Is the Shearwater Petrel too much?advice

[DevonDiver]

Want versus Need are very different criteria for purchases.

If you want a Petrel, then get one. There can be no argument against that.

Do you need a Petrel, not now... and not likely for some considerable time. By the time you need a Petrel, there's likely to be more modern, more capable computers on the market... and then you'll wish you had something more cutting edge.

 

[doctormike]

OP. Only you can answer that question. Whether "just" rec, or whatever, IMO, an accurate computer allows you to enjoy diving longer with less risk of adverse effects. It is one of, if not THE best received in that regard. So if I were in your shoes, and I could afford it, I would. It's one piece of equipment I would never skimp on

I love my Petrel, but this sounds a bit like the way that regulators are sometimes marketed.

The thing is, for most modern dive gear, all brands and models perform their basic functions in a fairly uniform manner. That is, if you are not pushing the envelope in terms of dive conditions, paying more for a tech-level piece of equipment does not reduce it's failure rate in the recreational range. You see this a lot when people are being sold high end regulators, and told not to "skimp on your life support system". True, but buying a new, low end, cheap regulator from a recognized manufacturer for basic recreational diving is not "skimping", it's using an appropriate tool for the task.

I agree that having some sort of dive computer will allow a recreational diver doing profiles that involve a non-trivial degree of nitrogen loading to get more bottom compared to diving tables (by giving credit for time spent above the maximum depth). But I don't agree that buying a dive computer capable of multiple gas switches involving trimix will give that recreational diver any advantage in terms of safety or "accuracy".