Ga Diver once bubbled...
I am new to diving and want to maybe purchase a dive computer. I now use an oceanic pressure/depth analog console. I want to know if a console or wrist computer is best, and what is a good brand/type that is for air and nitrox, and what price I may be looking at. Thanks for any and all suggestions.
First I'll give you some ideas about features to look for in the context of no deco recreational diving:
-1- Essential in this day and age is that a computer can do AIR and NITROX. Even if you're not Nitrox certified yet the chances are very good that you will want this at some point.
-2- There have been a lot of new developments in decompression algorithms lately. The flavor of the week is RGBM. I've been looking into this a bit and I'm becoming convinced that this is the way to go.
A word of warning. Not all computers that claim to have RGBM really have RGBM. Most of the popular ones are just old stuff with tweaks but they chant RGBM for marketing purposes. There is only one true RGBM computer on the market and it's an expensive tek computer.
Having said that, the tweaks are still major improvements and the biggest differences show up in deco diving. Computers you might want to look at with a sort of RGBM are Suunto, Mares M1 and Uwatec's latest computer.
-3- An easy to use download kit is a good feature.
-4- Another excellent feature is a computer that is re-programmable. If the manufacturer discovers a bug in the software or a major improvement hits the market then you might be able to get an upgrade without replacing the computer. Suunto's upper end computers fit this description but the computers from Delta P (VR2, VR3) are probably the best examples. The VR2 is new (I think) and has about the same price as the Suunto Vytec but with some nice features that the Vytec doesn't have.
-5- User replaceable batteries are absolutely essential in my opinion. Don't buy any computer, no matter how nice it looks, unless you can change the battery yourself.
-6- Air integration is overblown, so to speak. It's nice to see your tank pressure on the computer but it's an expensive option and the added value on the long term is zilch.
-7- wrist mount all the way. Just be sure to add a retainer like a bit of thin bungie to your computer so if the strap breaks/comes open that your computer doesn't get lost.
-8- Gauge mode is nice to have at the rec level and essential if you ever plan on tek diving. The Suunto Vyper and Vytek have this.
-9- a function for disabling audible alarms is nice. Once you have a couple of hundred dives under your belt you might find the beeping more irritating than helpful.
-10- Another feature of my computer that I use all the time is the temperature display
It's cold here much of the time and I"m alway curious just how cold
-11- most if not all dive computers have some kind of deco algorithm built in. Most of them aren't ideal but it's better than nothing if you accidentally stray into deco. Check to see if you find the way they do it intuitive. It's a function that you plan to never need so the one time that it does come up it's nice if you don't get confused.
-12- and finally, some kind of backlight on the display is a very nice thing to have for night diving.
-13- a big(ish) easy to read display is nice. I don't like teenie-weenie computers like the Mosquito.
So that's all that jumps to mind. If you're looking for manufacturers, I'd say that Mares and Suunto are the best mainstream computers at the moment.
As for price I think the Mares M1 RGBM goes for about $300. The comparable Suunto (the Vyper) is a little more expensive. The Vytec goes for about $500 but then you're getting into computers that can be used for technical nitrox too. To get price indications in your area you can look at
www.leisurepro.com or
www.scubastore.com.
R..
