Rent a dive computer or buy cheap till I can afford a shearwater Petrel?

[U'vill Dive]

Hi all. The title asks the question. I and my husband are vacation divers--once a year we go somewhere (hopefully changing that to twice) and get in four to six days of diving. My husband and I are in our 50s, not the greatest eyesight. From looking up dive computers I've come to the conclusion that I'd like a Shearwater petrel for its ease of use and visibility, but I can't afford that just yet. We are about to go to Grand Cayman and do self-guided shore dives. Should we buy a cheap DC (if so which one) or would it suffice us to rent one until we can afford the Petrel......opinions? Thanks! (Over the past 5 years we have been on 18 dives all told, all using rental gear, half were self-guided--at the big island of Hawaii, Monterey Bay Ca (brrrrr) and many around St John USVI)

 

[TSandM]

I wouldn't recommend spending the money on a Petrel -- you're buying more computer than you will ever use. I'd consider the Liquivision Kaon or Lynx, or the Atomic Cobalt (although that's hose-mounted and I've heard some concerning things about reliability) if you are looking at an OLED computer.

Much cheaper is to find a good mask with bifocal lenses in it, and use a standard computer. But I'm one of those people who spent the money on being able to see the gauge, so I know where you're coming from.

 

[Hatul]

I'd recommend getting one with air integration. The Lynx looks very promising but it's not out yet and is expensive.

Addendum:
I did not read that you rent your gear. In that case it may be simpler to forgo AI and just get a wrist mounted self contained unit. The Kaon may be more appropriate and a bit less expensive than the Petrel.

 

[Quero]

If you can afford an inexpensive one now, like the Zoop, buy it and use it as a backup when you ultimately get one that meets more of your expectations. You may just find that you don't really need a computer with a lot of bells and whistles!

 

[Seefourdc]

I wouldn't recommend spending the money on a Petrel -- you're buying more computer than you will ever use. I'd consider the Liquivision Kaon or Lynx, or the Atomic Cobalt (although that's hose-mounted and I've heard some concerning things about reliability) if you are looking at an OLED computer.

Much cheaper is to find a good mask with bifocal lenses in it, and use a standard computer. But I'm one of those people who spent the money on being able to see the gauge, so I know where you're coming from.

2 of the computers you suggested are more expensive than the Petrel? I started out buying a Petrel and am so happy... it's so simple to use I can't imagine why anyone would spend 850 bucks on a computer instead of saving to get a Petrel at 950. Never bad to have too much computer especially when the price compared to some of the others is even better!

 

[driftwood]

In my part of the world, rental rates for a DC are around $16 a day. Call it $100 per vacation.

Here are two DC's from Leisure Pro that are roughly twice the weekly rental.

Oceanic "Veo 180" Air/Nitrox Wrist Dive Computer

Mares Puck Wrist Computer

 

[Seefourdc]

On another note if you find your vision to be limiting renting something really might not be the worst option. Especially if you can get an OLED or LCD screen computer for 100 bucks for a week. The real question is how many dive trips do you think you will do before you can save up enough for a Petrel for both of you?

 

[keyshunter]

U'ville,
If I am reading correctly, you have done 16 dives over 5 years, or, to round up, ~4 dives per year.If you intend to double the number of dives you will do 8 dives per year. I question whether you even need to own a computer for that few dives. But, if you do want a computer of your own, I would recommend a Suunto Zoop, or something similar, which is likely the only computer you will ever need. Certainly not a Petrel. There are much more cost effective ways around the vision issue than buying an expensive computer. Enhancing your vision (prescription mask, etc.) will will prove useful far beyond just seeing your computer's numbers.

 

[dmainou]

This is what you want.

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.com/en/frog/index.html

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.com/de/frog/index.html

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[Captain Bil]

What you really need are dive tables and a watch. If you really want to get fancy, download Vplanner and cut custom tables for each dive. At your frequency of diving, any computer in general, and a Petrel in particular, is over kill.

You might consider a Nitrox course. They can be had very inexpensively and will, among other things, lengthen your square profile bottom times for shallower (<~100' ) dives. That and a prescription mask will be (IMO) a far wiser investment.

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