Recreational Dive computer / Watch

[stuartv]

Double the price is a bummer. Some of those are much closer to the Puck Pro, here in the U.S..

OTOH, you already have 300 dives? It sounds like you're pretty committed to diving. In that case, spending a bit more to get something that will really do what you want is not a bad plan, if you can afford it. If it lasts you 5 years and costs an extra 100 quid, that's only 20 quid a year. Only you can decide if it's worth that.

Before I got certified to do deco, so I was limited to just diving NDLs, I always felt like it was worth some extra money to get the max bottom time that I could. Especially if I was paying a pile of money to go someplace cool, like the Caribbean or Hawaii.

All that said, a Puck or Puck Pro will certainly do the basic job that you need. Whether a few extra minutes of bottom time here and there is worth the extra money is a decision only you can make.

 

[scubadada]

It's cool mate, I kind of get it, like I say, I checked out the prices in the UK of everything you mentioned and they are all double or tripple the puck price which puts me off a little.

@scubajunky17

Or....you get what you pay for. Personally, a computer purchase is very important, and will last you a long time. My primary computer, an Oceanic AI VT3 is more than 7 years old and has more than 900 dives/960 hours on it. Sad to settle on a decompression algorithm based on price alone

Best of luck, good diving,

Craig

 

[scubajunky17]

Your exactly right, a trip to the Socorros or Palau could be spoiled if the computer says no !!! can't believe I have dived 300+ dives and only used a computer a handful of times, dived GI wolf and Darwin without a computer !I always just follow everyone elses profile and wing it !

 

[stuartv]

I'm a little surprised you never had a dive charter operator tell you that you were not allowed to dive unless you had a computer.

From what I understand, nowadays most charter operators at least say that they require all divers to have a computer (or a depth gauge, bottom timer, and a set of tables).

I dive 2 computers on every dive. I am not going to fly somewhere for a dive trip, have 1 computer crap out, and have to miss the next dive because, according to the tables, I have no NDL time left (or short enough NDL to not be worth splashing at all). Computers are cheap when you compare them to the cost of a single dive on a fly vacation (pro-rating ALL the trip costs in the per-dive cost).

 

[scubadada]

Your exactly right, a trip to the Socorros or Palau could be spoiled if the computer says no !!! can't believe I have dived 300+ dives and only used a computer a handful of times, dived GI wolf and Darwin without a computer !I always just follow everyone elses profile and wing it !

Wow, especially after diving Red Sea and Cocos liveaboards, it's so hard to believe you dived Galapagos without a computer.

 

[ls1dreams]

Wow, especially after diving Red Sea and Cocos liveaboards, it's so hard to believe you dived Galapagos without a computer.

He might have just been using rentals the entire time

 

[scubadada]

He says it was without a computer

 

[scubajunky17]

No computer, the only place they insisted on a computer was FP. I dove GI wolf and Darwin about 7 years ago, no computer. Asia nobody gives a ****, Palau rental I think.

 

[Centrals]

1. A conservative computer will let you dive beyond the allowed ndl, it just goes to deco mode. You then have to clear the "deco obligation" otherwise the computer might lock out for 24hrs.
2. An aggressive computer offers longer ndl but which one is safer?
3. Diver get "bends" but computer never. Diver get "bends" from using either aggressive or conservative computer well within the limit.
4. Dive conservatively ie never approach too close to the max allowed ndl, ascend to shallow water early. If you are reef diving then you should realize that all the colours are well above 20m.

 

[stuartv]

1. A conservative computer will let you dive beyond the allowed ndl, it just goes to deco mode. You then have to clear the "deco obligation" otherwise the computer might lock out for 24hrs.
2. An aggressive computer offers longer ndl but which one is safer?
3. Diver get "bends" but computer never. Diver get "bends" from using either aggressive or conservative computer well within the limit.
4. Dive conservatively ie never approach too close to the max allowed ndl, ascend to shallow water early. If you are reef diving then you should realize that all the colours are well above 20m.

Open Water certification from all the agencies I'm really familiar with trains people to not exceed the NDL given by their computer (or tables, if they choose to use those instead of a computer).

What you are "suggesting" is for all those people to violate their training. I do not agree with that.

If someone (who is not trained for staged decompression diving) wants to maximize their bottom time, without getting more training and without breaking the rules of their training, their only option is to use a more liberal computer.

And if they are going to dive aggressively, for example by staying down right to the end of their NDL, then they should consider extending their safety stop beyond just the minimum that they were taught in their training. And take extra care to ascend from their safety stop in a very slow and controlled manner.