Need Advice: Backup Gauges

[Katdb]

Hi everyone!

I currently dive with an Atom 2 air integrated (which I LOVE BTW), but have been thinking about a set of backup analog gauges just in case... and of course before I got around to it, the 'just in case' happened this weekend when my computer blew a fuse which popped the battery cover enough for it to flood and I had to call the dive.

To avoid having to call the dive in the future, I'm looking for suggestions for a small set of backup gauges. I've seen some by Tusa, Mares, xs scuba and I'm sure there are lots more out there. I've tried the search function, but I'm not having much luck there. Ideally it would be as small as possible, with air, depth, +/- compass.

Thanks so much!
Katdb

 

[Nemrod]

Quality mechanical depth gauges are hard to find these days, you might just consider a B&G spg, a decent watch and a second computer. N

 

[keyshunter]

An analog spg and a backup computer is a very good idea. Unless you carry a backup computer, or have planned your dive using tables and have a watch and gauges, your dive is effectively over when your air integrated computer craps out. If you carry a backup computer, with the same algorythm as the primary, (and a means of monitoring gas pressure) you can switch to it and carry on. I carry a backup computer on every dive, although I have not had to use it for backup since the '90's when I moved away from Pelagic computers.

 

[Nemrod]

This and a watch should get you out of the water safely:

Aeris Wrist Depth Gauge reviews and discounts, Aeris

At barely 50 dollars it can save you some money vs a second computer but you have to know the tables and have a watch/timer to complement it.

N

 

[fnfalman]

The whole idea behind carrying analog gauges & backup timers is that to augment your dive computer in the unlikely event that the battery would conk out. If you were to bash your computer against something hard enough to break it, then your SPG would have suffered the same fate. So, what's the point of packing analog gauges and then use a battery-powered timing device (quartz watch or bottom timer)? Murphy's Law states that when things go wrong, they really go wrong. Chances are your dive computer(s) would probably conk out at the same time due to dead or low batteries, and since that Murphy tends to make people's lives miserable...that's probably when the batteries in your quartz watch/bottom timer would go out as well.

Food for thoughts.

Anyway, as far as small consoles go, the smaller they are, the harder it is to read them...

I have individual SPG and depth gauge for backups because I don't like dragging a console around. However, the console is convenient because everything is right there in one place. YMMV.