the agency." Perfect! Thank you.

@DiversReady

2 ай бұрын

You are correct. Not 'required', but your regional SSI sales rep, at least in our area, will strong arm the shit out of you until you stock Mares.

@garywillford

2 ай бұрын

@@DiversReadyMight be the sales rep in your area then. I’m an AI for an SSI shop in Alabama and to my knowledge the owner has NEVER stocked Mares. I’ll have to ask him about the strong arming.

@josephpadula2283

2 ай бұрын

I stated a scuba course in 8th grade in the 1970’s in the Cleveland area . It was SSI . They pushed Sportsways gear then. I bought a pair of sportsways fins , nicer than rockets , at a different store. Much cheaper . At my next lesson I was told by buying my gear elsewhere I was “ breaking off relations with my dive shop”. I nearly had enough money to buy a snorkel …. I moved and was PADI certified and Never Heard of SSI again and I worked at a dive shop until college ! What a shock 50 years later SSI still exists and is still filling the Scubapro /SDS model !!!! Only with Mares not long gone sportsways .

@MetallicReg

2 ай бұрын

@@DiversReady Have been to many SSI centers in Europe. If they have a Mares corner then it is one of many others somewhere in the back. No advertising was performed at all anywhere.

@MetallicReg

2 ай бұрын

@@josephpadula2283 That seems more like a local attitude problem.

NSS-CDS recently increased the requirements before starting and the duration of their cave DPV course. That's an example of an agency increasing their standards

Welcome back James

Happy to see Divers Ready back!

Great to see you and your content back

One thing I wish you would correct. The shop I instruct for in Ohio. One of the leading SSI shops. We don’t carry Mares products at all. We sell several different product lines. I do like the SSI quality system requiring that we affiliate with our individual shop. Maintaining a quality control system and makes sure all the Instructors are teaching the same thing.

Omg Chpater 8….you’re fucking killing me mate!!!!

@kevinquamme5275

2 ай бұрын

Especially considering the way way he spelled “acheive” … whoops 🤣🤣🤣

I started diving in a Mexican resort (the Princess in Playa Del Carmen) through Padi’s DSD program - which I find is a brilliant marketing approach. I did not have a clue what Padi was about. Therefore I neither chose my dive centre or my instructor. That part only came after I had my OW and went for Advanced. At that point I had no reason to leave Padi.

So happy to see your smiling face James. Looking forward to a great 2024. - Quick question I'm 5'10 and 250 lb - what size DSO should I order.

James, you hit the nail on the head with Mares products.

My IANTD certs were through a PADI store. PADI didn't offer the courses I wanted.

Hahahaha! That was a great Monday morning rant to listen to as I have my morning coffee and think about tomorrow's dive in 2 deg C water! On another note; the way you spewed out that rant without even blinking, you could have another career in film!

About spelling mistakes 😅. Double check achieve. Glad you're back. Great video

I have totally saw this in Egypt the dive center I use when I go diving in Dahab used to offer padi and SSI now it only offers SSI and they even encourage people to cross over to SSI

I find the SDI/TDI courses are more closely aligned with what I actually want to do. What worries me is that as I progress through my training my favourite SDI/TDI dive shop might decide to go PADI-only.

@MCLuviin

2 ай бұрын

RIP

Thanks

You heard of Muphry's Law? 1:15 😂😂 "Muphry's law is an adage that states: "If you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written"

@Not.Your.Business

2 ай бұрын

ouch :)))

I worked as an instructor for 14 years, and at the time the major issue was there was no inter agency QA ("Quality Assurance") process. Lots of referrals; a diver in a cold climate would do the Classroom and Pool at home and get the final 4 dives on holiday in warm water. Students would turn up with "universal" referral paperwork from another agency, which said it was equivalent to the PADI classroom and confined. You did a Scuba review to make sure the confined skills were OK before the OW dives. Most were OK, but if the student was poor, I could QA a PADI centre but there was no way to report a bad non PADI instructor/centre, I ended up on several occasions re-doing the poolwork and students often stated that it was better than the previous training, but I had no way to tell the other agency they had a below par instructor or possibly dive shop. I once had to QA a dive centre in Thailand, They certified 4 divers Using my name and ID - I actually was in the Caribbean at the time LOL

Enjoyed your perspective. When I was 18-20 (1978-1980), I associated diving with NAUI and didn't know anything or heard about PADI. Stationed at Camp LeJeune, my buddy suggested we take up scuba diving. The local dive shop offered an open water course through PADI. I was a little skeptical at the time because I had never heard of PADI, only NAUI, but that didn't keep me from wanting to be certified in scuba diving. As the years went by, I kept hearing less and seeing less of NAUI and more of PADI, so I continued my certifications through PADI. Last week I reached Master Scuba Diver at the age 63 and next week I will be 64! I kinda see how PADI is losing their grip and wanting to prevent other competing agencies from taking away business. As you point out, wanta-be scuba divers probably don't care about the agency they choose to be certified. My oldest daughter is considering certification and I think she will decide on the cheapest option or maybe decide on PADI because that's what Dad did. Who knows? The most important thing is that she gets an instructor that looks out for her training so that she can safely dive in the future.

@odomn

2 ай бұрын

I did NAUI in 78 also because that was what the local university offered. Unlike you, however, only diving I do is when I go on vacation to somewhere tropical. Thankfully dive shops still accept my NAUI cert card. (now 45 years old)

Got my NAUI certification way back in the late 70’s. PADI can kiss my moray.

In 1988 I got open water 1 with NAUI in the USVI, my instructor was ex navy saturation diver in the 1950's. They tested all the different breathing mixes. First rate instructor, best $500 I ever spent

@mikesixx7655

2 ай бұрын

Agreed. NAUI is by far the most tried and tested agency for serious diving, SSI is doing a great job though teaching recreational divers these days and that's what's got PADI all butthurt

Awesome man. Well explained. Also some agencies are more structured and work more in a pyramidal structure and other are more flat. PADI is sold as a flat horizontal structure to incoming open water scuba instructors telling them they can act as stand alone sales points without needing a dive center. However this pays off in the price of the membership fees as they are far more difficult to amortize. PADI is a good option if you own a dive center but not so good if you go free lance.

Been missing me some Divers Ready !!!!!

I was so happy you're back and you say "Mares only makes one good product… "... come on. I'm very pleased with my Hybrid Pro Tec or 82x Epic reg. Top of the line imho. I know you are huge admirer of Dive Rite stuff but other brands are ok too...

Good video. There is a difference though between this and a few examples given. As an SSI shop, I don't sell mares, and I am a scubaPro platinum dealer, and obviously that means better margins etc, but if I were to decide to sell other brands scubaPro wouldn't drop me as a dealer, I just don't get those extra perks. So I can opt in or out, but the way I run my business is not being dictated by another company.

He's back! 🙂

Cheers, James - very well articulated. Which sounds patronising and really isn't meant to.

Good content. I’m a Mares Dive retail center and we are not required to be an SSI center as well as being an SSI center is not required to carry Mares products. There is another dive shop across the ext town from us that is a SSI dive center but only carries ScubaPro gear. Maybe if you are opening a new center that might be a requirement.

I haven't been able to Dive in 20 years, in fact I am not even sure why this video showed up in my feed. I received my NAUI certification in 1975 and at that time I believe it was twice a week for 2 hours each for 8 weeks with 2 open water dives. I was shocked a few years later when I saw an advertisement in Hawaii I think, to get PADI certified in a weekend. I cannot imagine certifying someone to dive on there own in a weekend. I hope this doesn't still happen. My training was in Puget Sound in Washington, with 45-50 degree water temps (wet suit) and usually less than 15' visibility, a weekend class in Florida, Hawaii or Bermuda is never going to prepare you for that.

Good point re membership

There were 7 dive organizations when I started diving in 1970. They would hold regular meetings to standardize the training amonst all these groups, NAUI, PADI NASDS etc. Padi eventually had a better business model but not necessarily a better training system. Love your videos.

@DiversReady

2 ай бұрын

Thanks so much!

I got PADI open water diver certified in June 2022. I didn't know there were multiple companies that teach classes. I just chose based on price. And my instructor was really good.

People are fed up with the arrogance of PADI. My NAUI instructor that took me from zero up through my nitrox cert was excellent and was fed up with PADI 20 years ago when I learned from him.

I’m NAUI OW here. Most shops here for the exception of a few are PADI and I’m grateful I did my certification semi-private with a NAUI instructor. Oh, and I dive Mares regs too. Nothing wrong with their older efforts, IMO.

When looking to get certified, I just so happened to walk into a Padi dive center, not being familiar with Padi or any other agencies. In short, it was not a great experience, so I tried other dive shops for my AOW, drysuit and Nitrox classes. It all felt rushed, having to chase the hard swimming instructor was normal and ascent speeds were routinely exceeding 60ft per minute. At the time I blamed it on myself and thought maybe diving isn’t for me until I finally went to a shop in the area that was affiliated with two different agencies and they had a great community. I finally found responsible people, safe routines and chill dives. I must have just had some terrible luck with Padi Instructors and dive masters. But knowing what I know now, I would seek out a certification with the right people in the beginning, but I just didn’t know better when I was first learning.

Hahahaha! Mares only makes one good product… (fin drop) spot on and funny as hell 🤣

@GaryWard23

2 ай бұрын

Head also don't make your stock Mares. I'm SSI and don't stick anything Mares. Perhaps I should get some fins in though....

Thus is such great iinformation. I didn't realize PADI was a for profit private equity. Can you do a story on Naui.

@JamesCarter-tc6bo

2 ай бұрын

Yes a more in depth video on who is behind each company would be pretty neat. I like how PADI would make you pay for a virtual card again if you switched from iOS to Android or vice-versa. And you can pay extra for a pretty special edition card. My SSI cards live in the app and appear automatically when I earn them.

A very perceptive analysis. I obtained my SSI cert back in the early 1980s, when their basic cert was more demanding than a PADI Advanced. Of course, back then PADI was a commercial entity already, while SSI, NAUI and others were still more about growing the sport (how much has changed!). I am completely opposed to the idea that certification agencies should have any commercial relationship with companies that sell dive equipment, travel, whatever - but that ship has sailed.

Got it! It's about money, not safety.

they have been called Put Another Dollar In for over 30 years for a reason.

PADI has done a couple changes that improved the quality of the training in the past decade. They did add dsmb/smb deployment, and loose tank excercise to the ow course. That was several years ago of course.

Is the SDI logo diver actually out of trim? I always figured it was perspective, with the diver above and quartering towards the viewer.

As James said it is the instructor. I have been certified since 1977. Worked in the dive industry for years. Use to be an instructor. Certified by NASDS, PADI, NAUI, and YMCA. I know what questions to ask a dive center and instructor. However, you can't totally tell how good an Instructor is until you see them teach.

Like the Australian accent. Hi from Florida U.S.A. hope to dive down under some day.

Hey men, I follow you from a lot of time now. And I'm an ssi instructor (I became padi dive master like many of us) an I have to tell you. Ssi centers are for no means require to sell mares. They wouldn't take a chance to lost a center (for now) and adding that the only good piece of gear they sell is the fins I doubt it all brands they carry some good some bad and some gear that does not fit our needs

I went the BSAC route, works well for me.😊

My wife and I just got our open water though the dive center her in Cozumel. I chose this dive center because it was attached to the resort, not ageny. The dive center had great reviews. My local dive shops are not PADI. One is SSI, the other SDI. If am understanding correctly, i can do dives with them w/o issue. If I want to pursue other dive certificates, i have to change from PADI to one of them? What is the process to switch ow to either SSI/SDI?

Very good objective video. PADI's move is purely business. For many years other agencies have been able to take advantage of PADI's brand recognition, and I have seen this first hand where shops with other affiliations use PADI to sell courses from other organisations. I'm not saying ot happens everywhere, but I have personally encountered it a couple of times. Ultimately what James said is true, choose your instructor regardless of organisation, and as a recreational diver the organisation you are certified with is irrelevant.

My local shop is pretty much only PADI. The cost for continuing (recreational) education has gotten so expensive I and my whole family have stopped our education. Instead of my shop and PADI getting some of our money, they are getting nothing. The agencies police the shops, instructors and end users but who is policing them? The whole industry seems to be a monopolized "mess"

Hilarious to see you drop the Avanti Quattros. That's exactly what I tell my customers (very few of them) who ever ask about Mares. The only thing I'd ever dream of carrying from them are those fins. Not enough reason to open up for them though!

If PADI is so large that it could be considered dominant, this exclusivity obligation may potentially violate competition/antitrust laws (at least in the EU and US).

Execellent! They will risk breaking their hold on the market. Possible exodus for PADI Centres...

Wow!!! That’s pretty insane! When your big dog, I guess you can make your own rules! 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Lots of shops switching back to naui. All agencies have issues though. Gue has plenty of internal things going on.

Certified since 1972 by LA County Scuba, a pair of Navy Seals thought Naui and PADI were not preparing divers for every situation. Problem less than a 1/4 of class finished. As a result LA County scuba gives Naui and Padi certs. I went to Naui.

had a chuckle to myself over the mares only makes one decent product haha... only product i own from mares... yep avanti quatro fins - full foot

Flagrantly anti-competitive. I can’t see this ‘policy’ surviving legal action in Europe.

Speaking anecdotally, after their handling of coivd and absurd fees most dive centres in NZ seem to be switching to SSI from Padi. The only holdouts seem to be the ones offering the government backed diploma in professional scuba instruction.

when you first started i thought you were going to say a padi shop can only accept padi cert cards. i have aow from padi but nitrox from sdi. then i thought why would they do that when they see a aow card walk in with a credit card.

I definitely direct people to the SSI trainimg centers around here, because PADI pumps out customers not divers. But most centers around me are already one agency only.

@diveguernsey6521

2 ай бұрын

I like SSI because they are keen to add extra to courses. I was told roughly 60% from them and 40% from the instructor. Also, they push diving as well as courses. Padi doesn't even mention real dives these days.

@sharkymarky7251

2 ай бұрын

@@diveguernsey6521 absolutely not true on the real dives. I've been a PADI and TDI instructor for many years. And if you knew the real reason why SSI is "growing" so quickly (redacted for legal reasons...) you might change your tune.

What stops a divecenter to split up and have two divecenters in same building and have one offer PADI and one the rest? Alot of divecenter has already split up and have there tech diving in one business and the recreational in another but they share locals etc.

I got mine through SDI they were good

Well said James. Although I'm not a SCUBA professional myself, I'm certainly well enough immersed into the world thereof. It's been very interesting to see the evolution of these agencies over the years, and I do believe that PADI has shown its true colors over that time... They are, in fact, a marketing agency above all else. It _could_ be said of some other agencies as well, but they would still be quite a distance behind PADI if it were a physical race. Most agencies provide the exact same minimum level of qualification, as specified by international standards, with a few exceeding those standards to varying degrees. That is all well and true, and I don't think any of us can(will?) dispute that. But I'm curious, as a very serious(addicted?) diver, what are the insurance/legal protection relations to the dive center, with regards to their Associating Body? I'm not calling out any particular incident whatsoever. What I mean to ask is, what are, if any, the differences for the dive center's protection/defense with this Associating Body vs That one, or the Other one, with regard to legal matters? Always a pleasure to watch your videos. I'm sorry I missed you guys when you were here in PH. I hope you come back again soon. Cheers!

@skynsea

2 ай бұрын

All the insurance is third party- they just hold divers to standards of given agency for coverage.

The problem I see with PADI as an Italian diver (doing my Rescue course by now) is that there are some translation errors in course and examination pages which are very confusing. Not many but… one is enough IMHO.

Hey now. I love my Mares Abyss. I learn from US Army divers back in '74 with a PADI cert. and then a few years later years later I got NAUI certifed. But recently, I was told "no deep dives unless I took an OWII course and that my OW1 is only good for 60fsw". When did this change? My PADI and NAUI certs were good for 130fsw. WTF?

@diveguernsey6521

2 ай бұрын

The 90's

I have found way too many spelling errors and some mistakes in formula math in TDI material. Hopefully they revamp their courseware soon.

CMAS Norway actually updated their "P2" course (equivalent to advanced open water + recue) recently to make it longer, more challenging, and more comprehensive. I think that was a pretty good step of them, even though it only affects a very small region in the world.

@michaljachimowicz3683

2 ай бұрын

In addition, CMAS norway would sometimes call in instructors for extra training or an update course if the course materials change significantly

So I'm waiting for the padi cave course

@richardh1623

2 ай бұрын

'padi' 'cave' and 'course' are 3 words that should never be next to one another

I have been an SSI Diver since the NASDS merger decades ago. My buddy has been a PADI instructed diver for about the same time. What I can say about our skills is that they we are both highly competent divers. We both engage in safe practice when planning and executing our dives. We also review our previous dives to ensure that we learn from each of our subsequent dives. Nevertheless, I don't buy into the sales pitch or products. I use Sherwood regulators and BCD's because they work for me. Do not get persuaded into buying what a particular dive center sells because of their affiliation. Do what works for you. Including the course curriculum.

@jeffconley6366

2 ай бұрын

I do agree Sherwood makes good regulators and has for decades. I don't have any experience with their BC's. Excuse the analogy. But, do you what to buy a Ford / Chevy or a Mercedes / BMW. It's up to each of us. Either works.

@currentliveoccupant

2 ай бұрын

Can I ask if you see a difference in the Sherwood products that were made by Sherwood (I would assume your still useing from about 20 years) and the current “Sherwood Scuba” products?

I'm SDI cert'd. I would have done PADI, but my local shop does the SDI course. I literally don't care. Both cards get my tanks filled, and I further my education with friends who are more experienced.

One of the main issues is that these organizations are for profit. PADI as an organization should be a non-profit or a coop that pushes for the advancement of scuba diving and scuba diving training.

Actually, this would constitute a restrictive trade practice in the UK and therefore be illegal under the Monopolies law, or antitrust in the US