Help me choose Dive Watch - Premium v Budget

[thomson_adam]

Hello People
I have been posting quite a lot lately and i do apologise , i am currently purchasing new dive equipment so have plenty of questions.

I am looking at buying a dive computer and i cant make my mind which route to go down. I am new to diving so don't in theory need anything amazing.

I have been looking at the cressi leanardo , i then thought it maybe a good idea to get a watch style computer which i can wear everyday and really get my moneys worth. Which then led me onto the Garmin Decent MK3i 43mm. To be honest the Garmin is the only watch style i would buy as it has a many other great fitness features.

What are your thoughts ?

 

[thomson_adam]

Any thoughts ?

 

[Belzelbub]

Tough to say. If you’ll use as a smart/activity watch as well, the Garmin is tough to beat.

Really need to know what you want out of it. Any of the currently available dive computers will do fine. Some will be a bit easier to use than others.

It seems that a lot of the newer offerings are dropping proprietary algorithms and going to Buhlmann. That’s telling. So if I were buying today, I’d skip over computers running proprietary algorithms. The Leonardo you mentioned is running a proprietary algorithm. It’s also a single button unit. That usually means that navigating menus is a bit more frustrating.

You really need to try to narrow down what you want in a DC. Color screen? Air Integration? Compass? GPS? Dive log transfer? From those features you should be able to shorten the list.

 

[Outbound]

As @Belzelbub wrote, consider what you want out of your dive computer. Any cheap dive computer will work just fine and do what you need it to do for recreational diving. But it's worth spending some time thinking about the sharpness of the screen, whether you want a color display, air integration, ease of downloading you dives to the logging software of your choice, form factor (puck, brick, watch-style), and user interface and ease of navigation.

I know several people who have the Garmin (two with the Mk2 and one with the Mk3. They seem to like them, although the two who have the Mk2 often complain of signal dropouts for the air integration. Most of the people I dive with use Shearwaters (mostly Perdixes and Terics).

If you are looking for a watch-style dive computer AND you like the idea of having a multi-sport fitness tracker/watch, then the Garmin is a great idea. If you won't really be using the fitness tracking then there's nothing wrong with the Garmin, but I'd be looking at the Shearwater Tern or Teric.

 

[GF99/99]

Hello People
I have been posting quite a lot lately and i do apologise , i am currently purchasing new dive equipment so have plenty of questions.

I am looking at buying a dive computer and i cant make my mind which route to go down. I am new to diving so don't in theory need anything amazing.

I have been looking at the cressi leanardo , i then thought it maybe a good idea to get a watch style computer which i can wear everyday and really get my moneys worth. Which then led me onto the Garmin Decent MK3i 43mm. To be honest the Garmin is the only watch style i would buy as it has a many other great fitness features.

What are your thoughts ?

If your into fitness and working out just get a Garmin. In the end you will spend more money buying a cheap dive computer and then later realizing you want something better and buying it anyways.

Buy once cry once

I have the MK2S and I actually only use it as a daily watch and fitness watch. I have been using for about 2.5 years every day now and love it! It has only been on a handful dives just to test it out. Not because its a bad dive computer just I almost only dive rebreathers and all my rebreathers have Petrels so I am super familiar with the Shearwater platform and naturally I want a backup to have the exact same layout and buttons. But for regular diving I think it is a great multipurpose dive computer/daily wear smart watch. Far more practical than the Teric or apple watch

 

[Belzelbub]

If your into fitness and working out just get a Garmin. In the end you will spend more money buying a cheap dive computer and then later realizing you want something better and buying it anyways.

Just to add. If you do plan on getting a Smart/Activity watch, then the Garmin should definitely be on the short list. If you wear it everyday, then you’ll quickly become familiar with how it works. So, when it comes time to dive with it, you’ll probably already have it on your wrist, and be mostly familiar with its operation.

And yeah, totally agree, this can be a cheaper option compared to getting a watch AND a DC.

I have the MK2S and I actually only use it as a daily watch and fitness watch. I have been using for about 2.5 years every day now and love it! It has only been on a handful dives just to test it out. Not because its a bad dive computer just I almost only dive rebreathers and all my rebreathers have Petrels so I am super familiar with the Shearwater platform and naturally I want a backup to have the exact same layout and buttons. But for regular diving I think it is a great multipurpose dive computer/daily wear smart watch. Far more practical than the Teric or apple watch

I have an MK2s as well. Been using it on every dive for the past 2 years. It is a great dive computer. Complements my Perdix nicely, though as you stated, they are laid out differently. The Garmin is my backup, but brings different things to the table. I use the compass on the Garmin instead of the Perdix. The Garmin also brings GPS and heart rate while the Shearwater handles the Air integration.

Both get downloaded to Subsurface, so I have all that information from both computers in one place.

I’m a recreational diver. Both computers offer capabilities well beyond my level, but better that way. I’d much prefer that I’m the limitation than my dive computer holding me back in any way.

 

[DanBMW]

I like redundancy and don't think it's a good idea to be wearing my dive computer as an everyday watch. No reason to be banging it around, unless I want to be telling people that I am a diver. I generally wear an inexpensive Timex Iron man watch. About $40.00 and it lasts several years. I rarely take it off. I wear it in an aquarium that I dive weekly, scuba, skydiving, biking and in the shower. It keeps ticking. For a computer, for recreational diving, I use a simple "puck" computer. They are all good and do about the same thing.

 

[Nick_Radov]

I like redundancy and don't think it's a good idea to be wearing my dive computer as an everyday watch.

I've been wearing a Garmin Descent Mk2 as an everyday watch for years, including daily triathlon training and a bunch of other activities. It's fine. You wont break it unless you fall off a mountain or something.

No reason to be banging it around, unless I want to be telling people that I am a diver.

Isn't that the first thing you tell people when you meet them?

I generally wear an inexpensive Timex Iron man watch. About $40.00 and it lasts several years. I rarely take it off. I wear it in an aquarium that I dive weekly, scuba, skydiving, biking and in the shower. It keeps ticking. For a computer, for recreational diving, I use a simple "puck" computer. They are all good and do about the same thing.

The simple puck computers lack GPS. I find that useful for logging dives and geotagging photos. For those of us who travel a lot it's also nice to have a single device that does everything.

 

[Belzelbub]

I like redundancy and don't think it's a good idea to be wearing my dive computer as an everyday watch.

Not really sure what wearing daily has to do with redundancy. I like redundancy as well. My Garmin backs up my Perdix nicely. Both set to same custom GFs. During a dive, I consult both regularly depending on which arm is freer at the moment.

No reason to be banging it around, unless I want to be telling people that I am a diver. I generally wear an inexpensive Timex Iron man watch.

Garmin makes them pretty tough. I’ve been wearing daily for over two years. I don’t wear it when I’m sleeping, but other than that, it’s on my wrist. Maybe some slight scuffing on the bezel, but no scratches on the screen or anything. If someone were to look real closely, they may be able to tell it’s a dive computer, but in watch mode, it just looks like a watch. I’ve had people compliment me on it, and pretty sure they weren’t divers.

One of the reasons I went with the MK2s instead of the G1 was that it looked at home in many more environments.

 

[V1Rotate]

Tough call, the price difference is a big factor. $250 vs. $1350 plus another $480 for a T2 transmitter. I bought the Garmin Descent Mk3i and I really like it. I think the clear bright screen and loads of features are well worth the extra money. Air integration with a transmitter is also a really great feature, does the Cressi have air integration?

Unless your budget is really tight I think the Garmin Mk3i is the way to go. I wear mine around when I'm not diving, I don't think the Cressi would be very useful outside of diving.