New divers looking at dive computers for purchase soon

[gryffin]

With the dive computer market changing significantly in 2016, my husband and I are trying to figure out what dive computer to buy right now for a trip in February. We had decided on the Scubapro Luna, but are feeling a bit hesitant because it is expensive and seems like it is older technology (IR interface). The shop we are buying our gear carries only Aqualung and Scubapro computers. The new Aqualung computers are not available yet, but will be soon.

Safety is our highest priority- more important than cost. Ability to read the display and/or gauges is another important criteria- I have to use reading glasses for most things and expect this to worsen with time. We are both interested in keeping a data log- we are geeky like that, so downloadable data is a must. We will be purely recreational divers- vacations in warm water in the spring and fall, some dives in New England in the summer- both lake and ocean (we live on a lake and plan to dive in it for practice).

We are new divers- we will be doing our OW referral dives in Grand Cayman in February (followed by 2-3 additional diving days) and want to use our own computers to finish our training. We also expect to go for our AOW certification and Nitrox certifications sometime in the next 12-18 months

It seems like our options are:

1) Go with the air-integrated Lunas and plan not to upgrade until they break. We've been told that with this, we won't need any other gauges/instruments.

2) Buy a cheap computer now that meets our 3 main criteria along with a standard SPG. Buy fancier computers when/if we need them, after Scubapro sorts out its Seabear acquisition and Aqualung gets its new computer line in order.

The cheap options I have looked at are:

Mares Puck - $149 + $50 for the USB cable or Puck Pro - $249 with USB cable
Not sure what the difference between these are besides price, color and that the Puck appears to be discontinued

Subgear XP-10 - $340

Oceanic Veo 1.0 - $150, 2.0 - $183 or 3.0 -$210 (all discontinued?) and Geo 2 - $375

Zoop - $200

Aqualung 300i - $259, presumably available on January 1

Hollis DG03 $250

With some of these, I have to give up on local service.

Thinking completely differently, the Oceanic Pro Plus is intriguing to me because its numbers are so big- but then I lose the convenience of wrist mount as well as local service.

I know this subject has been discussed more than once (I've read most of the threads I could find on the subject)- but does anyone have any advice they'd like to send my way?

 

[Seya]

Shearwater Perdix

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

 

[Jax]

Shearwater Perdix, or go for the Petrel 2 (the same but in older shell) as people sell them.

Shearwater's customer service is unsurpassed in the industry.

ScubaPro . . . not so much.

 

[Bali1]

It may help to decide which features you really need versus want in a DC. Any computer on the market today will assist you in tracking multiple dives. You are new divers so getting a DC which is 1) reliable and 2) somewhat easy to operate may be a better choice than getting one with all possible options. Readability is also important to you.

I would take a good look at console DC like the Atomic Cobalt or the Pro Plus for easy to read. Any of the wrist DC will be a lot smaller and more difficult to read although some have great contrast colors which may mitigate the size factor somewhat. If you can get into a dive shop where you can physically compare these side by side and see what makes sense for you. A lot of people find wireless AI computers too much trouble as the link between transmitter and DC can be an issue. I used the Oceanic console 20 years ago and liked it then - they have been making DCs for a long time. Now I like wrist units and am fine with keeping an SPG separate. Reliability wise I'll second the Shearwater product and also have had positive experiences with Atomic (But not the computer) in terms of vendor support as you can send your gear directly to them for service.

Advice is easy to come by here but in the end you must make an informed decision based on your needs. Physical comparisons or even renting some on your dive trips may be a good way to evaluate them before purchase. BTW Aqualung I understand has bought the firm which made Oceanic/Hollis/Aeris dive computers so I expect them to start selling Oceanic - style computers in 2016.

 

[dmaziuk]

1) Go with the air-integrated Lunas and plan not to upgrade until they break. We've been told that with this, we won't need any other gauges/instruments.

Keep in mind that you will most likely have to unscrew the SPG from the rental first stage to screw in your pressure sensor/transmitter (or have them do it for you). I would at the very least contact the shop in Grand Cayman and ask them if they're OK with doing that. Ditto for every shop until you buy your own regulators.

2) Buy a cheap computer now that meets our 3 main criteria along with a standard SPG. Buy fancier computers when/if we need them, after Scubapro sorts out its Seabear acquisition and Aqualung gets its new computer line in order.

The cheap options I have looked at are:

Mares Puck - $149 + $50 for the USB cable or Puck Pro - $249 with USB cable
Not sure what the difference between these are besides price, color and that the Puck appears to be discontinued

USB cable/kits are typically around $90 (Puck's $50 is an exception) so $250 for Puck Pro + cable is an OK price: under $200 for the computer is basically as good as it gets for cheap ones now. Note that you only need one uplink cable for the two computers so e.g. $500 for 2 Puck Pros and 2 cables is not cheaper than $485 for 2 zoops + 1 cable.

Oceanic Veo 1.0 - $150, 2.0 - $183 or 3.0 -$210 (all discontinued?) and Geo 2 - $375

Geo 2 is well liked but it's watch-sized. If you wear reading glasses, that may not be a plus.

Zoop - $200

Zoop, Puck and Cressi Leonardo are the 3 main contenders in the $200 category. About the only meaningful difference is some people hate Zoop's 3-button interface while some people hate the single button on the other two. ICBW but I think zoop has a wet USB port. Leonardo's uplink cradle is IR to serial to USB, so getting the drivers to work may be tricky -- as with the Luna. Not sure about Puck, kinda looks like another IR to USB setup.

Hollis DG03 $250

Apparently some of the interface options are seriously convoluted on that one. Whether you'll actually need to use them is another question -- it's the same deal with 1 button: some settings take a lot of presses, but if you change them rarely or never, who cares. Feature-wise it appears to have the best bang for the buck. The cable is another $100 though (on the plus side it's a wet USB port, not IR).

Another one that's supposed to come out in January is the Deep6 recreational computer for $150 with the promised feature set similar to Puck Pro/Zoop/Leonardo. It probably won't be out in time for your February trip.

Edit: Petrel is expensive, huge, and it will most likely be years before you need its features -- if you ever change your mind about "purely recreational" diving in the first place.

 

[Kairoos]

I would not purchase an air integrated dive computer if you do not have your own regs. It will be a PITA to add/remove the transmitter every outing, and I doubt most operators are going to be okay with it (I personally would not). An option would be to buy a computer that has a compatible transmitter, but doesn't come with it, and then buy one at a later date.

Having an air integrated computer does NOT mean you don't need any other gauges. You should still have an SPG, even if you don't use it. I rarely ever look at my SPG but it's there if my computer or transmitter has a hiccup. The technology is pretty good, but it's not perfect.

Honestly if you're going to be a vacation diver, or occasionally dive locally, I would just get a cheap computer. It will do everything you need and more.

 

[DiveNav]

...... Ability to read the display and/or gauges is another important criteria- I have to use reading glasses for most things and expect this to worsen with time. .....

On this front no computer in the market beats the Sol/Luna in "Light" mode or an Oceanic Pro Plus 3 (or a Sherwood Wisdom 3) as they all have gigantic numbers (the only one is the iPad dive computer ... but that's another story).

Whatever brand / model you end up purchasing make sure you learn how to properly use it.

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[uncfnp]

As you can see advice is all over the map. My take...

I am all for supporting your LDS and some items like the regulator I like the ability to get local service but with a dive computer this really is a nonissue. Just get the one that meets your needs. A DC doesn't need regular servicing like a reg. In fact, if you get one that has user changable batteries, and most are now, you should never need it serviced. If something does go wrong, its easy enough to mail it in. Just make sure you buy from an authorized seller or offers their own warrenty.

 

[drrich2]

Air-integration is a hotly debated topic on Scuba Board. You should decide whether you want it as an option. Shearwater products, like the Petrel & Perdix, have no A.I. option.

1.) A.I. can come in wireless (wrist unit) or hosed (console) options.

2.) Many of us find the reliability of wrist unit to transmitter connection just fine, and if connection is dropped, it's briefly & often no big deal.

3.) An A.I. computer that logs your dives for download can generally record your start & stop gas pressures, automatically logging them for you. I really like that.

4.) Wireless A.I. computers are often sold with or without transmitters, so you can pay to add it later.

5.) You are going to want your own regulator if you use an A.I. computer, whether hosed or wireless, in my view.

If you consider a Shearwater computer, do some reading in threads discussing them. I don't think most recreational divers know about gradient factors, and while some people don't like the option for audible alarms (e.g.: setting your computer to sound off if your PSI drops to a set low level, in case your mind wandered so you're alerted before you run out of air), I believe some people do.

As has been discussed in other threads, the Shearwater line are technical diving computers that can be used for recreational divers, and some people speak highly of them for that purpose. But pay close attention to what they do & don't offer, and whether the mindset they seem to appeal to (in another thread they were referred to as the 'thinking diver's computer') is what you're aiming for.

In a nutshell, I'm not telling you what to get, just to know what you're getting.

Richard.

 

[Damselfish]

I agree with skipping air integrated computers if you don't have your own regs to leave them on, and expensive computers when you're still fairly uncertain which way to go. (Actually, if you don't have your own regs I'd buy an inexpensive computer and buy regs, if the savings is what gets you there.) As was mentioned, whatever a sales person tells you, many people do prefer to still have a SPG even when using an AI computer; if you come to the same conclusion you're not going to avoid a SPG anyway.

If I were you I would buy something inexpensive for now. A year or 2 down the road you may very well decide it's just fine and all you want. Or you may decide you'd like something different or fancier, at which point you can either sell off the first or keep it as a backup. (When vacation diving having a backup computer can be really nice. When you're home doing a couple dives on the weekend maybe no big deal if your computer craps out, but on a long series of dives when you're on an expensive vacation it can really come in handy to avoid losing dives or dive time. While people will say just go back to tables, practically speaking it doesn't really work in that situation.)

What op are you diving with? Some ops in Cayman include computers free. While you might not be diving with and getting used to yours, it's another chance to try what they have and see what you like or don't like about it, and can put off the decision for awhile.