In 2013 are you using a tech computer (as a computer) or BT for your tech diving?

[GrimSleeper]

Bottom timers and tables cut with V-Planner or MultiDeco.

Have two nice VR3-shaped paperweights. My experiences with them as dive computers didn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm.

If someone gave me a Shearwater I'd probably take it diving, but I'm not fussed enough by the thought of saving a few minutes' deco to make it worth buying one. Mind you, I dive in warm, clear tropical waters full of pretty fishies. I might feel differently about it if I was reducing the time spent hanging on a rope in freezing cold green soup...

 

[Nasser]

2 x Bottom timers and cutting tables with Baltic Deco Planner on iPhone - a great app and very convenient to use on site.

 

[Tug]

One Shearwater and a bottom timer with tables as a backup


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[tomfcrist]

I use a predator mostly to track depth and run time, ideco for actual planning. I always dive my ideco plan unless I have to accelerate deco for some reason. The predator is usually clear 8-9 minutes prior to my plan, but I finish out anyway. Also use an old oceanic in guage mode as a secondary timer/depth guage.

 

[karstdvr]

I carry two computers,and find them highly reliable and accurate. When I see much of the OW world abandoning tables for a computer,and statisitics for diving not showing an increase in accidents for computer vs tables,then my preference is for a computer. What confuses me is I see so many people that use different tables,and algorithms with the intent of shaving some time off deco,when a dive computer that has a high sampling rate,and gives you credit for multilevel dives,is so ideal. Who knows maybe we will see a shake up in the table only philosophy,especially now that sidemount rig is part of the company that supports DIR.

 

[ucfdiver]

I carry two computers,and find them highly reliable and accurate. When I see much of the OW world abandoning tables for a computer,and statisitics for diving not showing an increase in accidents for computer vs tables,then my preference is for a computer. What confuses me is I see so many people that use different tables,and algorithms with the intent of shaving some time off deco,when a dive computer that has a high sampling rate,and gives you credit for multilevel dives,is so ideal. Who knows maybe we will see a shake up in the table only philosophy,especially now that sidemount rig is part of the company that supports DIR.

I think now that VPM computers are more and more common you'll start to see more people from the DIR community adopt them as it eliminates the biggest issue of everyone on the team having a different algorithm. The other issue is that many people have developed a deco strategy that works for them, often involving pushing decompression deeper on high ppo2, and shortening the intermediate stops between gas switches as they ascend.

I still feel that computers serve as a crutch for many people and their dive planning. While this hasn't produced any incidents, I have planned dives with people who rely on computers and when we talk minimum gas planning they've forgotten how to calculate gas needs (scooter failure, deco bottle failure, etc), or are not aware of average depth for even Ginnie dives.

The other hesitation in going the computer route is I rarely see a uwatech issue, but I've seen numerous reports about Sherwater's excellent service (which implies something broke), and also seen a few unhappy reviews of the x1 losing one of it's redundant sensors. While I certainly don't think the failures are alarmingly high, they are higher than bottom timers. Just like airlines that adopted the 787 Dreamliner, there are several issues to work out, but several clear benefits of using latest technology as well.

 

[Beyond_Diving]

Ratio deco, tables cut with vplanner and bottom timers. I dont trust anything with batteries to give me anything more than my rt

 

[LiteHedded]

I carry two computers,and find them highly reliable and accurate. When I see much of the OW world abandoning tables for a computer,and statisitics for diving not showing an increase in accidents for computer vs tables,then my preference is for a computer. What confuses me is I see so many people that use different tables,and algorithms with the intent of shaving some time off deco,when a dive computer that has a high sampling rate,and gives you credit for multilevel dives,is so ideal. Who knows maybe we will see a shake up in the table only philosophy,especially now that sidemount rig is part of the company that supports DIR.

I dont use them because I just dont see any benefit to the thing for my diving. not because of any knee-jerk DIR black and white hatred of the things

 

[Jim Lapenta]

A Predator for recreational dives that I also plan on tables, and OMS BT with tables and the Predator for tech stuff. Another low vis diver here and love the display on the Shearwater.

As for their rep for service IME it's due to the regular and easy updates, the response to questions, addressing of some battery issues early on that were more of an inconvenience, the way the manual is laid out, and that they actually listen to what we want and try to deliver.

I have only heard of a couple actual service repair issues that were handled fast and efficiently. Unlike others that get snippy, tell you to "take it to an authorized dealer" horsecrap, and seem to design stuff that will be obsolete with no future support in a couple years.

Based on this I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

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[MXGratefulDiver]

I don't do tech dives that much anymore ... the last ones were in the Great Lakes in July. On those dives, most of which were between 190 and 250 ffw, I used ratio deco, with two computers (LV X1 and SW Petrel) as "sanity checkers". The computers generally track pretty close to the RD schedule. The purpose of the computers is simply to provide visual evidence that I haven't committed a significant brain fart.

X1 is set with a +3 conservatism level
Petrel with a 70/30 gradient factor

... Bob (Grateful Diver)