computer question

[lee3]

the mrs and i have bought all of our gear from local dive shops and the last item on the list is a dive computer and am deciding between the aeris atoms si, scubapro smart com, oceanic pro plus 2, & sherwood wisdom. If anyone has any advice, i'll thank you in advance for any help.

 

[H2Andy]

moved this question here to let those who know best
give you their thoughts.

enjoy the responses!

 

[ScubaRon]

The Aeris, Oceanic and Sherwood are essentially the same computer and all manufactured by the same company (Pelagic). Download their user manuals and you'll see what I mean (they're almost verbatim). Aeris provides warranty even if you purchase via the Internet, Oceanic doesn't and I'm not sure about Sherwood.
The good thing about these computers is that they are very easy to use (pretty important IMO); the "bad" thing is that they are the most liberal computers out there and that they are based on older algorithms that do not take free gas (microbubbles) into consideration.

The ScubaPro SmartCom is a different computer. It uses wet contacts, which make it a little harder to operate. It's algorithm takes free gas, workload, temperature and more into account and is not nearly as aggressive as the Pelagics. The "Levelstop" feature makes it possible to make it more conservative if needed.

If you are planning to do multiple days of repetitive dives (like on a dive vacation) or deep (>100ft) or repetitive diving, I recommend the SmartCom. If you strictly do single days of recreational diving <100ft., the Pelagics are wonderful.

About the warranty:
Aeris' warranty is also valid if you buy throught the Internet. ScubaPro's and Oceanics is void and I don't know about Sherwood. However if you buy from LP they provide their own warranty. Since computers do not really need servicing I see no problem buying them through the internet.

 

[pasley]

...deciding between the aeris atoms si, scubapro smart com, oceanic pro plus 2, & sherwood wisdom. ...

One issue to consider is the type of diving you will be doing? Air, nitrox, exotic gases?
The second issue is which type of bubble model is right for you. What are your DCI risk factors? Do you want a liberal model or conservative one, or somewhere between? Are you younger, older etc.

Oceanic Pro was my first computer. I was 48yrs young at the time and liked the large numbers and display. I discovered (the hard way) it also uses one of the more liberal bubble model. At 48 (now 50) since age is a DCI factor, liberal bubble model is not what I need. I got rid of it after 12 dives and I now dive the more conservative (and I set it to be even more so) Cobra by Suunto.

 

[lee3]

Ron & Melvin, thanks for your suggestions. I'm 30 years old, dive monterey and sonoma most often (usually 2 dives a day to about 90 feet tops.) However, the mrs and i have done a couple of dive vacations where we were down to 120 feet fairly regularly and doing at least 3 dives per day and in some instances up to 5 dives. The other portion of my question was in regards to buying this computer thru leisure pro. We have bought all of our gear thru local dive shops up to this point, but if i can get a computer that retails for $900 for $600 thru the net, i'm willing to self insure for the 30%+ savings.

If I were to order the aeris thru the net and still keep the warranty that is a big plus. Could I just set the computer to a more conservative algorithim if doing a dive vacation? We will be diving nitrox by November as well (not really needed here in the pac northwest, but will appreciate having it for the south pacific.) I have read about the difficulties using the smartcom at depth so I'm begining to shy away from that one. I'll do some research on the cobra. thx again for your input.

 

[TostitoBandito]

Ron & Melvin, thanks for your suggestions. I'm 30 years old, dive monterey and sonoma most often (usually 2 dives a day to about 90 feet tops.) However, the mrs and i have done a couple of dive vacations where we were down to 120 feet fairly regularly and doing at least 3 dives per day and in some instances up to 5 dives. The other portion of my question was in regards to buying this computer thru leisure pro. We have bought all of our gear thru local dive shops up to this point, but if i can get a computer that retails for $900 for $600 thru the net, i'm willing to self insure for the 30%+ savings.

If I were to order the aeris thru the net and still keep the warranty that is a big plus. Could I just set the computer to a more conservative algorithim if doing a dive vacation? We will be diving nitrox by November as well (not really needed here in the pac northwest, but will appreciate having it for the south pacific.) I have read about the difficulties using the smartcom at depth so I'm begining to shy away from that one. I'll do some research on the cobra. thx again for your input.

Here's what you do. Don't order from lesiurepro. Get their price and call up Larry at www.scubatoys.com and he will match it. That way you aren't getting a grey-market product AND you get the warranty.

 

[ScubaRon]

Here's what you do. Don't order from lesiurepro. Get their price and call up Larry at www.scubatoys.com and he will match it. That way you aren't getting a grey-market product AND you get the warranty.

Officially you don't as ScubaPro USA does not offer warranty on any product not sold face-to-face, regardless of whether the dealer is authorized or not. The question of course is if they will find out...

You can also order from Simply Scuba in the UK and get an even better price than LP and full ScubaPro warranty. The only hitch is that you'll have to mail it to the UK for service and I am not sure if the free battery changes apply outside the US.

It's strange that Larry hasn't shown up yet: he usually smells these opportunities from 500 ft. deep

 

[ScubaRon]

Could I just set the computer to a more conservative algorithim if doing a dive vacation? We will be diving nitrox by November as well (not really needed here in the pac northwest, but will appreciate having it for the south pacific.) I have read about the difficulties using the smartcom at depth so I'm begining to shy away from that one. I'll do some research on the cobra. thx again for your input.

Unfortunately the Pelagic computers cannot be set for a less aggressive algorithm. There is an alarm that can be set to go off if the "saturation" bar reaches a certain level, but this is not the same thing. For your kind of dicing I would go with a model that calculates free gas.

The Cobra is an excellent computer for the kind of diving you're doing. By the way a great way of understanding how ScubaPro and Suunto computers work is to download the free ScubaPro Smart Trak and Suunto Dive Manager software from their respective websites. They both have sample dives in them and as you "swim" through a dive (with the right arrow key) it shows the display of the computer. This way you get a good feel for how the computer works underwater.

 

[JPBECK]

You should fill out your profile so we know a little somem somem about you--- For all we know you work for Aeris---

If the price range is about right $550.00----you could get a Cochran Comander-- which has been around for a long while with no Recalls- EAN as well user replaceable batt, Wrist unit or Consoule (sp?) setup, back lit, all the bells and whistles
-- As opposed to an Aeris which has had many recalls and has not really proven itself a leader in technology ---

Corba (Suunto) can be had if you shell out a couple more hundred bones (very nice computer get one if you can afford it)...

I would take a Commander over an Aeris any day--- We (when we had a shop) used to sell all the major names:
Cochran
Suunto
Dive RIte
VR-3
HS Explorer
Aeris
US Divers
Uwatec
Ect.

Always happiest with Suunto and Cochran

 

[Scubaguy62]

Officially you don't as ScubaPro USA does not offer warranty on any product not sold face-to-face, regardless of whether the dealer is authorized or not. The question of course is if they will find out...

Plain and simple, Scubatoys will not ship any scubapro items, even if you purchase it in their store during a layover at DFW and don't have the time to wait for delivery. I checked just two days ago on a pair of jet fins and this is what Larry told me. On the other hand, and not to advocate for Leisurepro, their warranty is as good as Scubapro's, so it's a toss up. Personally, and with the exception of my jet fins, I believe scubapro products are grossly overpriced. But that's just my opinion.

You can also order from Simply Scuba in the UK and get an even better price than LP and full ScubaPro warranty. The only hitch is that you'll have to mail it to the UK for service and I am not sure if the free battery changes apply outside the US.

Not only that, you also stand to have to pay import tax; not worth it.

Personally, I dive with an Aeris Atmos 2. I am enchanted with it and regarding the issue of conservatism, IMHO, the issue of whether one computer is more conservative than the other is a moot one. A responsible diver will not dive based only on what the computer tells him/her. A responsible diver, again IMHO, should know whether to end the dive, even if the computer says he/she can stay down longer.

Also, my preference is not for an AI computer. In the unlikely event of a failure underwater, I would, at least, like to know how much gas I have in the tank. Of course, there are ways of estimating your gas consumption, but who remembers the formulas when they're not used continuously?

My preference is the wrist mounted Atmos 2 with an SPG for the tank.

Semper Safe,

Rick