Need help with deciding on a Computer

[Dive Man J]

Ok, so I have been doing a lot of reading today on this board regarding dive computers and the one I should purchase and well I need some advice.

I am a relatively new diver. I completed my basic certification last year and I am going to the Cayman's in March and want to have some of my own equipment. I have been looking into dive computers and was set on getting the Atmos 2 until I read some of the opinions and problems people have been having on this site with it.

It seems that the Suunto Vyper is a popular computer on this board along with the Mares M1.

I am looking for something that will get me through as I advance in this sport. I have fallen in love with it and intend on progressing as I build upon my experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, I see that the Suunto Vyper displays depth in Meters, can this be changed to Feet?

 

[MechDiver]

Dive Man J once bubbled...

On a side note, I see that the Suunto Vyper displays depth in Meters, can this be changed to Feet?

Yes.

Any of the new, mainline computers will work well and see you through many dives. Suunto's are very good, and very conservative.

There are hundreds of post here concerning "what computer is best for me". You need to decide what features you want and how much you want to pay or them. Then find what is available in that combination.

MD

 

[Jerryg]

Dive Man
I currently own a Mares M1 and have logged about 25dives with it and have had no technical problems with it. However, if I were to buy one today is would not be the M1. I have found that the feel of the buttons make if difficult to navigate around, especially when wearing cold water gloves. I also wouldn't buy a wrist mounted unit again because it always seems to come loose when worn over a 7mm wet suit with gloves. That may be unique the the Mares, but a console mounted unit is just one less thing to have attached to my body. A friend of mine bought an Oceanic. It will pop in and out of a console and in and out of a wrist/watch mount. That seems to be very flexible for people like me who buy one thing and then desire something else.. The buttons also feel good. If you are going to really progress in your diving you want to make sure that it is Nitrox compatible, and can compensate for elevation. Remember that you may not always dive at sea level. Good luck in your decision

 

[MechDiver]

Jerryg once bubbled...
Dive Man
I also wouldn't buy a wrist mounted unit again because it always seems to come loose when worn over a 7mm wet suit with gloves.

Tighten up the strap more when you put it on or get a depth compensating wrist strap for it if you can change straps. If you just snug up the strap on the surface, it becomes loose when the suit compresses, same as a weightbelt. Has nothing to do with the computer make.

MD

 

[GoBlue!]

Jerryg once bubbled...
....However, if I were to buy one today is would not be the M1. I have found that the feel of the buttons make if difficult to navigate around, especially when wearing cold water gloves....

Since I'm thinking of the Vyper vs. Mares M1 as well, I'm curious what you mean by the feel of the buttons make it difficult to navigate around. Is it that the buttons are hard to press, or is it that the menus, etc. are difficult to navigate? Or both? How is it without gloves on?

Jim

 

[jamiei]

you should be able to switch between meters and feet with the vyper. For the price, you can't beat the vyper in my opinion. I have complete confidence in them. I use a cobra at the moment.

 

[Jerryg]

There is no positive feel to the buttons on the Mares M1. The feed back is a barely audible beep. I've had difficulty at depth switching between screens and turning on the backlight. Some of the functions require you to hold the button down for 2 seconds, but since I can't "feel" when the button is actually engaged I seem to be holding in down forever with out getting the results that I expect. Most of the top of the line computers seem to have the all the capabilities. I would suggest you confirm what features you want, what manufacturers make computers with those features, and then go to your local dive shops and try them out. As far as the wrist strap always coming loose. I know it's a depth thing, but have you ever tried adjusting the watch strap with 5mm gloves. I will look at a depth compensating band if I can find one for the M1.

 

[Dive Man J]

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. I have narrowed my choices to either the Suunto Mosquito or Vyper. I am not sure which one I like better at this point though. They seem to be pretty much the same except that the mosiquito had a max depth of 300ft, the vyper 492ft. Also, the mosiquito can be a watch and has a Free mode rather then a Guage mode. These two last terms I am unclear about so I am not sure which one is better.

 

[rescuediver009]

Dive Man J once bubbled...
Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. I have narrowed my choices to either the Suunto Mosquito or Vyper. I am not sure which one I like better at this point though. They seem to be pretty much the same except that the mosiquito had a max depth of 300ft, the vyper 492ft. Also, the mosiquito can be a watch and has a Free mode rather then a Guage mode. These two last terms I am unclear about so I am not sure which one is better.

I currently dive the vyper and have used the cobra. Although the airtime remaining data is convenient, I like the idea of looking to my wrist for the info.
Don't worry about the max depths as most divers do not reach that depth, and also by the time you get there you will likely have another computer.
The 'free' mode implies free diving, and the 'gauge' mode implies that you only want to use your computer as a bottom timer, and without the decompression data. This is used for when you are using multiple mixes and ones that are higher than 50%.
The thing that will make or brteak your decision on the vyper vs. mosquito is do you want a watch or computer sized instrument. If you have alot of equipment on at the time the mosquito may not do the job. And personally I would be worried about breaking something like that wearing it around.

Lastly, I don't want to confuse you more, but if you don't think that you are going to use the pc interface, or gauge mode on the vyper, take a look at the gekko.

 

[Dive Man J]

rescuediver009 once bubbled...


The thing that will make or brteak your decision on the vyper vs. mosquito is do you want a watch or computer sized instrument. If you have alot of equipment on at the time the mosquito may not do the job. And personally I would be worried about breaking something like that wearing it around.

Lastly, I don't want to confuse you more, but if you don't think that you are going to use the pc interface, or gauge mode on the vyper, take a look at the gekko.

Thank you for your input and also for the difference between gauge and free modes, though I think I may be still a little confused on that. (but it isn't a big deal at this point in time) I am very computer oriented and do want the PC interface which is a large reason why I am staying away from the Gekko. You make a good point about the watch issue, as I do not intend on wearing at any other time except when diving. I want to get the one that will function best underwater. Since there is only a $10 difference between them, I am trying to learn which would be better for me. From what is state above, I am assuming that the Mosquito may be difficult to read under water. Is this assumption true? Thanks again for all the help.