Diving without computers

[The Chairman]

I have never before heard that some divers equate diving without a PDC demonstrates machismo.

Sure they do. I've actually heard "We don' need no steekeeng computer" by one such macho diver.

Back in 1969, my first depth gauge was a red ribbon and I dove with a j-valve (no spg). It sucked! Upgrading to analog gauges was cool, but I have really enjoyed the move to PDCs and even some air integration. They are stupid cheap and are like a little black box that tracks how you dive.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have never before heard that some divers equate diving without a PDC demonstrates machismo. (I, personally, can NOT imagine how "macho" and "no PDC" can possibly be related.) Any idea, from your experience, how common this sense/belief is?

I've never thought of it this way before, but I would have to say it rings true with the cases I know.

 

[BoltSnap]

BurhanMuntasser,

I have never before heard that some divers equate diving without a PDC demonstrates machismo. (I, personally, can NOT imagine how "macho" and "no PDC" can possibly be related.) Any idea, from your experience, how common this sense/belief is?

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

Not very common, thank God, but it is there and I have seen it over the years here on SB and when meeting other divers in my travels. I am not saying that it is a "macho" thing, it is others that think it is a "macho" and "manly" thing to do.

I honestly don't understand why one would pay money to buy a dive watch and a bottom timer and not a dive computer when a dive computer will cost the same if not less and still provide a lot more information that will make diving safer and much more enjoyable.

 

[Chavodel8en]

as for Not needing a compu = trying to be macho... i guess it depends on the dive

I dont need no steenkeeng compu!! ...um, because Im doing a 40' ft max shore or reef dive .. oh look a damselfish!...not exactly macho, even if I strap on a machete as my dive knife

***

and i hear y'all about renting not necessarily being economical. Prob makes sense to buy an economical compu, and as long as it lasts several years' vacations, it would be cheaper than renting.

 

[doctormike]

Yeah, I definitely get a bragging vibe from posts explaining why they don't dive with a computer. Maybe "macho" isn't the right word....

I mean, in the context of scuba diving as a hobby, a basic computer (especially a used one) is such a small expenditure that it's hardly an extravagance. Cheaper than a bottom timer, let alone a bottom timer and a depth gauge. Smaller too, in one convenient package. Logs your dives. Gives you more bottom time if you aren't doing square profiles.

Seriously, I just don't get the advantage of avoiding this particular piece of kit in 2016. It's not "necessary"? Sure! Scuba diving isn't necessary. SPGs aren't necessary if you have a J-valve. Tables aren't necessary if you do the same dive profile over and over. But as a recommendation to a new diver going on vacation dives, what's the point...?

 

[BRT]

Now when you say "computer" you mean a computer, right, not just a bottom timer? BT is sufficient for 100% of the dives that I do, that is, 30m/90ft and less on N32 and within minimum deco limits. As long as there is the average depth indicator all calculations, including residual gas, are very easy and do not require a computer.

90 feet for 65 minutes. That is often our profile.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

For my first few hundred dives I used a bottom timer and depth gauge. A buddy bought a computer for me at Christmas one year and I have used one ever since, except on planned deco dives. I wrote my deco plan on a slate and used a Shark watch for those.

I still have my old gauges and even took them on a dive last year to see how accurate they were. They matched my computer.

 

[dmaziuk]

if you only dive several easygoing vacations per year, is it worth the effort of trying to press those tiny buttons?

So buy one with one big button instead. And they do turn on automagically, you don't need to press it. Unless you're diving nitrox. Or want it to show/log local time when in a different time zone.

 

[rx7diver]

... make my diving safer...

... make diving safer...

Hmmm. I *have* heard this before, although I have never heard why some people are convinced of this. Safer than tables for open water, recreational diving? Not the way *I* was taught to dive tables (for the type of diving I do), I don't believe. Any idea why some people believe that diving a PDC for open water, rec diving makes diving "safer" than diving tables?

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[halocline]

So how many divers have been diving the old way, before computers, and still prefer it that way? I am sure everyone is planning their dive and diving their plans, but even with that as a baseline, if you only dive several easygoing vacations per year, is it worth the effort of trying to press those tiny buttons? Asking for a friend...

What's your friend's reservation about using a computer? And I assume he/she would have another means of tracking time and depth?

I certainly feel confident of diving without a computer tracking my N2 on many profiles, although I still use one for time/depth. I don't even mind planning multi level profiles with the PADI wheel. I'm just not sure what the advantage is in forgoing a computer. You still have to track time/depth/N2 load. For multiple dives/day, it's a lot easier and more accurate with a computer.