not a shearwater fan ?
- Thread starter arcticat99
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Dummy? Your arguments are specious and have no basis in reality. You’re somehow suggesting that the price of my dive computer should be a function of the price of my cellphone? Hilarious twaddle. Life support piffle. For most rec diving, there is little gain in info delivered between a $200 and a $1,500 computer. Now, time for me to crawl under my rock and for you to get back into your $150,000 Porsche.
ams511
Contributor
People use their cell phones every day, unless the person is a dive professional, they are not diving everyday. That is why they can rationalize spending so much on a phone. Also a phone is sort of a status symbol, I am not sure a dive computer is. BTW, my phone is only $200.
The next thing I want to point out is that you are misinformed. A more expensive dive computer is not going to be any safer to dive than a cheaper one, all things being equal. As long as the computer is properly functioning one computer should be as safe as another using the same algorithm. The liability risk is too high for companies to sell junk dive computers.
If you want a top-of-the-line dive computer then a Shearwater is a good choice. It is expensive but actually less expensive than other computers in its class. However, it is no safer than a less expensive dive computer. Where people like tridacna get upset is people telling newbies to purchase a Shearwater when they really don't need one. I can see their point. A vacation diver does not need a trimix computer capable of multiple gas switches and not everyone dreams of going tech. Those that go tech and into the GUE, UTD, ISE training camp will not need an expensive computer because they will only be using the bottom timer function.
I am glad you are happy with your choice, I hope it gives you many years of service.
OP
arcticat99
Contributor
OK lets keep this thread rolling lol .i agree i will never use the functions of a shear water but they seem to have the nicest display for low visibility.there are a few others that do as well but same price and or higher priced .the 2 that peaked my interest for under a 1000 was oceanic xtc ? and aqualung i750tc but a lot of complaints that you cannot read in bright clear water so back to doing research and let this novel of a thread carry on
@kelemvor if I am not mistaken. There is also a re-branded SEAC Guru version that makes about the cheapest WAI computer currently. If you buy from a disreputable dealer like amazon, that is.
plj
Registered
I use the Ratio ix3m tech+ gps. I really like it.
Yep, I use an ix3m tech+gps. It's got a handful of features that the shearwater computers lack. None of them are really "must have" features, just nice to have features.
GPS is an example. Up to 10 gasses (transmitters) is another. Not that I dive with that many at once, but I can dive sidemount and also be paired to my wife's transmitter without having to switch things around. Multiple (simultaneous, it has two cpu's) algorithms could be nice - although I don't use that as I don't use VPM. There's an o2 analyzer add-on that will allow it to analyze your nitrox tanks. Not a big deal, but you can skip the step of setting your nitrox mix if the computer does the analyzing for you. The physical buttons are much easier to use than the shearwater tappers, and are on top so I don't bump them by mistake. I think the ratio display is a little better, not that shearwater's isn't great.
Menu navigation on shearwater is slightly more intuitive than on the ratio.
It does have a big drawback vs shearwater. The battery isn't user-removable. You have to recharge the computer. IMO that's a bummer, could potentially leave you stuck someday where you've got a plethora of battery options with a shearwater. That's really the only thing I miss after switching.
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