Purchasing your first dive computer. A non-technical approach.

[george_austin]

i wonder sometimes if people resopnding even read the original post before suggesting the 1000 dollar computer for the 10 day a year recreational diver.

HAHA - typical . . that guy just spent 1100.00 USD on a piece of gear that he himself probably only uses once a year to 80fsw air dives in Cozumel and he needs to justify his purchase. You can purchase a set of Navy Dive tables for about 4.00 USD and change - LOL

 

[KevinNM]

HAHA - typical . . that guy just spent 1100.00 USD on a piece of gear that he himself probably only uses once a year to 80fsw air dives in Cozumel and he needs to justify his purchase. You can purchase a set of Navy Dive tables for about 4.00 USD and change - LOL

Good luck with making your second dive in Cozumel using Navy tables.

 

[Joneill]

Good luck with making your second dive in Cozumel using Navy tables.

Yup - and maybe $1100 USD for a computer that can likey use for the rest of their diving career is not a big deal to everyone...

 

[dmaziuk]

Yup - and maybe $1100 USD for a computer that can likey use for the rest of their diving career is not a big deal to everyone...

Yup - maybe a diving career that ends after that one honeymoon trip to Coz is not a big deal to everyone either...

 

[scubadada]

I guess that "near real time bio-feedback" was sort of fun to see, but you could have gotten feedback on your air consumption all the same simply by watching your SPG, albeit to get the same sense of how depth, exertion, etc., affect air consumption, you would probably have needed to do many more dives. After enough dives, a diver does acquire a feel for how his air consumption is affected by depth and exertion level. After hundreds of dives, a diver doesn't need to look at a computation of "Air Time Remaining"--he has a pretty good feel for what the number is.

I think @halocline has a point when he suggests there may be a diver who is "more interested in what's happening on a computer screen than in the water around him." I think a lot of people today just like technology--or at least feel extremely comfortable with it--and it's almost unnatural to them NOT to have a screen to look at. They want the smartphone, they want the smartwatch, they want a "smart" dive computer.

To me, one of the attractions of diving, like hiking in the woods and some other things I enjoy doing, is the opportunity to escape from electronic technology for an hour or so. The dive computer is just a necessary evil to me, and the less I need to look at it, the better.

BS, I would be willing to bet you look more often at your computer and SPG than I look at my AI computer for all my information.

 

[Joneill]

Yup - maybe a diving career that ends after that one honeymoon trip to Coz is not a big deal to everyone either...

Like it or not, that's actually very true as well... though, for many, it would be a huge deal. That's why I would never advise anyone to buy their own gear beyond required (mask, fins, snorkel, etc.,) until they have completed OW and are sure diving is for them.

 

[dmaziuk]

Like it or not, that's actually very true as well... though, for many, it would be a huge deal. That's why I would never advise anyone to buy their own gear beyond required (mask, fins, snorkel, etc.,) until they have completed OW and are sure diving is for them.

The funny part is the first two sentences of this thread are

Some time ago, a new diver started a thread ... I followed that thread closely and it was quite interesting to observe, how it came to loose relevance for the original poster.

It takes 5 pages to go from "non-technical approach to choosing your first dive computer" to

Good luck with making your second dive in Cozumel using Navy tables.

 

[Joneill]

The funny part is the first two sentences of this thread are...

And, to me, that lengthy opening post could be distilled down to:

• Figure out what type of diving you will be doing for the forseeable future
• Buy a computer from a reliable brand that gives you the functions you need (so pretty much any rec/nitrox computer nowadays) within your desired budget.
• Read the manual so you fully understand how it works!

 

[Neilwood]

And, to me, that lengthy opening post could be distilled down to:

• Figure out what type of diving you will be doing for the forseeable future
• Buy a computer from a reliable brand that gives you the functions you need (so pretty much any rec/nitrox computer nowadays) within your desired budget.
• Read the manual so you fully understand how it works!

Only a few issues with that -
1) figure out what type of diving - I know what I want right now but I don't know what I don't know.
2) Read the manual??? I am a man, we don't need no stinking manual....

Joking

 

[Joneill]

Only a few issues with that -
1) figure out what type of diving - I know what I want right now but I don't know what I don't know.
2) Read the manual??? I am a man, we don't need no stinking manual....

Joking

Very true - this is one of the few times us men should actually read the manual. That doesn't mean we have to admit we did, though