New Watch Style Advanced Dive Computer from Scubapro for 2023! GALILEO 3 (G3)!

[jrouss28]

Too much money for what you get.

 

[stuartv]

I wonder if they just published their proprietary features if they would suddenly gain an advantage in the market.

If the features are as valuable as they claim, they would gain a huge market share before others could catch up using the published data.

I don't think making it public would help them at all. I think it would be much more likely that lifting their skirt would just result in everyone else picking at the details and using the info to slam them. "See what they're doing right here? That is bad."

From the point of view of a diver who wants to completely and thorougly plan their dive, the ScubaPro algorithm poses a big problem: There is no way to actually plan a dive. At least, not a dive that involves any mandatory decompression.

I don't know the details of their algorithm, but I am completely confident that when their heart rate monitor (for example) makes an adjustment to your NDL, it never makes it longer. I.e. it never tells you that you can stay down longer than what the baseline algorithm would predict. I'd bet money that it ONLY uses that data to shorten your NDL, in cases where SP engineers have determined that whatever you're doing is going to make you more prone to DCS.

For non-deco dives, it's okay. You can plan, for example, a 30 minute dive, and if the dive is cut short, that's not going to hurt anything (except maybe your feelings).

But, for deco dives, it is absolutely NOT okay. If you plan a dive with 30 minutes of bottom time and then 30 minutes of deco on the ascent, you have planned exactly how much gas you need in order to make that 30 minute dive and 30 minute ascent.

If your computer then says "ooo! Your heart rate was really elevated during a lot of that bottom time. You need to do more deco before you get out" that means that all your gas planning is now out the window. If your computer now says you need 40 minutes of deco, do you have enough gas?

That unpredictability from the computer/algorithm is why no diver that thoroughly plans their dive would use it. We need computers/algorithms that are completely predictable. We want to be able to do planning on our laptop computer, tablet, or phone, and know that the plan we come up with and the plan the dive computer generates in real time during the dive are going to exactly match (assuming we actually dive exactly according to the plan).

It’s remarkable that SP have persisted with this subpar line of computers. Every new model seems to lag the market in terms of features and proprietary garbage. Is their marketing department completely unaware of user demands?

It just seems to be more layers of lipstick on the same pig. Lousy display-check. Unproven modified algorithm-check. High price-check. There is nothing about this computer that makes you go “wow”. Except the inflated price. But they apparently have a dedicated fanbase that will buy anything with a big S on it so be damned all ye critics.

It seems like you are not catching that yes, they offer their proprietary algorithm, but they also offer Buhlmann with gradient factors. You just have to go into the settings and change it to use GF if that's what you want.

I can understand why they want to add GF to their computers. I can also understand why they would want to also keep their ADT MB (or whatever it is) algorithm in there. If they just dropped ADT MB, that would be quite a slap in the face to all their existing customers who bought into the SP Marketing literature that convinced them that ADT MB is better/safer. A person who bought a heart rate monitor and uses it with their SP computer during dives might be kinda pissed if they suddenly saw that SP is not offering that algorithm anymore. Like, "I spent all this extra money on this crap and now you're saying that it's bogus and I don't need it?!"

I think it's a big step in the right direction that ScubaPro is adding Buhlmann w/Gradient Factors to their computers. Now they need to add the ability for their computers to read their own transmitter AND/or read a PPS transmitter.

Personally, I am extremely unlikely to buy one of their computers, even if it had GF and could read PPS, as long as it's anywhere near the price of a Shearwater. But, some people simply do not have good access to buying other brands. I have a new tech student right now that lives in an area where the only good scuba shop is a ScubaPro Platinum dealer. They only sell ScubaPro. My student wants to support their local shop and generally buys their gear there. I would not fault them for buying a G3 to use going forward in tech diving, on that basis.

There is always "what is the best". But, sometimes, there is "what is good enough".

 

[Outbound]

I handled one and was decidedly underwhelmed. First thing, that huge "S" logo on the face is beyond annoying. The thing already says Scubapro at the bottom, so it doesn't need a glaring digital "S" taking up huge screen real estate when it's in watch mode. It's tacky looking. I think the rotating bezel idea is cool, harkening back to dive watches, but the bezel insert looks cheap on the G3. In fact, I think the case overall looks and feels cheap. It's a matte finish but looks bad to my eyes. The display is okay but nothing special, and certainly far behind the screen on the Teric. The menu did not feel intuitive to me at all, but that's likely because I didn't spend a lot of time with it. Lastly, they'll sell you a metal bracelet for it but it's in black PVD. The case is matte grey. They should have made the case black PVD too, or made the bracelet the same grey as the case. But the bracelet would look like hot garbage in that finish, so I'm assuming that's why they made it black PVD. It's probably just me, but having a mis-matched bracelet and watch case bugs me as much as seeing people put leather straps on dive watches.

 

[tridacna]

It seems like you are not catching that yes, they offer their proprietary algorithm, but they also offer Buhlmann with gradient factors. You just have to go into the settings and change it to use GF if that's what you want.

I can understand why they want to add GF to their computers. I can also understand why they would want to also keep their ADT MB (or whatever it is) algorithm in there. If they just dropped ADT MB, that would be quite a slap in the face to all their existing customers who bought into the SP Marketing literature that convinced them that ADT MB is better/safer. A person who bought a heart rate monitor and uses it with their SP computer during dives might be kinda pissed if they suddenly saw that SP is not offering that algorithm anymore. Like, "I spent all this extra money on this crap and now you're saying that it's bogus and I don't need it?!"

Stu - I'm well aware that they're offering both. It's their persistence with the ADT MB algo and the useless heart monitor that drives me nuts. I also understand the importance of their existing customer base. I simply find that persistence to be maddeningly frustrating - explaining that to new users must be an strange exercise when trying to sell this thing. At this time, does anyone really believe the hype about incorporating a heart monitor? SP are "innovative" in BCDs, fins, masks and regulators. (Alright maybe not innovative in the last three). They just can't produce a competitive dive computer. There is so much out there that looks, feels and behaves better than their unexciting new offerings.

 

[stuartv]

Stu - I'm well aware that they're offering both. It's their persistence with the ADT MB algo and the useless heart monitor that drives me nuts. I also understand the importance of their existing customer base. I simply find that persistence to be maddeningly frustrating - explaining that to new users must be an strange exercise when trying to sell this thing. At this time, does anyone really believe the hype about incorporating a heart monitor? SP are "innovative" in BCDs, fins, masks and regulators. (Alright maybe not innovative in the last three). They just can't produce a competitive dive computer. There is so much out there that looks, feels and behaves better than their unexciting new offerings.

LOL! We are pretty much on the same page. I totally agree that the G3 is ... unexciting.... LOL! But, I don't care enough about ScubaPro (even though my Mk25 EVO/G260s are awesome in pretty much every way) to be bothered much by their inability to make a computer I like.

ScubaPro gonna ScubaPro...

 

[kimh]

They claim microbubble info, but obviously this is just extrapolated from other data. The only actual sensor I see that could contribute to it is heart rate, which is unavailable without direct skin contact (right?), and thus probably non-functional for most divers who would use the watch. Presumably then, other DCs calculate the same "microbubble info."

 

[DarR]

As a watch, I just stopped reading the specs after seeing only 30h of battery life between charges.

 

[BoltSnap]

As a watch, I just stopped reading the specs after seeing only 30h of battery life between charges.

30 hours of dive time not watch time. It will go much longer between charging if used as watch only with no diving. 30 hours of dive time is actually very good.

 

[DarR]

30 hours of dive time not watch time. It will go much longer between charging if used as watch only with no diving. 30 hours of dive time is actually very good.

That's not what the specs says and It would have been in Scubapro's advantage to mention that it can run longer in watch mode.
The specs reads:
"Rechargeable lithium battery provides up to 30 hours per charge depending on dive and watch settings being utilized."
Until reviews shed more positive light on the topic, we have to take Scubapro's exact words at face value.

 

[exodusmaximus]

It is in the price range of it's competitors and much less than the Garmin.

Actually garmin and g3 are the same cost. Garmin's pod is a bit more, but we are talking less than 200 difference with pod. (Without pod garmin is 20 bucks less)