I dive sporadically in both cold (dry suit - Canada) and warm water (shorty - Caribbean). One year I may take a one week dive trip and dive several other days for a total of 20-40 dives, the next I may dive less than 10 times. I always borrow my buddies extra BC, Reg, and Tanks as I never thought I dived enough to warrant the investment and I hate lugging all the equpiment on/off the plane (I'll rent, or my buddy will put everything in one bag.) I will ocassionally dive Nitrox but usually air, and usually stay within the decompression limits.
One thing I've missed having is my own dive computer, one that I'm familiar with and feel comfortable using as oppose to borrowing/renting one I am unfamiliar with or that is limited in features (doesn't do Nitrox or Deco stop calculation, etc.) I've got money to spend, $600 or $700 is a moderately expensive purchase for me. But I also don't like to waste money on things I don't get good use out of.
I've read up on some of the dive computers. The hoseless air pressure feature is intriguing as I like the simplicity of data in one spot, and I especially like the Total Dive Time feature of the Aeris Atmos Elite which factors in consumption rate amongst other things. But I think I would definitely use a spare pressure gauge on a short hose so if the transmitter went whacky I wouldn't have to abort the dive.
The first basic question that comes to mind is based on my needs and diving profile, am I waisting money on a hoseless computer and if so, what would someone recommend as the best value for a wrist computer that doesn't read tank pressure or should I just buy one that has the hoseless transmitter as an option and pick that up later if I start diving more often?
My second question is, if say half the time I'm doing boat trips that include rental of my BC, reg, and tanks (as opposed to using my buddies stuff), will they not want me to be reconfiguring the reg to have a SPG on a short hose on one HP port and the transmitter on another and/or is there a chance there may not even be enough HP ports on the Reg to accomodate both? (I can hear the replies now - buy your own Reg!)
My last question is, based on what I've read, the Oceanic VT Pro or Aeris Atoms Elite are the best buys for hoseless. If I purchased either of those, is there any difficulty with the operation if I elect NOT to install the hoseless PG on some dives and just use the analog PG?
I like the total dive time calc the Aeris has though so I think I'd prefer that. The smaller size of the Atom sounds intriguing but it is unclear if it is as usable/reliable as the Atmos? Is the trend to go smaller and the Atmos is just a sign of things to come? I hear the Atmos 1.0 doesn't display PSI on the main screen (2.0 does) do the VT Pro or Atmos Elite display PSI on the main screen?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
One thing I've missed having is my own dive computer, one that I'm familiar with and feel comfortable using as oppose to borrowing/renting one I am unfamiliar with or that is limited in features (doesn't do Nitrox or Deco stop calculation, etc.) I've got money to spend, $600 or $700 is a moderately expensive purchase for me. But I also don't like to waste money on things I don't get good use out of.
I've read up on some of the dive computers. The hoseless air pressure feature is intriguing as I like the simplicity of data in one spot, and I especially like the Total Dive Time feature of the Aeris Atmos Elite which factors in consumption rate amongst other things. But I think I would definitely use a spare pressure gauge on a short hose so if the transmitter went whacky I wouldn't have to abort the dive.
The first basic question that comes to mind is based on my needs and diving profile, am I waisting money on a hoseless computer and if so, what would someone recommend as the best value for a wrist computer that doesn't read tank pressure or should I just buy one that has the hoseless transmitter as an option and pick that up later if I start diving more often?
My second question is, if say half the time I'm doing boat trips that include rental of my BC, reg, and tanks (as opposed to using my buddies stuff), will they not want me to be reconfiguring the reg to have a SPG on a short hose on one HP port and the transmitter on another and/or is there a chance there may not even be enough HP ports on the Reg to accomodate both? (I can hear the replies now - buy your own Reg!)
My last question is, based on what I've read, the Oceanic VT Pro or Aeris Atoms Elite are the best buys for hoseless. If I purchased either of those, is there any difficulty with the operation if I elect NOT to install the hoseless PG on some dives and just use the analog PG?
I like the total dive time calc the Aeris has though so I think I'd prefer that. The smaller size of the Atom sounds intriguing but it is unclear if it is as usable/reliable as the Atmos? Is the trend to go smaller and the Atmos is just a sign of things to come? I hear the Atmos 1.0 doesn't display PSI on the main screen (2.0 does) do the VT Pro or Atmos Elite display PSI on the main screen?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.