Decisions on a Dive Computer

[BoltSnap]

You don't need air integration. It's a marketing ploy to part you from yet more money. A lot more money.

The ONLY benefit of air integration is logging your gas consumption. Unless you have a Nerd2, the display is on your dive computer on your wrist which is just as easily accessible as a bog-standard SPG.


In all seriousness, AI really doesn't help you on a normal recreational dive. You MUST still check your gas regularly and be able to estimate how much you've consumed during a dive. By having an SPG, others will see that you're checking your available gas and it's a very good habit to get into. The problem with having it on a computer on your wrist is you become blind to the information as there's so much: depth, NDL/TTS, time, and available gas. By having gas in one place - SPG - and depth + NDL in another you separate the concerns; makes you a better diver.

Another issue is the transmitters are big. They're ideally suited as handles (sticking out of your first stage) - not a good thing. They need new (specialist) batteries which are definitely not ubiquitous. They can also have problems syncing.

AI's also a pain when you just need to check what the gas content of your cylinder is; you have to have your computer turned on and wait for it to receive the transmitter's info. An SPG just works and anyone else can easily see your gas pressure.


Fight back -- don't let the marketeers win!


Oh, and friends don't let friends buy Suunto high-end computers. They're a waste of money and have some horrible habits (locking you out; ridiculous "conservatism"; proprietary algorithms; one application available; excessive deco....). Friends let friends buy Shearwater or other comparable computers as they're very reliable, standard and use simple AA batteries (Teric excepted).

Incredible how much misinformation and fish manure can be combined into one post such as this one.

 

[Wibble]

Meh. Okay, maybe it's not the same thing as Ford/Chevy truck owners. But your post sounds just like the kind of thing a Ford owner would say (i.e. a list of reasons why Chevy trucks aren't as good as Ford trucks) when trying to convince someone that Ford trucks are better.

I don't know which Suuntos you consider "top end" and who is trying to sell them as "tech" computers (or why that would even be a selling point for a recreational diver.) I know that when I bought my D4 in 2008 I was not told it is a "tech" computer And it has served its purpose for a long time. I've changed its battery every few years, and that's been all it's needed. I won't claim that it's better than any other computer... as I've previously posted, they all perform the same basic function.

The point of my post is to suggest to the OP that when anyone suggests that their DC (or truck...) is the best and others are trash, the OP might want to consider that person's opinion might be slightly... just slightly... tainted by the subconscious need for affirmation.

My beef with Suunto was that I bought a D9tx which was sold as a tech diving computer. Shortly after it was "upgraded" to the DX which allegedly even included CCR!

Anyway, as someone who did move on to technical diving (mixed gas, trimix, deep, longish deco times), the D9tx is hopeless. I wore it only as a backup computer and to log dives. Interestingly the Shearwater Perdix was the primary computer which I did ~260 dives and never failed. The Suunto failed at least three times with the unpredicted battery needing replacement (twice when away!) - and a shop replacement is £50/€60/$70 (or home replacement for £5/€6/$7). It was impossible to read the text underwater (needs a torch shone upon it); had the world's most confusing button presses for gas changes; had some stupid "conservatism" built into MOD calculations which meant breaking your 6m/20' ceiling to switch to 100% - had to go to 5m/17' before the damn thing would switch; was massively conservative - even on it's most "aggressive" setting it would add up to 10 mins of additional "Suunto Tax" decompression over the ZHL-16 on 50:80 -- which you had to do or the stupid thing would lock up for 48 hours.

The thing's sitting in a box of old dive crap along with a shaker, a quacker, and a bunch of yellow crap which needs to be thrown out.


The problem is somehow Suunto have made their computers mind-numbingly difficult to use with ridiculous features and a hideously complex four button user interface (with short and long presses, so effectively 8 buttons!)

The Shearwater, on the other hand, is a sheer pleasure to use. It just works. The two-button user interface is a best-in-class example of how to do it right.

 

[Wibble]

Incredible how much misinformation and fish manure can be combined in one post such as this one.

In your humble opinion.

 

[Wibble]

Entirely predictable. Most threads asking for dive computer advice do end up at "buy a Shearwater, Suuntos are terrible" pretty quickly.

Why's that then?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

The Shearwater, on the other hand, is a sheer pleasure to use. It just works. The two-button user interface is a best-in-class example of how to do it right.

Some people have had issues with the left aligned text in the menu, but not me. I see their point. However, I think other DC manufacturers should take note as to what Shearwater has done with their UI.

Why's that then?

Because Shearwaters are solid dive computers and Suuntos are not?

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

[QUOTE Because Shearwaters are solid dive computers and Suuntos are not?[/QUOTE]

Suunto had issues many years ago, how long are we going to beat this poor dead horse, get over it already. On the other hand, there are 7 threads on first page alone in the Shearwater forum on Shearwater computer failures.

 

[Centrals]

[QUOTE Because Shearwaters are solid dive computers and Suuntos are not?

Suunto had issues many years ago, how long are we going to beat this poor dead horse, get over it already. On the other hand, there are 7 threadsalone on first page alone in the Shearwater forum on Shearwater computer failures.[/QUOTE]

I do not use either brands.
The main differences based on what I had read over last 10 yrs is the after sale service.

 

[johndiver999]

Didn't read the whole thread, so sorry if this was mentioned. If you are lobster diving, you are probably going to be slamming your hand and arm into holes about as fast as you can - from time to time anyway. The last thing you want is to be wearing a big, fancy dive computer on your wrist which will get caught, scratched, damaged or ripped off.

A cheap, nitrox puck in your console is all you need to spearfish and catch lobsters.

 

[mmerriman]

[QUOTE Because Shearwaters are solid dive computers and Suuntos are not?

Suunto had issues many years ago, how long are we going to beat this poor dead horse, get over it already. On the other hand, there are 7 threads on first page alone in the Shearwater forum on Shearwater computer failures.[/QUOTE]

the issue I have with Suunto isn't that they had hardware failures - it was how they treated their customers. rather than do the right thing it took a class action suit to force them to take responsibility.

 

[formernuke]

the issue I have with Suunto isn't that they had hardware failures - it was how they treated their customers. rather than do the right thing it took a class action suit to force them to take responsibility.

Exactly, stuff happens in manufacturing. Own up to it and make it right don't try and hide it and fix it promptly, not in 2 months after receipt.