Nitrox?

[Centrals]

@mac66
I have regularly seen divers without any timing device in SE Asia. Others just rent a computer for a day or two.
DC is far more practical than nitrox/table and any basic one will do. Money is in your pocket and there is no need to spend over $400.00 for a dc.
User replaceable battery and respective O ring is my pre-requisite.
Reader mask also helps to read close distance object eg. pygmy seahorse.

 

[mac66]

Trying to keep it simple (and cheap) ...what do people think of the Mares Puck Pro as a entry level, basic computer?

 

[Centrals]

Trying to keep it simple (and cheap) ...what do people think of the Mares Puck Pro as a beginner, basic computer?

Nothing wrong with it.
Some divers simply hate the RGBM algorithm.

Dive Computer Algorithms For Dummies

Let’s look at the theoretical models behind modern dive computer algorithms, the differences between the various options and the ways you can influence the algorithm.

dipndive.com

It is NOT a beginner computer because you can use it in any form of RECREATIONAL diving.
You might need a reader mask for it! LOL. I use one myself.

 

[mac66]

Nothing wrong with it.
Some divers simply hate the RGBM algorithm.

Dive Computer Algorithms For Dummies

Let’s look at the theoretical models behind modern dive computer algorithms, the differences between the various options and the ways you can influence the algorithm.

dipndive.com

It is NOT a beginner computer because you can use it in any form of RECREATIONAL diving.
You might need a reader mask for it! LOL. I use one myself.

Thanks, interesting artcle.

And thanks to everyone else for your input. You all have given me a lot to think about

 

[L13]

Trying to keep it simple (and cheap) ...what do people think of the Mares Puck Pro as a entry level, basic computer?

That is a perfectly good choice, capable of doing nitrox and most any recreational dive it sounds like you might do. For the level of diving you expect to do, almost any computer will work. Here are the things you should consider:

• display type (old eyes might need a brighter/bigger screen, or could be resolved with a reader lens in your mask)
• battery/charging options
• budget

Find your personal balance between all those. Personally I like computers that use the Buhlmann ZHL-16C algorithm, but at the level of diving you anticipate that isn't worth paying extra for.

 

[MrVegas]

Trying to keep it simple (and cheap) ...what do people think of the Mares Puck Pro as a entry level, basic computer?

When we started, my family wound up with an Aqualung i300, Cressi Leonardo, and a Mares Puck Pro. Of those, honestly, I liked the Mares Puck Pro the best. They all worked fine. (Of course, I wound up with a Shearwater eventually.)

The answer to your first question -- if you are going to be diving regularly, then you will probably eventually wish you had the Nitrox certification. (I am mostly an air diver -- but if I am on a boat where they recommend nitrox for a dive, that's what I will use because probably that is what everyone else is using and it makes sense for that dive.)

 

[Brett Hatch]

Trying to keep it simple (and cheap) ...what do people think of the Mares Puck Pro as a entry level, basic computer?

I'm glad to see that you are interested in taking us up on our advice. Coughing up a few hundred bucks on a computer is a much better use of your resources, than a nitrox class. I would say that nitrox is most useful in the 60-110 foot range, so if and when you start doing dives in that range regularly, you can return to it. At that point, it will be exactly as tbones said in post #2 of this thread: when your NDL is exhausted before your air, nitrox will have a meaningful impact on your dive time.

As for the Mares Puck Pro, it will do the job. However I have to agree with other posters above that a computer with 2 buttons is much, much easier to use than one with 1 button, and the Puck just has 1. If you can find a 2-button computer in that price range, it might be a safe bet. If you have issues with small text close up, you might do yourself a favor and go into a dive shop, and see how well you can see the text on the different computers. You might find that the bigger color screens are easier to see (and more expensive), or you might find that the smaller black-on-grey screens are just fine (and substantially cheaper).

 

[Eric802]

I know a guy who has been diving a Puck for years and loves it. My 54 year old eyes really like the Peregrine display, though.

 

[jonhall]

As others have now stated, nitrox wouldn't seem to be a benefit as far as being able to stay underwater longer. Good buoyancy control, relaxing, streamlining, fitness, etc... could all help to increase your dive time.

Well...given that I only dive a couple times a year on cruises I haven't really had the opportunity or desire to put much time into doing much more than basic stuff. I'm happy keeping things simple.

Sounds like me: 67 yrs old and dive when I'm on a vacation, usually a couple of times a year. Did the AOW on a trip to Mexico because it was cheap and convenient. BTW, it is not a requirement for nitrox (I inferred in your first post that you may have thought that.) I became Enriched Air certified in January 2017. Congestion and sore back kept me from doing the dive with nitrox that was part of the deal, but not a requirement. To this day I still have not done a dive with nitrox.

Hmmm... what did divers do before dive computers?

I actually see quite a few divers on cruise W/O them.

Dive tables and the mechanical/analog spg is how I started. I probably used the tables a couple of times and counted on the dive op to keep me safe, doing only recreational dives.

Safety is the biggest factor in having a dive computer. Surprises me that your dive ops didn't provide or tell you that you needed to rent a dive computer - but as I think about it, other than letting a dive op know I had my own gear, I've not been asked if a DC was part of that gear - for several years. The benefits for having your own computer in your type of diving, and if you get nitrox, would be: 1) It would track and incorporate info from previous dives into future dives, as opposed to using a dive ops computer that was used by a different diver the day before 2) If using nitrox, you can set the oxygen level so your NDL is calculated correctly.

 

[gamon]

My dad liked Nitrox just because the higher 02 concentration made him more alert and he felt better after a dive.

This theory has been thoroughly debunked.