Are Suunto Zoops super conservative?

[Snoweman]

There are some aspects that may make the following diver more susceptible to the bends (age, condition, having had bends before, etc.) that your buddy may not be accounting for in their dive computer because it does not apply to them.

I am not aware of ANY dive computer that accounts for age, condition, or prior bent. I am not a fan of diving with someone else's computer, but if a diver stays above the other diver's computer the entire dive (which is not hard to do. Look down. Is he/she there? They are below you.), then you should be ok (assuming you're both diving the same gas). Again, I don't condone it. I am pointing out the OP was not diving with no sort of thought process.

The owner of the dive company represents different manufacturers. He knows his equipment inside and out. I have no doubt he "fooled" my Zoop with complete confidence, and his confidence was borne out by my side by side comparisons.

 

[scubadada]

While you may be following your buddies and diving a similar profile, there can be some discrepancies because it's not going to be 100% the same - a little more jigsaw, slightly faster ascents, etc. or their residual nitrogen from previous diving versus yours - and that might only become an issue or a significant factor when one is close to NDL. There are some aspects that may make the following diver more susceptible to the bends (age, condition, having had bends before, etc.) that your buddy may not be accounting for in their dive computer because it does not apply to them. There is a larger conversation and discussion about that if that is the plan but I won't go into detail with it here. I know the OP did not do this, but it is also easy to follow someone else's dive profile when it is convenient and then use the computer when it is convenient to do that. The inconsistency can create more of a nuisance, especially if the computer is going to be locked out. Even if you pick back up once it has been unlocked, you still do not account for the residual nitrogen unless it has been a solid 24 hours since your last dive, just to be safe. It sounds like a possible disaster waiting to happen and the downside far outweighs the marginal benefit. If you don't agree with your computer or like the algorithm and how conservative it is, get a new computer.

I think owning a dive company does not necessarily make someone's actions or decisions the right or smartest one. Each diver is certified and should know the implications of doing something like this. I would not do this for myself or let anyone I cared about to do it that way and I would strongly urge that they get a new computer with a more favorable algorithm if that is the case. There are possible undesirable outcomes from setting a computer to nitrox when you are diving air depending on the diver and the situation, dives, etc.

In a nutshell, all this is not worth all the possible negative things that can happen. One minor problem can snowball into a larger problem because you lost track of something or thought it would be okay, etc. etc. etc. Having to go out of our way to fool a computer to get a desired outcome seems silly and defeats the purpose of having a computer there to tell us what we should be doing. Just buy a new computer. It's easy as that. If you can't afford it - well, it's an expensive hobby, yes...Either be okay with it, or just do it and don't look back but it's also your life. I'm pretty sure it's worth at least that.

It is not a wise decision to "fool" your computer by entering an incorrect nitrox mix to make up for an overly conservative deco algorithm. Nitrogen exposure is wrong, oxygen exposure is wrong. If your primary computer fails, are you just going to use the fooled computer for the rest of the trip? You may, or perhaps even probably, will get away with it.

 

[Snoweman]

It is not a wise decision to "fool" your computer by entering an incorrect nitrox mix to make up for an overly conservative deco algorithm. Nitrogen exposure is wrong, oxygen exposure is wrong. If your primary computer fails, are you just going to use the fooled computer for the rest of the trip? You may get away with it.

Like I said, I would never try to fool my Perdix. The Zoop is so conservative, it will keep you safe while on air, even when it is set to nitrox.

 

[Steve_C]

I got a zoop. I then got a scubapro Aladin which i like more. I keep the ZOOP as a backup. About same on dive 1. ZOOP much more conservative on dive 2. Due to location and some family issues these days I almost never dive two consecutive days and never two consecutive deep days. If scubapro dies on dive 1, I still have the ZOOP for dive 2. If the scubapro dies early on dive 2 I do the ZOOP. Some times I stay with the ZOOP on dive 2. Sometimes if it is a really nice dive I will dive the Scubapro on dive 2 but clear all or most of the ZOOP obligation. If I reach the point on dive 2 where the ZOOP is in deco but the Scubapro is not I watch the NDL carefully. In the rare event that the Scubapro died at this time I would immediately begin my assent and clear most or all of the ZOOP. If I had been close to NDL on the scubapro I would clear all of the ZOOP. I dive HP100s and get back on the boat most dives with 1000 to 1200 psi. This does not even take into account my pony. Only reason I might not clear all the zoop when I know I am ok on the scubapro is sometimes its a bit rough on top and I am the last one coming up and I know there are some green (literally) students in the boat and I am being nice. If my life ever changed where I knew I would be doing several days of diving deeper than 40 ft I would just get a second scubapro as a protection for dives 3, 4, 5, ..... Can afford it but don't see the need at this time for a second computer different from the zoop.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I am not aware of ANY dive computer that accounts for age, condition, or prior bent. I am not a fan of diving with someone else's computer, but if a diver stays above the other diver's computer the entire dive (which is not hard to do. Look down. Is he/she there? They are below you.), then you should be ok (assuming you're both diving the same gas). Again, I don't condone it. I am pointing out the OP was not diving with no sort of thought process.

The owner of the dive company represents different manufacturers. He knows his equipment inside and out. I have no doubt he "fooled" my Zoop with complete confidence, and his confidence was borne out by my side by side comparisons.

On my Suunto, there are different settings you can adjust (PO, P1, P2) that you can set if you are in a susceptible or more sensitive group. In the manual, these things point out age, health conditions, prior DCS, obesity, and other medical conditions that may make it appropriate for you to be setting your computer at P1 and P2 instead of P0. Obviously, it isn't programmable to the exact situation you're in, but these are things that one should be taking in account.

I understand that you don't agree with it and condone it - I am not attacking you. I think we both agree on the same things.

I work in corporate retail on the buying/allocation/planning/merchandising side of things and work closely with the owners of our company and with many very well known, large technical outdoor apparel and equipment companies. I can assure you that owners of companies, and even the buyers that buy the product, do not necessarily know the equipment inside and out as you might think. I'm not saying what you did was wrong and your dive shop owner might be an exception; I'm just cautioning others to not rely on someone who you expect to have thorough knowledge in areas for something like this. In my experience, I am more knowledgeable than the owners of the company about the products we buy, and on top of that, the sales representatives for these companies know way more than me, and then past that, the product designers and engineers. At the end of the day, we should take accountability and be responsible for our own actions, especially as certified divers. We should be using our own judgement here and know what's best for us....and that's okay if it is different from someone else.

Again, I hope I'm not coming across as attacking you - I'm not. I'm sure your dive shop owner is good, I just want others to think about who and where they are getting their information from and to always step back and think things through.

 

[scubadada]

Like I said, I would never try to fool my Perdix. The Zoop is so conservative, it will keep you safe while on air, even when it is set to nitrox.

Why dive a backup that has to be jiggled in an attempt to match your primary computer? So if you dive air, what nitrox mix do you use to match it, are you sure? If you dive 32%, what do you set your backup for, 36%, is that right? What if you dive 36%, is 40% right for the conservative backup? You certainly may get in trouble with oxygen exposure at 40% for 4 dives per day. Both 36 and 40% may give you problems with the MOD, right? This is simply not the way to do it, you know that.

 

[Snoweman]

Again, I hope I'm not coming across as attacking you - I'm not.

Never once did I think it was personal or an attack. I felt it was a good exchange of opinions and ideas.

 

[Snoweman]

Why dive a backup that has to be jiggled in an attempt to match your primary computer? So if you dive air, what nitrox mix do you use to match it, are you sure? If you dive 32%, what do you set your backup for, 36%, is that right? What if you dive 36%, is 40% right for the conservative backup? You certainly may get in trouble with oxygen exposure at 40% for 4 dives per day. Both 36 and 40% may give you problems with the MOD, right? This is simply not the way to do it, you know that.

I really don't consider my Zoop to be a backup. I kept it on to compare. Now, I am just a little lazy to take it off my octo. If my Perdix were to fail, I would abort my dive. I'm sure my Zoop would agree - with a longer safety stop. It might help me with my three+ minute SS, but I would miss the seconds feature of my Perdix.

 

[w3dge]

I am not aware of ANY dive computer that accounts for age, condition, or prior bent. I am not a fan of diving with someone else's computer, but if a diver stays above the other diver's computer the entire dive (which is not hard to do. Look down. Is he/she there? They are below you.), then you should be ok (assuming you're both diving the same gas). Again, I don't condone it. I am pointing out the OP was not diving with no sort of thought process.

The owner of the dive company represents different manufacturers. He knows his equipment inside and out. I have no doubt he "fooled" my Zoop with complete confidence, and his confidence was borne out by my side by side comparisons.

Well if he owns his own company, and changed the settings on your computer with complete confidence, that obviously makes him an expert in deco theory, and nothing could possibly go wrong...

 

[Snoweman]

Well if he owns his own company, and changed the settings on your computer with complete confidence, that obviously makes him an expert in deco theory, and nothing could possibly go wrong...

Love the sarcastic font. It was borne out that the "fooled" Zoop was still more conservative than my Perdix AI. Nothing wrong in this situation. Give it a rest.