PADI: Open Water Diver Manual

by PADI

Open Water Diver Manual [Paperback]

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Outdoors, Reference

272 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a lot of knowledge spanning from equipment, life safety, emergency situations, etc. The best part is that its written very well and gets straight to the point. There is a large amount of exercise questions that help you succeed with the end of chapter knowledge review quizzes. I read this book through and was able to pass my PADI Open Water class test with a score of 96/100.

[Anna Bruton · Rating 4 out of 5]

helped me complete my first dives!!

[Bethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to log this heffer! Easy to follow and allowed me to pass the open water exam 🤿🎉

[Brittany Cupo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review for Open Water Diver Manual (PADI)

“The most important rule in scuba diving is to breathe continuously, and never, ever hold your breath”.

I had to read this as part of my class to get certified in Scuba Diving. It took me about a week to power through it (shoutout to Lucas and Jamie for tackling it with me!) I learned a ton, and finishing this manual feels like a real accomplishment.

That said, it was a lot to absorb in such a short time, so I wouldn’t recommend cramming it into one week like we did. If you can, give yourself a few weeks to really take it in. The learning objectives at the beginning of each section were especially helpful and kept me focused throughout. It was thorough and easy to understand.

Stay tuned—I’ll be officially scuba certified in the next few weeks!

Overall Star Rating: 5
June 2025 Book #1

[William Guzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decently written book. Highlights all the skills and information you need for your open water scuba certification. I didn’t like how there weren’t answers to the tests at the end of each chapter, but then again my book was filled out at home. (You can always ask your dive teacher about the questions you don’t get.) All in all, I think this helped me learn the information for open water scuba diving very easily.

[Elena Hop]

Wiiiiiiii!!!!!
Ya me voy a certificar en buceo oficialmente!!!! Que emoción amixxxx

[Halley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never put a text-book style read on Goodreads!

Anyways, fine book, for what it is. Thoroughly prepared me for the exam I took this past week (I am now a certified open water diver, YAY!!)

Good thing to pick up if you plan on taking the class so you don't have so much vacation time to waste in a classroom.

Had lots of kinda fun, lame remarks. Like on one page about dive-planning, it said something about checking weather conditions, currents, and if your ex-wife was at the same site. Lol :)

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the 2015 Edition of PADI: Open Water Diver Manual. Needed it for Scuba class. Enjoyed the quizzes after a topic, it helped me learn. I kind of wish it had a math section all on its own. The 2015 edition is fresh and interesting looking, and yes kinda cheesy.

[Philip Froloshky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written and accessible manual for all future divers.

The PADI Open Water Diver Manual is clearly designed for a wide audience — sometimes so simplified that you might think, “Well, no shit, Sherlock.” But honestly, that’s a good thing. It minimizes confusion and reduces the need for instructors to re-explain things that should’ve been clear from the start. I do wish there was more explanation on how to use the RDP tables and The Wheel — their mention is brief, and a step-by-step example would’ve been helpful. Still, I really appreciated the emphasis on reef conservation and the reminder not to touch coral unnecessarily. A solid introduction to diving, both technical and ethical.

Thanks to this manual, I’m now a certified Open Water Diver.

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the manual that comes with the PADI Open Water Dive Course. The book is well laid out with objectives at the front of each section and quizzes at the end to help you revise. The book is coherent with the training, both theory and practical (Don't laugh, I've done many a course where the practical sections have not matched the theory/text). I'll be definitely keeping this manual on my shelf to refer to again.

[Kirill Asanov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Очевидно хороший учебник, который немного страдает от русского перевода и самоповторов. Вопросы в тестах довольно унылые, а выбирать ответ часто приходится из вариантов в духе «сделать все правильно» или «запаниковать и перерезать шланг подачи воздуха».
Свежая английская книга выглядит сильно бодрее, а вопросы ставят тебя в гипотетические ситуации, но английская страдает от отсутствия открытых вопросов.

[Krzysztof · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well-written textbook, full of crucial information for safe diving. It includes exactly what you need to know, plus background information for why you need to know something, like what exactly happens when you get Decompression Sickness.

There are no chapters with arbitrary knowledge, which makes it a very engaging read, especially when you are to go diving the very next day and apply what you learnt.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good educational text. Lots of information is repeated multiple times, but I know that's ideal for learning even if it felt redundant at times.

Some things felt a bit overwhelming and complicated, but ended up being easier when doing the confined water testing. Hopefully the same goes for the open water tests.

Excited to get certified in my open water tests next week!

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really comprehensive diving guide. Thanks to this manual I learnt a lot of the theory in advance of my open water diving which was tremendously beneficial and helped me to get more comfortable under water.
Can't wait to start diving now!

[Vardaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely cheating as this is a textbook but I wish there were more material besides just what’s in the book. Describing things is good but more in depth explanations of some procedures would’ve been nice.

[Boo · Rating 5 out of 5]

2017 version was pretty good! I don't know about the other versions because I haven't looked at them :)

[Charles Oakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the clearest instruction type manuals I've read.

[Sándor Iváncsics · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good material a bit too verbose for my taste.

[Jillian B. 8A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is for those who want to learn to Scuba Dive. It is NOT a book for pleasure. It is also a college class you can take.

[Selinica Harbinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a textbook but it's clear, concise, and doesn't overwhelm.

[Jolie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first step book to being an open water diver. Read the book, watch the videos, take the class, and take the final test to become a diver.

[Valeria Sandoval · Rating 4 out of 5]

the informaiton was pretty clear. I passed my exam and became a certified diver :D

[Maksym Rudnyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

На крок ближче до нового навику - дайвінг.

[Nicole Mosley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, easy to understand information with good practice questions for the Open Water Diver exam.

[Nirmal Utwani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too verbose for my taste, but prefer that since not having all information can be a life threatening scenario.

[Daniel Camou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to get scuba certified and I actually enjoyed it because I learned about things I want to achieve and become as a person.

[Sam Cullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, really easy to read with large colorful pages. Great intro to SCUBA

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nada más lindo que el manual de buceo❤️ jajaja

[Praveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been wanting to do this certification for a long time.
When I registered for this course, I was given the online course material.
It was extensive and really well written.

[Zack Teibloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mandatory reading to get SCUBA certified. It’s not like a fun read, but it does the job.