Recreational Dive computer / Watch

[scubajunky17]

HI all,
I only dive a few weeks every year.
After 300 + dives i'm finally going to start using a computer.
Is the MaresPuck Pro a good buy ?

 

[ls1dreams]

IMO, a good rec computer meets this criteria:

- at least 2 buttons
- easy for you to read
- nice to have: dual algorithms so you can match your buddy's NDL's
- some way to pull data off

I think the best value right now is the Aeris A300 ($200) - because it's a discontinued version of the VEO 3.0 ($300). No other dive computer in that price range runs dual algorithms really. The big downside is the $90 cable to get data out.

If you don't care about conservatism too much, the Zoop (non-novo), Mares Quad on sale, or some other 2-button computer in the $160-$180 range would be fine as well and have cables in the $50 range.

The biggest problem w/ that Mares Puck is the single button - navigating menus will be really painful when you have to cycles through 30 menu options to get back to enter / exit.

 

[mnjhuz76]

Is the MaresPuck Pro a good buy ?

The wife is happy with it since roughly 200 dives including a couple of deco dives in both salt and fresh water.

Reasonable price, easy to read/understand, not too conservative (my Suunto in direct comparison is worse, especially when it comes to YoYo-dives and/or short surface intervalls), deep stops change on the fly depending on your dive profile (again, opposite to Suunto which has fixed deep stops) and it's on the second battery now.

In my opinion it has everything a recreational dive computer needs.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[mnjhuz76]

The biggest problem w/ that Mares Puck is the single button - navigating menus will be really painful when you have to cycles through 30 menu options to get back to enter / exit.

Since it has a quite small and simple menu this is not a major problem with the Puck Pro at least.

Sure, depends a bit on your diving habits but the only thing the wife changes is salt/fresh water and setting the clock for daylight saving. Very rarely the altitude profile. Log is transferred to the computer via cable.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Bert van den Berg]

Between the wife and I we own three Puck Pro's for four years and love it (I take down two when solo diving). Having a single button also decreases the chance of a leak and you can replace the battery yourself. Having a single button takes a bit of getting used to but is not really that bad.

 

[ls1dreams]

But why not just get a 2 button computer for the same price and not deal with that pain?

Looking forward to the Deep6 computer for $140 when that comes out. In the meantime the Aeris A300 for $200 seems like the best deal to me.

 

[dmaziuk]

But why not just get a 2 button computer for the same price and not deal with that pain?

Looking forward to the Deep6 computer for $140 when that comes out. In the meantime the Aeris A300 for $200 seems like the best deal to me.

What if I associate "that pain" with the pleasure of diving?

A300 has a less conservative algorithm than the Puck, but the puck is noticeably cheaper once you add the cost of the download cable. That's customer question #1 on the spamazon product page, read it.

Deep6 computer does not exist.

PS. I'd say DG03 is a better computer than A300 for the same money. Still more expensive than the puck but you can add air transmitter later.

 

[UFOrb]

I picked up a Mares Smart for £170 a few months ago, which I'm very happy with. The screen layout is clear and easy to read, navigation and making changes is straightforward with a little practice, the strap attachments are solid and it's small enough to wear as a watch on holiday. It does everything you need for rec diving.
From a quick search it looks like the cheapest is currently £205, unless you're willing to buy from Italy via eBay? It may also be worth searching for discount vouchers - I got 10% off from Simply Scuba by using a voucher code.

 

[ls1dreams]

What if I associate "that pain" with the pleasure of diving?

A300 has a less conservative algorithm than the Puck, but the puck is noticeably cheaper once you add the cost of the download cable. That's customer question #1 on the spamazon product page, read it.

Deep6 computer does not exist.

PS. I'd say DG03 is a better computer than A300 for the same money. Still more expensive than the puck but you can add air transmitter later.

Fair point on the $$$ cable - if you want something under $150 and not as conservative as the zoop, you're pretty limited to the Mares Puck/Pro. With cable you'd be comparing something like $290 vs. $200, so a reasonable difference.

I haven't looked into the DG03 too much - mostly because I found the design to be really ugly, but will take a look. Really though, I'm just holding out for the deep6 computer myself.

 

[INQuarryDiver]

The DG03 seems to have spotty reviews in the SB archives. Anybody have experience with it?